A puppy, a payment that failed: a breeder's story

Posted 9 October 2026 · Shared by a registered breeder, who asked to stay anonymous

This story was shared in September 2026. The breeder agreed to it being told here, with her name kept out of it.

What happened

She has been a registered dog breeder for 27 years, and nothing like this had ever happened to her before.

At the start of the week of Monday 14 September 2026, a couple came to collect a puppy from her. A lovely couple with a baby. Nothing about them raised any alarm.

The payment was made through RightPaw. She let the puppy go before the payment had cleared. She has done that many times before, with no problems.

On Wednesday 16 September, an email told her the payment had failed. After that, her calls and messages were never answered.

She reported the puppy as stolen through the microchip company. On Monday 21 September, she went to the police. The officer told her the police did not see it as a police matter, because an agreement had been made. He called it a civil matter for QCAT, and told her to call Policelink.

The screenshot below comes from her own messages. Inside it is the RightPaw profile the buyer used. The name on the profile is "Valery Hojem", in Queensland. The application was made on 12 September 2026, and the profile says Valery would like to pay via RightPaw Pay. The phone number on the profile is covered. This page never publishes phone numbers.

The breeder's message and the buyer's RightPaw profile. The phone number is covered, and the breeder stays anonymous.

The details

When: the puppy was collected at the start of the week of 14 September 2026. The payment failed email arrived on Wednesday 16 September 2026.
On RightPaw: the buyer's profile name is "Valery Hojem" (Queensland). The application date on it is 12 September 2026.
Where: not shared.
In short: a puppy collected before a RightPaw payment had cleared. The payment then failed. Calls and messages after that went unanswered.
Who she told: the microchip company, which she reported the puppy to as stolen, and the police on 21 September 2026, who called it a civil matter for QCAT and told her to call Policelink.

The breeder also holds an address and an email address from the process. Private details like those never go on this page.

If something like this happened to you, you can share your story. Your story goes up straight away, in your own words, and you can stay anonymous. You can also report a scam to Scamwatch, or contact Policelink or your local police station.

Filed under: #AussieScammers