LETHBRIDGE -- After a man and his son drove several hours to her home only to leave empty-handed without a furry Christmas gift, an Alberta woman wants to make their holiday wish come true.

Claresholm, Alta., resident Lauren Billey is trying to track down the father and son who showed up at her home Dec. 13 to pick up the puppy they thought they had purchased online.

The father told her they’d driven over four hours, from St. Albert to Claresholm.

“I think this guy felt really embarrassed, and his son was really upset, so they left almost immediately,” Billey said.

Billey couldn’t stop thinking about the encounter so she created a Facebook post trying to find them. The post was shared hundreds of times and immediately five local breeders stepped in, offering to donate a puppy to the family.

“We live in an amazing community that wants to band together and help this family and make this experience better and turn around this Christmas,” said Billey. “Because I’m sure this was a puppy for Christmas.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased the demand for pets and police all over Canada are reporting a jump in pet scams. According to the Better Business Bureau, there were 3,969 reported between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30. Victims have lost an estimated $2,843,552 because of the frauds.

The RCMP has some tips to avoid falling victim:

  • Always ask for references and proof of care from a veterinarian
  • Don’t send an e-transfer. Instead, use a credit card or PayPal since those have fraud protection
  • Do a reverse Google search with any photo that’s sent to make sure it’s a new picture
  • Call police if you’ve been duped

“The sooner we know the better and can investigate,” said Cpl. Tammy Keibel with the RCMP. “Unfortunately ads get taken down and numbers get disconnected very quickly so the sooner it’s reported to use the better.”

RCMP say, in this case, the family scammed did file a police report. Mounties have reached out to them on CTV News’ behalf.

Billey is hoping they’ll be able to connect soon.

“It would just make my entire 2020 if we were able to find the family (and) give them a puppy.”