Puppy donated to Devonport family devastated by scam

Earlier this year, Mrs Fittkau, partner Leigh Murray, and her oldest son, Oliver, had fallen in love with a dog they found advertised online.

"We were trying to surprise our kids," the Devonport woman said.

"It was a toy poodle, an apricot called Mango."

Mrs Fittkau and Mr Murray decided to do their research before committing the money to buy the toy poodle, a breed that often sells for thousands of dollars.

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They asked for the breeder's registration, which checked out, they asked for photos and videos of Mango, which were sent through along with cute messages.

The couple decided to pay a "considerable amount of money", letting their eldest son in on the secret.

"We had a tracking number, it took us to a page that said the puppy was in transit," Mr Murray said.

However, a few days passed and the doubts started creeping in.

"We checked that tracking number, and it took us to all these different web pages," Mrs Fittkau said.

"As soon as they started asking us for crating fees, and insurance fees, and money for anti-anxiety medication, we knew something was wrong. We stopped sending them money."

It took some time for the horrible truth to set in - Mango had never existed.

"It was devastating, we were just in shock," Mrs Fittkau said, tearing up at the memory.

"We weren't really sure what to do. We couldn't believe how much effort they go to. They even stole a breeder's identity. They're very good at what they do."

Among their "distress" and "devastation", the family learned about a woman who had dedicated the last few years to bringing down puppy scammers.

"Her name is Sandy, she was scammed a few years ago and has been helping people ever since," Mrs Fittkau said.

"It must've been the Friday that week, she called me up and said, 'I've got some beautiful news'."

Sandy had found them a puppy from a woman in Victoria who had heard the story and wanted to gift them one of her cavoodles.

"She's such a beautiful person," Mr Murray gushed.

"We decided to call the puppy Enza after her. It was like a light at the end of a tunnel," Mrs Fittkau added.

Enza began sending the family real photos and videos of little Enza, before packing her into a crate and sending her across the Bass Strait to the open arms of her new family on Saturday morning.

"I started getting teary as soon as I saw the plane in the sky," Mrs Fittkau said, flanked by Mr Murray and Oliver.

"She sort of looked at us out the plane window when she landed, and went straight for Olly. He got first cuddles, he was in on it all and had to watch us deal with being scammed. It was such an emotional rollercoaster.

"It's been a hard lesson."

NSW-based woman Sandy Trujillo said she had helped thousands of people who had become victims of puppy scams in the last couple of years, but that something about Lisa Fittkau's story had tugged at her heartstrings.

"I really felt for her, I really felt her plight," she said.

"She saved up all that money, they were so excited. She told me she collapsed in front of the children when I was telling her she'd been scammed.

"This is the worst thing about puppy scams, it's not the money, it's not like losing money on a car. There's a really big mental health component - the family talks about it, they think of names.

"And then the scammer will harass you and manipulate your emotions, they'll tell you they'll report you for abandoning this animal that is sitting there dying."

Ms Trujillo said she didn't normally find free dogs for people, but that the Devonport family's particular situation had really hit her.

"I put the call out to my breeders, and got all these offers for puppies, for transport, for supplies ... it was just beautiful," she recalled.

"One of the biggest things I kept telling Lisa was, it's not your fault, these people are experts at what they do."

Ms Trujillo offers a few basic tips on her website for spotting puppy scams, including: