Dog ‘con’ rips hole in buyers’ pockets
● A storm over a teacup-size Pomeranian puppy is brewing as a Durban couple try to recover nearly R9,000 from an alleged scam artist — and demand answers on why police refuse to help them.
Samuel Michael and Ezren Veerabuthran said they were conned out of R8,600 last week when they tried to buy a puppy named Brody from the website Lexis Toy Mini Puppies — and police told them the amount was too small to warrant a fraud investigation.
Michael said he and Veerabuthran “discovered the beauty that is the teacup toy Pomeranian” when they were browsing the web one day.
“We perused the site [www.lexisminitoypuppies.com] and were very fascinated by the content. Immediately we contacted the number via WhatsApp,” he said.
“After lengthy engagements with the owner, pictures were sent via e-mail of the puppies under his care.”
Michael said he sent the owner R8,600 to cover the price of the puppy and delivery from East London.
But he was then blocked on the WhatsApp number and could not get hold of the owner or the courier company.
Michael said he and Veerabuthran went to the Berea police station and described their “horrific encounter”. He said the constable on duty asked, “What you want us to do about it now?”
“We then drove to Durban central police station where we were told to go back home and to call the hotline, thereafter a van will come to our house and our case will be taken down and we will receive a docket number so that we can initiate the reversal with our bank by the morning,” Michael said.
An officer from the Berea police station arrived at their home and asked them to follow her back to the station. Michael said they were told they could open a case but because of the government’s limited resources it was not worth the effort for police to try to recover R8,600.
Michael has since sent a written complaint to the provincial department of safety and liaison and hired a private investigator.
“The police department lacks compassion, empathy and any remorse,” Michael said.
“We are faced with constant criticism regarding the online purchase. We are frequently reminded that the department will weigh the case against how much it will cost them to retrieve our lost funds and if it is worth their effort and resources, then only will our case be pursued,” he said.
KwaZulu-Natal police did not respond to a request for comment while calls to Lexis Toy Mini Puppies went unanswered. Brody is still advertised for sale on the website.
A spokesperson for the Kennel Union of SA (Kusa), Kyle Farmer, said the website was “a great example of what a scam website looks like”.
“Kusa does not register breeders, however one must be a member to register dogs on the various Kusa registries.
“Kusa would not knowingly support scams and especially not one so obvious. The website further makes no mention of Kusa but of the MDBA, which … appears to be an Australian organisation, Master Dog Breeders and Associates.”
Farmer said the Durban couple’s experience matched other cases reported to Kusa almost daily, down to the “extortion of an extra payment for a bigger crate for the puppy, ostensibly at the insistence of the airline or other carrier”.
Julie Nelson, CEO of the MDBA, said Lexis Mini Toy Puppies was not a member.