fake "animal rescue" scammers are continuing to run their puppy mill pet stores in San Diego and Riverside Counties, putting doctors and nurses on the front lines of the COVID-19 emergency at risk and increasing the likelihood that more people will die.
| Friend -- Despite the California Governor's unprecedented stay at home order, and most businesses closing to protect public health, fake "animal rescue" scammers are continuing to run their puppy mill pet stores in San Diego and Riverside Counties, putting doctors and nurses on the front lines of the COVID-19 emergency at risk and increasing the likelihood that more people will die. The Sheriff and District Attorney in both of these counties should have put these criminal fraudsters out of business last year, when these known puppy mill dealers continued operating despite a new state law only allowing rescues to be sold in pet stores. Instead of complying, the stores simply started labeling their regular puppy mill shipments of two-month old puppies as "rescues." Yet these officials still do nothing. Through the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that I direct as a volunteer, Animal Protection & Rescue League (APRL), as well as other nonprofits and legitimate rescues we are working with, and customers who have been defrauded, I have now filed three state court cases and three federal cases to shut down this criminal enterprise, since the Sheriff and District Attorney of both San Diego and Riverside Counties are failing to do their jobs to protect the public. The stores are selling the exact same designer breeds they were before California's puppy mill ban--for thousands of dollars each--with predatory loans readily provided for impulse buys. These stores learned that in these two counties, they could get away with falsely advertising the puppies as "rescues," continue operating, and scam people who are specifically looking to stop the puppy mill problem into actually funding it. So far I have obtained two preliminary injunctions in state court, and was scheduled to shut down the rest of these stores before the state court itself shut down due to COVID-19, leading me to file in federal. Meanwhile, we have also just learned that the owners of these puppy stores spent $134,000 trying to defeat Measure J in National City compared to only $5,000 spent by our side. Yet we won by 62%! Measure J builds on the puppy mill ban and makes it easier to enforce. Even before the current public health emergency, the CDC was warning the public about puppies in pet stores spreading antibiotic resistant bacteria due to their deplorable breeding conditions and extremely young ages at which they are ripped from their mothers and shipped: https://www.cdc.gov/ The owner of four of the seven stores still selling puppies in California, David Salinas, is also operating full steam ahead in Nevada and Utah, despite local news stories exposing him and the animal cruelty of his Missouri and Iowa suppliers: https://www.fox13now.com/news/ Just last week the Iowa Attorney General dismantled a puppy laundering ring that was supplying fake "rescue" puppies to Salinas: https://www. Here are some recent news articles about the lawsuits I have filed against Salinas and others behind this criminal syndicate: https://www.law360.com/ https://www.nbcsandiego.com/ https://timesofsandiego.com/ https://www.courthousenews. https://www. Remember this is a great time to adopt or foster a companion from an actual shelter or rescue! In the meantime I will continue fighting in any court that is still open to shut down these monsters down. If you would like to contribute to help with court costs (filing fees, court reporters, transcripts, etc.), you can do so at www.APRL.org. Thank you! -- Bryan | |||
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Environmental and Civil Rights Attorney Bryan Pease ·
You can also keep up with Bryan Pease on Twitter or Facebook.
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