Business ProfileforPrecious Maltese

In June 2016, BBB received a consumer complaint indicating this business requires up-front payment via Western Union or MoneyGram for the delivery of a puppy.

The customer made arrangements with Precious Maltese to provide payment when they picked up the puppy. The individual the customer was dealing with is Mr. Ntarre Dawson. The company provided a home address, 3801 Collier Hill Rd Richmond VA 23234. The customer drove to Richmond, Virginia and waited on the front porch of the home for the company. After 3 hours, the homeowners arrived indicating they knew nothing about the company or puppies.

BBB wrote to the company on June 21 and June 29, but believes the address provided is not the company's true location.

BBB inquired about a puppy for sale and was given the name "Desmond Blake" to send payment to. The phone number provided was 804-551-9540. BBB's investigator was required to pay $370 via Western Union or MoneyGram before arrangements could be made to meet or receive the puppy. The investigator stated they would pay once they are introduced to the puppy, but Precious Maltese indicated they need payment first.

Finally, when BBB did an image search of the puppies for sale we discovered several other websites offering the same puppies for sale, and listing their location to be in Italy and Wales.

Before sending money, BBB encourages consumers to request an updated picture of the pet with your name on a piece of paper next to the pet or to make arrangements to meet the pet in person. In addition, BBB offers the following tips:

Never send money without first checking a breeder or shelter’s credentials. If you locate a puppy through a website, do not send money without speaking to the breeder and checking references and credentials first. Ask if the breeder is a member of an American Kennel Club-affiliated club and contact the club to verify membership.

Don’t support puppy mills. Unless you can visit the breeding facility before the purchase and bring your puppy home personally, do not purchase a puppy from a website. When you have a puppy shipped from another area, you don’t know how that puppy has been treated, how healthy or young it is, or whether or not the puppy exists at all.

Don't be fooled by a well-designed website. Unscrupulous scammers will often create a professional-looking but fraudulent website designed to lure the potential buyer in with cute puppy pictures.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Beware of scammers who offer to "re-home" their purebred puppy in exchange for transportation or vaccination fees. If a free purebred puppy sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Scammers will continually ask for more money for unexpected, and fraudulent, costs.