Craigslist Cops: Angels or Control Freaks with Too Much Time on Their Hands????

A few months back, our little terrier mix dog dug out under the backyard fence, pulling his collar off in the process, and went visiting around the neighborhood.  This dog is very precious to my kids and especially to my husband (I once considered suing the dog for alienation of affection; he gets more kisses than I do).  

Anyway, when the dog went missing it was a major trauma.  I took the morning off work to visit the animal shelter, humane society, and call every vet in the area.  Another thing I did was put an ad in the Craigslist pet section.

Now, when you place ad about an animal on Craigslist, you have to realize you are automatically subjecting yourself to what I call the "Craigslist Cops"-- people who apparently have so much time on their hands that they spend their days policing animal ads, sometimes trying to make helpful connections, and sometimes blasting people.

Fortunately, I found our little dog later that same day.  However, for days afterwards I was still getting emails from people pointing me to various "dog found" ads on Craigslist.  In this case the motivation of the Craigslist cops was clearly benign and could have been helpful, even if it was a little creepy to know that anyone was watching my online activity that closely.

However, some people who post on Craigslist, especially when trying to rehome animals (particularly horses it seems) come under fire from the cops for various real or perceived offenses to animal welfare.  The following ad, copied verbatim from an actual Craigslist ad, is a case in point:

IF YOU CAN LOAD IT YOU CAN HAVE IT!

HORSE DOES (NOT) RIDE
YOU CAN'T GET A BLANKET WITHIN 5 FEET OF IT
IT TIES....BUT NOT FOR LONG
IT EATS....WAY TOO WELL

WOULD MAKE A NICE BROOD MARE OR COMPANION HORSE
DOESN'T BITE OR KICK OR HAVE ANY BAD MANNERS
SHE GETS ALONG WITH OTHER HORSES AND SMALL DOGS

BUT SHE HAS TO GO, I HAVE A 2 YEAR OLD COLT IN TRAINING AND SHE'S HOLDING THAT UP AND I DON'T NEED HER NOR WANT HER BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO DEAL WITH ONE THAT IS THIS PSYCHO. 

HAD I ONLY KNOWN.....

Thank you for viewing my ad, If you have any problem with me being a little to HONEST here about the way this horse is come see it for yourself and while you're at it try and load it...
Obviously because I am picky as to where it goes. She is not a KIDS horse, BEGINNERS horse, or MEAT market horse. You guys no not know my situation or the horse so DO NOT jump to conclusions that I am allowing her to go to the meat market because I do not care about her. Apparently she's fat and healthy so if I DIDN'T CARE...WHY WOULD I WASTE MY TIME AND MONEY ON HER? None like most people, HORSE TRADERS, UNDER THE TABLE RESCUES THAT PUT ON FRONTS SO THEY CAN FRAUD PPL, UM...MEAT MARKETS, ABUSERS...

I AM NOT GOING TO LIE AND SAY THIS HORSE IS A BOMB PROOF KIDS HORSE THAT ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY COULD RIDE, I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU FALSE PAPERS AND SAY THEY ARE HERS....(SHE HAS NO PAPERS AS SHE IS NOT REGISTERED) NOR AM I TOO SAY THAT SHE CLIPS, TIES, BATHES, LOADS, PICKS UP HER FEET, COMES TO YOU, OR ANYTHING.

THIS HORSE ONCE AGAIN DOES NOT LOAD, (IT'S NOT BROKE TO RIDE) WHICH MEANS "YOU CAN'T GET ON HER". I DONT KNOW HOW TO BE MORE CLEAR THAN THAT. GUESS THE NEXT IDIOT WHO DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO READ I'LL LIE. SEEMS LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE DOES ANYWAY.

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