Frustrated do-gooder here

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

My local area has a Facebook garage sale type page that frequently offers puppies for a 'rehoming fee' of what ever amount to make 'sure they go to a good home'.  As a rule these pups are six weeks old and I am always compelled to send them a private message (not wanting to publicly shame them but to help them help the pups into successful homes).  Today someone posted pups that 'are six weeks old Friday" I sent her a private message letting her know they are adorable but the law in our state as in most others requires pups be 8 weeks old before being separated from their mother.  I suggested she take deposits and keep the pups until that age, reminded her that it seems like the mother is distancing herself from them but she is actually teaching them valuable lessons at this time. I closed by saying once again how adorable her pups were and that I hope she has good luck rehoming them.   Holy smokes I can't even post her response here...filthy language, angry, hateful and more than disrespectful.  Apparently I have nothing better to do with my time than to troll the internet looking for innocent people like her and attacking them and it went on and on.  Maybe just my age but I am pretty confident I could have the same discussion without that language or an attack.

It pains me so see people doing this with pups and it probably will not be the last time I send a note out privately trying to help.  I did notify the admin of that page about the law and hopefully it will help that but I suspect they will still find ways to dump dogs once they are ready to be rid of them.  Such a shame.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Judy, you're dealing with backyard breeders at best and puppy millers at worst. There's no sense trying to talk sense to such people, they could care less about what is best or healthiest for the puppies. They are only interested in money. Save your breath, and your valuable time. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I disagree. Although you may get a lot of qbusive comments maybe one breeder will listen. Keep up the good work.

[Becka]

I'm sorry this happened to you, Judy. Thanks for trying to stick up for these puppies.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's a link that shows the laws regarding the age at which puppies may be sold by state; note that it's 8 weeks in both IL and MO. That may help convince the group administrator:

https://www.animallaw.info/topic/table-state-laws-concerning-minimu...

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

Great minds and all of that, as it turns out that is the same web page I sent to the admin on the site the puppies were asking her to pin it to the top.  I know I can't save every animal or change every mind but I am a lot like the little guy throwing starfish back into the sea...can't save them all but can make a difference to one if I am lucky.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's a famous saying in rescue: "Saving one dog may not change the world, but for that one dog, the world will surely change." :)

What those of us in rescue have learned the hard way is that it's much more effective to educate the potential puppy buyer than it is to try to change the puppy mill breeder. If enough people know that they shouldn't buy a 6 week old puppy, you can greatly impact the "breeder's" market. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And maybe this will make you feel less frustrated, Judy. I don't look at "yard sale" groups and wasn't aware that people might be selling puppies there. But your post here today inspired me to post the following in two different FB groups, each of which reaches more than 5000 dog lovers, many of whom are seeking puppies: 

"Are you aware that it is illegal in most states to sell puppies before the age of eight weeks? It's recently come to my attention that there are people advertising 6 week old puppies for sale in many "yard sale" groups on FB. If you see such an ad, you may want to notify the group administrator.
Between the ages of 6 and 8 weeks, puppies learn many important lessons from their mothers and littermates that will help shape future behavior, the most important of which is bite inhibition. This is crucial if a dog is going to live among people and other dogs. 
Here's a link to a table which lists state laws regarding the age at which puppies may legally be sold:

https://www.animallaw.info/topic/table-state-laws-concerning-minimu..."

Last time I looked, 5 people had shared the post.

So in spite of that nasty "breeder's"response to you, know that you definitely did some good. :)))

[Nancy & Echo]

You certainly helped me, as a 'no doodle yet' and future first time pet owner. DK is the best in learning about doodles and dogs. So in spite of the awful response from the puppy sellers, please know you are making the world a better place.

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

Thanks Karen. I am waiting to hear from my local woman in charge of the Humane Society.  Hoping they will post it on their site and start monitoring the local FB pages that keep having these incidents.  Will be sharing that with them as well.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Soooo FB un-savvy, Karen, that I shared this with my e-mail friends and didn't realize I should do it on my FB page.  Sigh!!!!

Judy, I think that you are a hero - you might not have educated this 'breeder' but simply notifying the administrator each time you see this happening might make a difference in the long run.   Thanks for trying!

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

How incredibly ignorant and insensitive these people are that can't even wait 8 weeks to cash in!   My neighbor was just telling me their friend's puppy was 5 weeks old!  She was wondering if these back yard breeding folks can be turned in.  I see in our state of Michigan the penalty is not specific.  That's pretty sad.  

I applaud you for being a "buttinski"!  I love it...I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut too when it comes to dogs.  My groomer once called Skaid a mutt and said she was from a backyard breeder...so ignorance runs incredibly deep!  Some times you can fix stupid and sometimes you can't.  At least you tried.  BTW I did correct my groomer...she called me later and left a lengthy apology on my VM....too late tho...going somewhere else.

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

My new neighbors (I just moved) in the apartment next to me told me I had "very cute mutts" and then proceeded to say that they "just couldn't see the point in spending money on a dog unless it was a purebred" I just played dumb to it.