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Consumer Fraud: Dog "Rescue" Operation Shut Down and Ordered to Pay Restitution

News 12 recently had a story about a Calverton dog "rescue" operation that was shut down and ordered to repay $24,000 in restitution for "selling" sick dogs. This was a type of fraud on consumers.

The allegations were that the two women who operated Precious Pups Rescue "pulled"/obtained dogs that had health issues from in-state and out-of-state shelters, then sold the dogs to consumers by way of "adoption fees" or "donations" of $200 to $600 per dog.

The owners of Precious Pups Rescue told consumers that the dogs were healthy and had been checked out by a vet when that was not true. The new owners were then faced with thousands of dollars in vet bills:
Zambito and Torrillo-Hooghkirk sold consumers dogs that they claimed were healthy, vaccinated, spayed or neutered, and evaluated by a veterinarian, when in fact, they were not. In fact, the dogs had visible signs of illness, such as coughing, scratching, matting and sores. Afterwards, consumers learned that their dogs suffered from a variety of illnesses, including distemper, heartworm, pneumonia, sarcoptic mange (scabies), and tick infestation. Some of these illnesses not only caused other dogs in consumers’ households to become sick, but have caused the consumers themselves to become ill, requiring medical treatment. In addition, many of these pets required prolonged veterinary care, causing consumers to incur thousands of dollars in veterinary bills.  Several dogs died, and some suffered such severe medical or aggression issues that they had to be euthanized. 
After receiving around 50 complaints from the public about Precious Pups, the New York Attorney General's office brought a special proceeding against them in September, 2014 for having "engaged in repeated and persistent illegality", including violations of the New York Consumer Protection Statute (General Business Law § 349, which I have written about before), seeking permanent injunctive relief, restitution, penalties, and costs. "Injunctive relief" means you have to do something or refrain from doing something.

On March 12, 2015, the owners of Precious Pups entered into a Consent Order and Judgment, agreeing to shut down their rescue operation, to pay restitution of $14,090.00 and a penalty of $10,000--which the AG's office may or may not put towards additional restitution. Aggrieved consumers can file a complaint with the AG's office in Hauppauge to try to claim their share of the restitution fund.

The (possible) $24,000 in restitution will not come close to "making whole" all of the owners who lost both a beloved pet and many thousands of dollars in vet bills.

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