Poughkeepsie Pet Store Accused of Selling Sick Dog, One Woman Demands Answers

A new "puppy mom" is looking for answers after purchasing a puppy from a mall pet store last month.

If you've spent any time walking around the Poughkeepsie Galleria over the years at one time or another you've probably found yourself looking at the puppies at the Pet Zone pet store. I know that it's a must-stop at place any time I bring my kids to the mall.

Now I've never gone into the store to buy a dog, just to look but one Hudson Valley couple recently visited the pet store and made a spontaneous purchase of a new puppy. Shelby Lynn posted online that she and her boyfriend visited the Pet Zone pet store in the Poughkeepsie Galleria on Tuesday, February 22, and walked out with a "Corgi" puppy.

Shelby posted online that they fell in love with the puppy and with them having a dog at home who has "extreme anxiety", they thought "a furry friend would be just what the doctor ordered." Shelby said that her excitement in getting the dog quickly changed as soon as they picked the dog up from the pet store.

She said, "As soon as we got in the car this puppy started throwing up, she threw up 6 times the first night we had her as well as diarrhea 4 times." After the dog continued to get sick for the next few days, Shelby took the dog to her own veterinarian where she was diagnosed with kennel cough. The dog received an anti-inflammatory injection and a dose of amoxicillin at the vet visit and Shelby was instructed to continue the amoxicillin at home for 7 days and if things didn't get better soon she was told to bring the dog back.

After a few days, the dog wasn't showing any signs of getting better, Shebly explained that it actually got worse,

"she started coughing so hard she was making herself throw up even more so, and now she has green mucus spewing out of her nose".

That prompted them to bring her back to the vet's office and once they were there the vet asked for a fecal sample to test for the PARVO virus.

After the visit, Shebly called the Pet Zone pet store to talk about the problems the dog was having and the store told her, "kennel cough is very common and very treatable, they said that it was weird that the vet is considering parvo because they haven’t had a case of PARVO at this location in months." They also told her, "since she was still eating and drinking she should be fine."

Not happy with the answers she was getting over the phone, Shelby went back to the store to "voice my frustrations and quite honestly return her. We have 3 other dogs at home-2 of which are seniors. My 1.5-year-old dog is already presenting symptoms of kennel cough and slowly getting worse. If I didn’t have other dogs at home, I would keep her away from this disaster zone and nurse her back to health but it is not fair to my otherwise healthy fur babies."

Armed with all the diagnoses from her vet, "vet bills, and my lifeless puppy," Shelby told us that she brought to the store's attention that the kennel cough section of the store's vet exam was left blank and demanded to understand why their vet exam was incomplete. She went on to say "the puppy Lemmon law clearly states that if there are symptoms present of infectious or communicable disease you have the right for a refund or exchange." Which is what she was looking for.

The store told her that they could not help because their vet would never sign off on an unfit dog. The manager also stated that they would need a letter from her vet stating that the puppy was unfit for purchase. The manager instructed Shelby to email the Pet Zone corporate offices all of her up-to-date records and they will try to correct the situation. Shelby told them "I can NOT wait, she is already so sick and has gotten my other dog sick."

The manager then told Shelby that she was going to call security if they didn't exit the store because she had other customers. The manager also said she "understood our frustrations but that her vet would’ve never signed off on an unfit dog according to Shelby.

Shelby posted her story online and after receiving many comments the Pet Zone manager did contact Shelby and told her that they reviewed her case and that they would be willing to take her back for a full refund.

At this time Shelby still has the puppy at home and told us, "I do plan on keeping her at this point. I’ve spent a lot of time, money, and energy, and I’m attached to her at this point."