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In this edition

• Poodles, Labs and Border Collies bend the knee to the world's smartest dog breed

• We dive into the dark world of dog scams so you don't have to

• We hold our very own Oscars for the worlds best (and classic) dog movie

• Our favorite posts, viral memes and sounds that are about to get

THE FOLLOW

Here are the articles that caught our eye this week.

• Who’s a smart boy: Move over Poodles, Border Collies and my French Bulldog who stares into a blank wall for 30 minutes growling... The Belgian Malinos Shepherd is the top dog when it comes to intelligence according to scientific journal Nature. Nature is arguably the most respected scientific journal in the world so this one's official. Here's the officla link if you like your dog news with a side of nerdy research procedural info.

• Dog < People: Dognapping despite the similarity in naming convention is not considered kidnapping and it should be. In most states, when it comes to the law, your dog isn't considered much different from your purse, a TV or some other inanimate object. While the US lags behind, the UK and Australia are rolling out stiffer dog theft penalties.

• Recall Alert: If you feed your dogs Purina Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EL Elemental please go check your bag's UPC code make sure it's not part of this recall. The full FDA release and specific details can be found here.

THE LEAD

Pet scams are a horrible reality and new methods are getting cooked up every month

New adorable puppies, injured dogs who need rescuing, heartbreaking loss stories… They all pull at our heart strings and draw attention and with that attention comes scammers.

While most consumers are getting better at identifying potential fraud in their work and personal lives, a lot of that common sense often goes out the window when emotions get involved and scammers are taking note.

Fake Puppy Breeders

Pet scams historically make up a quarter of all online shopping frauds reported to BBB. Most of these scams center around the same routine. Scammers throw up a fake dog breeder site or Kijiji post, request money upfront to reserve the dog or pay for some unnecessary service. As requests for additional fees keep piling up, the victims start to ask questions and then never hear from the fake breeder again. Expensive and smaller breeds are always on top of the list.

"I found this dog on the side of the road..."

More and more these scams are taking the form of fake crowdfunding efforts centered around an injured dog. While most of most original stories are real, they are repurposed across dozens of Facebook groups by fraudsters, who share the same heartbreaking image claiming to “have found this dog on the side of the road” and asking for help. Sooner or later, that post links to a crowdfunding site where you can "donate to help."

We're asking out readers to think twice before they share these stories.

48 one star reviews!

Finally, there are the scammers playing the semi-legit game of building a following and leveraging it to sell poor quality or even fake products. Take a look at this French Bulldog Instagram profile with almost 1 million followers. It’s one of the most popular french bulldog accounts online and they’ve leveraged that fame to sell beds, shirts and everything else. Very poorly we might add. Take a look at their Better Business Bureau reviews. 48 separate, one star customer reviews. 

How to reduce scams and consume media responsibily:

• Be a skeptic first: Remember that there are literally tens of thousands of people in the world who’s full time job is to scam you out of money. Skepticism is likely your friend here.

• Follow real profiles: Try to follow profiles of real dogs that exist or reputable publications instead of copycat profiles.

• Spend money locally: Looking to donate some of your money to a dog rescue. Why not spend it locally, somewhere you can visit and see your money at work?

• Think before sharing: See a sad story on Instagram? A loss story on TikTok. Do some research before you like, follow, share or comment.

• Be your own neighbourhood watch: See something suspicious on a FB group, Insta Post or shared across your friends. Ask questions, hunt down the original poster and do some investigation or report it. You can report fake websites to Petscams.com, the BBB or Trustpilot.

THE TREAT

So much of the content we consume seems temporary and easily forgettable. With that in mind, we decided to take a look at absolute classic dog movies from our (and our parents') childhoods that have stood the test of time. Here are 6 of the top ranked dog movies of all time. We?

What to be featured?

THE SHARE

• The most viral video on Tiktok this week goes to this little guy sneak attacking his older sister from above.

• Jump on this trending sound: Everyone is tossing headphones on their dog and pretending their are listening to this song. THB - We don't get it we just report it.

• Bonus video: This is dedication... 20+ valentines day themed pieces of corgi memorabilia.

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