 Barked: Wed Jan 25, '12 12:22pm PST |
 | |  | | CL can work if you're careful... Lots of decent people get their dogs on CL, it's not all flakes and dog flippers.
To deter shady characters, ask to see the dog's new home. Don't meet in a parking lot and just hand the dog over. Actually a good first meeting point (before going to their house) is a dog park (or other off-leash safe area), so they can meet the dog and interact in neutral territory. This makes potential adopters feel better about you, some people are concerned about inviting a total stranger to their home.
To deter dog flippers, charge a reasonable adoption fee, 50-100 dollars (in my area at least that's enough to deter people from turning around and "rehoming" a free-to-good-home dog for more money.) CL forbids "selling" pets, but adoption fees are okay (the difference really depends on your community... people will flag off ads they think are charging too much.) You can say "fee negotiable for the right home" if you're open to haggling.
Adopting out a pet via CL is about as safe as working through a rescue, if you do your homework and check out any potential adopters. Also it helps if you aren't too picky in your ad. Don't say "no kids, and must be an only pet" or "no apartments" or "must have 6-foot wooden fence" unless it's REALLY true, and even then it's better to soft-pedal stuff like that. It turns people off, even those who otherwise would be fine. And use PICTURES! GOOD ones, more than one, showing the dog in good light, with a happy expression.
If you contact local rescues, you may be able to get the dog listed on Petfinder.com too. That site gets a lot of traffic so it would be helpful. Ask them if they would do a "courtesy post" on Petfinder (though many won't, because it's technically against the rules for them to list a dog that isn't physically in their possession.) Can't hurt to ask. |  |  | |  |
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