A Puppy Tale
The Dutchess County SPCA seizes a puppy and arrests store owner and employee following complaints of selling an unhealthy puppy.
I'm always saddened when I hear about cases of animal abuse or neglect...
HYDE PARK, NY (March 25, 2011) –Yesterday, the Dutchess County SPCA seized an unhealthy puppy being offered for sale by Puppies and Kittens, a pet store in Wappingers Falls, and charged the store owner and an employee after a local veterinarian examined the dog and found him to be unfit to be sold.
DCSPCA Humane Law Officers were contacted by a customer of the store who had purchased the puppy. Her veterinarian found the puppy to be unhealthy and advised her that the dog should not have been sold. She returned the puppy to the store, which offered him for sale in the store’s window the next day. DCSPCA Officers Jami Landry and Daniel Flaherty investigated and charged the owner, Richard F. Doyle with two counts of Section 357 (Selling Diseased Animals, Unclassified Misdemeanor) for knowingly offering an unhealthy puppy for sale twice. The owner was also charged with one count of Section 353 (Animal Cruelty, Class A Misdemeanor). An employee was changed with one count of Section 353 (Animal Cruelty, Class A Misdemeanor).
The defendants are due to appear in the Village of Wappingers Court on April 7th. The 11-week old Teacup Yorkshire Terrier is being nursed back to health by the DCSPCA’s Animal Services team. He is not available for adoption. He is the eighth puppy officers have seized from local pet stores in the past month.
Last month, the DCSPCA investigated similar complaints about Pet Fashion Pet Store in the Galleria Mall. Six employees and the owner now face a total of 66 charges stemming from allegations that they offered puppies that were too sick to sell.
The investigation is on-going. Anyone who has purchased a puppy from Puppies and Kittens pet store in Wappingers Falls that has or had an infectious or contagious illness should contact the DCSPCA’s Humane Law Department immediately by dialing 845.452.7722 ext. 4
The Dutchess County SPCA, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, is the lead agency for animal rescue and adoption in Dutchess County. The DCSPCA is a no-kill shelter with a 140-year history of concern, caring and providing shelter for unwanted, abused, abandoned and neglected animals. Central to the mission of the DCSPCA is the securing of caring, responsible, permanent homes for the adoptable animals in its care.
