Rehoming pets on internet can draw abusers, experts say

YOUNGSTOWN

When a couple from Boardman found Blaze on Craigslist, they had no way of knowing the 3-year-old dog had a serious medical condition.

Within a couple of weeks, they noticed the symptoms. He was lethargic. He was struggling to breathe.

It turned out the dog was suffering from advanced heartworm, a disease in which parasitic worms lodge themselves in the animal’s heart and lungs.

Unable to afford the unexpected veterinary costs – at that stage of heartworm, treatment costs can climb toward $1,000 – Blaze’s owners decided to surrender their new pet.

Jason Cooke, a local animal activist, is fostering Blaze while the dog continues treatment.

“This is an example of someone giving away a dog that they obviously didn’t even know was sick. And he wasn’t neutered,” Cooke said. “Then you have someone picking up a dog that’s sick, and not being able to deal with the financial consequences of that.”

He said the incident highlights a problem: improper re-homing of pets, especially on websites that offer no safeguards for animals or people on either side of the transaction.

Experts say “free-to-a-good-home” advertisements, often unknown to the people posting them, are likely to attract unsavory types.

“A lot of time dog fighters and abusers who have been declined by agencies such as the dog warden’s office or Angels for Animals ... are able to go to these sites and pick up dogs,” said Rick Tunison, kennel manager and a deputy dog warden for Mahoning County.

Read more about the matter in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.