This is a little lengthy, but I hope it sheds some light on why we sometimes do things the way we do…
I recently was involved in a discussion where someone felt a puppy had been “sold out from under them” because they were still deciding. While I primarily am only involved in rescue transactions which are a little more slow paced, recently I helped a breeder by listing 8 of her retirees and “brokering” their adoptions to get her numbers down as she is overwhelmed. This is based on my my experience:
It gets very frustrating when you write out a detailed, yet concise description about a Pom only to be inundated with questions from a dozen or more people and only one or two of those people have questions that were not in your bio to begin with. So now I am answering comments, some of them rather nasty, and in conversations with say half of the initial 12 that asked questions.
Of the 6 respondents I’m now in conversations with;
1 of them proceeds to tell me their life story and about every Pom they’ve ever owned, over the last 30 years, but they aren’t ready for another one right now,
1 tells me how the Pom in the picture Iooks just like the one that died last year and spends an hour telling me about that Poms battle with cancer,
1 keeps me on the phone for a half an hour before she mentions that she is in California and asks if we deliver the dog from Virginia as part of the price;
We are now down to 3 interested families
Uh-oh. 1 family has a 2 year old and a new born. That’s a no-go for a small Pom.
The remaining 2 seem like good prospects. They both seem very interested, everyone says they want the Pom.
Both families are equally appropriate. Family #1 is offered the Pom. Family #1 says they will be there Saturday at 2:00 to pick up Pom.
Apologies are made to Family #2.
Saturday arrives. Family #1 never shows up, never calls, doesn’t answer calls, texts, etc… Contacts Family #2 and let’s them know that the Pom is available. Family #2 has already located another Pom.
Two weeks have now elapsed…
Start the process all over again…
Now multiply this by just 3 dogs 3 times a year which is conservative for a very small breeder.
Asking for a deposit shows you are serious and not wasting their time. Most breeders have regular full time jobs, families, and this is a hobby for them.
I completely understand. A deposit makes a lot of sense to ensure people are serious. I appreciate your service. We adopted a pom from PCCV about 17 years ago, and I know a lot of time went into it.
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