Posted on 05/20/2004 11:05:18 AM PDT by DumpsterDiver
Inland buyers bring many complaints
Animal-control and humane officials from across Southern California have joined forces with customs agents to stop smugglers from hauling hundreds of sick Mexican puppies into the state.
Since the agencies began sharing information in April, customs officers daily have turned back 10 to 20 vehicles, each carrying as many as three dozen puppies headed across the border for quick resale, said Lt. Mary Kay Gagliardo with San Diego County's Department of Animal Services.
Many of them are headed for Riverside County, she said.
"Most are coming in sick," Gagliardo said. "They are riddled with parasites and worms from drinking foul water down there."
Two weeks ago at the border, her department confiscated 34 small-breed pups and three exotic birds, all on their way to Riverside County, she said. Some of the puppies, only 3 weeks old when they were seized, now are dying from the highly contagious parvovirus, Gagliardo said.
The problem is huge, she said.
Problem has increased
Moreno Valley Animal Services is investigating several complaints from people who have bought sick puppies from private sellers, including one who admitted getting puppies in Mexico. Riverside County officials would not comment on cases they are investigating.
Officials in both jurisdictions said complaints from people who have bought sick puppies from newspaper ads have risen dramatically this year.
The sellers usually meet the buyers in a public place such as a grocery store parking lot and refuse to accept anything but cash - as much as $200 to $600 for puppies they claim are purebred but seldom are, said Betsy Ritchie, chief of the Moreno Valley department.
Tracking the sellers isn't easy because they usually use bogus names, addresses and phone numbers, officials said.
"These people are breaking a number of laws," Ritchie said. Anyone who sells three or more litters or 20 or more dogs a year must have an animal dealer's permit and a tax identification number, she said.
Gagliardo said the sellers can be cited for fraud if they know the puppies are sick. If the puppies are housed or handled inhumanely, the sellers can be cited for animal cruelty, she added.
Ritchie said her office has fielded complaints from the owners of at least 35 sick pups in the past few months.
One woman's experience
Kelly Dionese of Lake Elsinore was one of them. Dionese answered an ad in The Press-Enterprise for Maltese puppies and went to the home of a Moreno Valley woman. Animal-control officials identified the woman as Theresa Campbell, who they say uses several aliases.
Campbell did not return phone calls. A man who answered the door Monday afternoon at her address said she wasn't home.
Dionese said she paid Campbell $400 for the pup, which fell ill within days. The puppy was infested with microscopic parasites that infected the entire family, she said.
The puppy had to be euthanized despite intense veterinary care, Dionese said. "We watched her die right in front of us. She was the sweetest thing in the whole wide world."
She and others who bought ailing puppies admit they were naive when they responded to Campbell's ads. Melissa Hulsey and Zubin Khavarian of Murrieta bought what was supposed to be a Maltese puppy from Campbell. It died of parvovirus a few days later, they said. Oceanside resident Marietta Ruttan said she paid Campbell $650 for a purported Maltese pup that died within hours.
Ritchie said Campbell has been cited for 19 counts of animal cruelty in connection with such complaints.
Riverside County court records show that a bench warrant has been issued for Campbell for failing to appear in court on multiple traffic violations and for falsely impersonating someone.
Puppies seized
In another Moreno Valley case, Ritchie said she confiscated eight puppies from Roberto Flores in March. Some of the pups, which Ritchie said he brought from Mexico, have died.
They were little Maltese-like puppies, Ritchie said, and looked like puppies Campbell had been selling and like those sold by another woman caught selling sick puppies in front of a Moreno Valley grocery store. That woman gave officers a fake name and address in Chino.
Flores could not be reached for comment. He no longer lives at the address listed on animal-control records.
His former next-door neighbor remembered him.
"You could always hear the dogs barking," Ana Heredia said. "I just thought he liked dogs."
Officials said they don't know where Campbell is getting the puppies she sells, but they have received a complaint from a Norco resident who says Campbell answered her ad for free puppies.
Karen Muller said a woman calling about the pups identified herself as Kim, but caller ID showed the name Theresa Campbell. According to Muller, Campbell said she wanted two of the border collie mixes but took all of them after saying relatives wanted pups, too. Muller said she called authorities because the woman took all seven puppies, including one already promised to a friend.
'Misery of pets'
The increase in smuggling began about a year ago, said Janeen Reed, an animal-control officer from National City in southern San Diego County.
"We're seeing that this is a way to make money on the misery of pets," Reed said. "It has nothing to do with wanting a dog to have a nice home. It's purely about profit."
Riverside County's Animal Services Department has received dozens of complaints, said Rita Gutierrez, supervising animal-control officer. "They are using these poor puppies as a product."
Staff writer Tanya Sierra contributed to this report.
Could you ping people, please.
ping
The beauty of culture diversity.
The sickos from down south exploit anyone and anything they can.
They're smuggling in sick puppies.
Tons of illegal dope, millions of sick humans loaded with incurable diseases, murderers, rapists, robbers and burglars cross for decades and our politicians do nothing.
But now, the smugglers have been caught doing something really bad. They're bringing in sick puppies.
The National Guard is going to be 10 deep along every inch of our borders once PITA starts screaming.
>/sarcasm<
Parvo is an ugly way for a dog to die. They can get it before you have a chance to vaccinate them. You have to practically sterilize your yard after you discover that your pup has the disease and dies.
Whoops, that's PETA.
You were probably thinking that PETA is a PITA.
This is just so wrong... the illegal pet trade is a huge business due to demand here in the States.
I am sure none of the illegal people pouring into the US have any communicable diseases and have been checked by the vast free health facilities in their home countries prior to sneaking into the US....Of course if they happen to have something they can always go to a hospital in the US and be treated for free and then return to their own country should they choose to do so...Our politicians are idiots...
Huh? I though the headline was saying Hillary or Billary were visiting Hollywood donors on the sly, or Nancy Pilosi was back in her district.
People should just take their dogs for a wok.
Those headline writers are a sneaky bunch, aren't they? Sorry to get your hopes up. ;^)
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