Wareham Family Loses $2,200 In Online Puppy Scam

WAREHAM (CBS) - A Wareham man, who believed he was buying a dog for his children, is out a couple thousand dollars. He thought he made a deal online with a dog breeder in Pennsylvania, but it was a scam.

The family and the real breeder are both frustrated.

"We wanted to have a puppy to have with them growing up and be with them," says Jeff Brown.

Jeff and Mary Brown adopted four special needs kids who wanted a puppy. They saw a Great Dane puppy online and bought it, or so they thought.

"I got a text she says 'I'm at the airport, I need more money, I don't have the money that you sent, it's not in my bank,' all the excuses," says Jeff.

The scammer goes by the name of Debra Ann Rader and in her emails to Jeff, referred to her dogs as her babies.

But Rader's dogs and her website actually belong to Debbie Capra of Wareham. Rader stole Capra's website.

"I contacted the person and I told them they had to get my pictures and my ad off of there," says Capra. "They stole my ads and they stole my pictures of my puppies."

Capra breeds pure Great Danes. Rader stole the pictures and the Brown's money.

"I lost the money, and the kids lost the puppy," says Brown. " But it's not about me and it's not about the money, it's about the kids."