Pet-rifying!
Chelsea’s sick shop of horrors
SICK PUPPIES are selling ailing dogs to unsuspecting customers at an upscale pet store in Chelsea, according to an undercover Humane Society investigation.
The animal welfare group said Tuesday that it conducted a twomonth investigation at the Chelsea Kennel Club, where secretly recorded video captured a store staffer cracking a towel at one young dog, smacking crying pups and banging on cages.
The video also shows dogs with mucus in their eyes, limping and shaking in their cages. Some of the sick dogs fetched more than $4,000 when they got better and were sold as healthy.
Store owner Dana Derragh denied any wrongdoing when confronted by the Daily News and said she’d never abuse animals.
“I’m an animal lover,” she said. “I’m a vegetarian. I won’t even eat an animal.”
The investigation revealed the store’s isolation room was jammed with sick puppies, including some with breathing issues, bloody diarrhea, painful infections and high fevers.
“From puppies with open surgical wounds on their bellies to a dog who could barely breathe because she was suffering from pneumonia, our investigator witnessed shocking disregard for the care these puppies need,” said John Goodwin, senior director for the Humane Society of the United States’ Stop Puppy Mills campaign.
Some of the deplorable examples include a Pomeranian with its eyes were swollen shut with conjunctivitis, a French bulldog puppy whose weight dropped from 4.12 pounds to 3.08 and an English bulldog puppy with severe pneumonia.
The Humane Society said pet store staff yanked paperwork highlighting problematic veterinary findings from several puppies’ folders. Sales staff told the investigator they were just following orders from the store’s owner.
New York State’s pet lemon law requires sellers to disclose puppies’ physical abnormalities or illnesses at the time of the sale.
Derragh, said she was “shocked” when she saw the video and fired the towel-whacking employee.
She also said she’s concerned about threats she’s received from angry animal-rights activists since the video was released.
On Tuesday, three protesters burst into the shop and argued with customers.
“There’s no excuse for animal abuse,” they chanted.
The Humane Society has forwarded the allegations to law enforcement officials, the group said.