State AG Sues Albany Pet Store For Deceptive Practices

ALBANY, NY — New York has filed a lawsuit against a chain of pet stores with a Hudson Valley presence for selling puppies without proper records and other charges. Acting Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood announced Wednesday the suit against Bell Pet Company LLC and its owners, Theodore and Sheila Bell, who operate pet stores in Poughkeepsie, Watertown, Albany and Queensbury, known at The Pet Zone.

The lawsuit alleges that the chain has sold many puppies to consumers without first having the dogs examined by a veterinarian as required by law, engaged in persistent fraud by failing to notify consumers when the puppy they purchased received necessary pre-sale medical treatment and violated the Pet Lemon Law by failing to provide timely reimbursement for veterinarian expenses consumers incurred after purchasing a sick dog from the stores.

The Pet Zone in Albany is located in the Crossgates Mall.

Following the attorney general’s investigation, a state Supreme Court justice issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting The Pet Zone from obtaining any new dogs for sale and placing additional oversight on the sale of puppies currently in their stores while the lawsuit is pending.

The stores will be permitted to sell the puppies already in their stores, though they must provide sworn statements and documentation that the puppies sold were properly examined and medications were properly disclosed to the buyers.

Additionally, Underwood seeks to permanently bar The Pet Zone and its owners from ever operating a business that sells live animals in New York, as well as to obtain restitution for aggrieved consumers and significant penalties.

Underwood said her office is committed to upholding legal protections for animals and consumers alike.

“Pet dealers have a legal and moral responsibility to provide proper treatment to the animals in their care, and consumers deserve to have confidence that the pets they purchase are certifiably healthy,” she said.

Underwood said that the evidence submitted to the court includes sworn statements from a former store manager and four former store employees, 10 consumers and several inspection reports that cited violations.

The lawsuit alleges that The Pet Zone engaged in numerous deceptive business practices and violated multiple laws, including:

• Selling puppies without first being examined by a veterinarian and certified as fit for sale
• Puppies thought to be ill were medically treated without consulting a veterinarian
• The stores routinely falsified and destroyed documentation that showed when a puppy was sold with an exam
• After selling a puppy certified as “unfit” for sale by the consumers’ veterinarian, the store denied customers’ right under the Pet Lemon Law to reimbursement of veterinarian bills
• The store used deceptive business practices to raise the cost of the sale to consumers

In July 2017, the attorney general’s office issued a cease and desist letter to The Pet Zone demanding they stop violating the Pet Lemon Law, but an investigation found more illegal and deceptive conduct.

Besides asking the court to permanently bar The Pet Zone and its owners from ever operating a business in New York that sells live animals, Underwood wants the company to pay significant penalties and restitution to aggrieved consumers.

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