1. Cash is the main criterion for adoption. Money is the bottom line. Adoption is done sans screening: The pet is handed over by the flipper to whoever coughs up money, even if that person ends up killing the poor animal for a crush video.
2. Deception is required. For pet flippers who get purebreds for free (or for cheap) from people who rescue animals, they have to misrepresent their motives and pretend they’re committed, responsible pet owners.
3. Animal welfare is disregarded. Animal flipping is done for profit, not for pets. Without proper adoption screening, there is no way of knowing if the people who want to buy dogs or cats from pet flippers are capable of paying for vet visits, vaccination, and pet food. Worse, they might not have what it takes to provide the one thing that a pet truly wants: unconditional love, without threat of being abandoned, discarded, or re-homed if they so much as become a minor inconvenience.
This story appeared in Animal Scene’s December 2017 issue.
