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Unfortunately, Miniature Bull
Terriers are rare in South Africa and the demand for
them is high. This has resulted in a number of
scams to make money out of
unsuspecting potential Miniature Bull Terrier
owners.
Please read the following and be
careful! SCAM #1       
Adverts are placed on internet
marketplaces and online-classified sites offering Miniature
Bull Terriers for sale. If you respond to the advert, you
are sent photographs of cute Bull Terrier puppies and
asked where you are based. Then you are told that you
can visit and view the puppies at an address far from
where you live. (I have been contacted by three prospective
minibully owners who were all sent the same photos
of an advertised litter but each told that they
could view the puppies at addresses in Nelspruit, East
London and Port Alfred.) All your questions are answered
in the affirmative and you are told that to secure a
puppy you must deposit 70% of the cost into a bank
account upfront. The puppy will be delivered to your
doorstep at which point you must pay the remaining
30%. In
this scam, there are no puppies and I have found that
the fraudsters 'selling' Miniature Bull Terriers are
also 'selling' every other breed of dog you can imagine,
even other animals like pot-bellied pigs and
parrots! SCAM #2 Adverts are placed for 'unregistered' Miniature
Bull Terrier puppies. Miniature Bull Terriers are unique
in that there is no such thing as an unregistered
'Miniature Bull Terrier'. This is because there is no
size restriction for a Standard Bull Terrier so if a dog
looks like a Bull Terrier, even if it may seem
small, it is a Standard Bull Terrier unless it has a
registration pedigree to show that it has descended
directly from Miniature Bull Terrier stock. Miniature Bull Terriers are small because they
have a unique set of genes for small size. This may not
be evident when they are very young as Miniature
Bull Terrier puppies are not a lot smaller
than Standard Bull Terrier puppies. The difference is in
the growth pattern. Growth is 'turned off' in Miniatures
at about 5 or 6 months compared to Standard Bull
Terriers that can continue growing sometimes until
18 months. 
This photo shows Sheherazade From Friars
Point (Miniature Bull Terrier) and Consul Ewimark
Rakownia (Standard Bull Terrier). Both are exactly 5
months old - the Mini has stopped growing, the Bull
Terrier has still got a long way to go! (Thanks to Thea
Jacobs - From Friars Point Kennels in the Netherlands
for the photo.)
The
scammer may offer to show you a parent that is
undersized but beware as Standard Bull Terriers who have
developmental problems in early puppyhood may be stunted
in their growth. Thus their size is not due to their
genes but their poor health. Your puppy won't inherit
their smaller size but may inherit their health
problems. As Miniature Bull Terriers are
rare, you will not see them advertised publicly.
If
you see an advert for Miniature Bull Terriers for sale,
please contact me
tracey@minibullies-sa.net
I will gladly check it
out for you. I maintain a database of Miniature Bull
Terriers worldwide and I monitor Miniature Bull Terriers
imported into South Africa and those present in South
Africa. If you have been scammed and have more
information to add to this to help others avoid the same
fate, please
let me know. REMEMBER: Don't
buy a Miniature Bull Terrier without knowing its Primary
Lens Luxation DNA status. If both parents are PLL-clear,
insist on seeing their PLL-DNA test certificates
issued only by the Animal Health Trust in the U.K. or
the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals in the U.S.A. Each
certificate has a unique reference number for each
dog. If one of the parents is a PLL-carrier, insist on
your puppy being tested by either of these institutions
before accepting it. Testing can be done at 3 weeks of
age and results are received in two weeks in South
Africa - plenty of time before leaving their
Mum.
If you would like any
PLL-DNA test results verified, please contact me
- tracey@minibullies-sa.net - and I will check
them for you. | 
