Petland stores engaged in 'deceptive sales practices', sold sick dogs, lawsuits allege

Chrystal Rivas said that when she and her husband, Robert, walked into a Petland store owned by the company in its headquarters city of Chillicothe in April 2022, they "immediately fell in love" with Louie, a brown and white English bulldog puppy.

Because Louie was a purebred and Petland had expenses related to the acquisition and presale care costs for the puppy, the bulldog's price tag was initially $10,000. But Petland gave the couple from Frankfort, Ross County, a significant discount to $3,500, and they agreed to finance Louie at an interest rate of almost 45% that drove the cost to nearly $5,264.

But after bringing Louie home, the couple noticed that it was difficult for the puppy to walk, and he soon began throwing up and having seizures. The couple called Petland and asked if they could return Louie, but Petland told them they'd have to pay $750, according to the Rivas and a lawsuit filed Thursday by Holland & Muirden, a law firm with offices in Sharon Center and Fairlawn, near Akron.

After veterinarian visits and X-rays, the Rivas family learned that Louie was suffering from an underdeveloped pelvis and genetic hip dysplasia that would leave the dog in apparent pain with extended walking or running. This meant Louie would require specialized medical care and would ultimately leave the bulldog unable to use his back legs.

The Rivas said they immediately contacted Petland and demanded they reimburse them for veterinary costs, but allege Petland refused and said the most they'd offer is approximately $2,000. The couple said they have moved twice to a ground-level apartment and now a ranch-style home so the dog doesn't have to climb stairs.

The Rivas family isn't the only one that experienced issues with Petland. The Humane Society of the United States on Thursday announced that they are assisting Holland & Muirden in lawsuits that accuse Petland stores of engaging in a pattern of "fraudulent and misleading sales practices" and selling sick dogs to three Ohio families.

The lawsuits, filed in Franklin, Delaware and Ross counties, allege that the Petland corporate store in Chillicothe and two franchise stores sold sick puppies to three Ohio families between 2020 and 2022.

“Welcoming a new puppy should be a time of joy and celebration, but for these families, Petland only delivered heartbreak,” said Mark Finneran, Ohio state director for the Humane Society of the United States.

“Ohioans deserve better than being duped into paying thousands of dollars for a sick animal. Today, we begin the process of holding Petland accountable for the pain they’ve caused these victims.”

Maria Smith, communications director for Petland, Inc. in Chillicothe, denied all of the allegations in the lawsuits in an email to The Dispatch and called them a "stunt by the Humane Society of the United States.

"Petland has not been served with information regarding these alleged lawsuits, but in learningwhere they originate, we are not surprised," Smith said of the Humane Society.

Macey Mullins of London said they bought a Jack Russell terrier from a Petland store in Lewis Center for $4,600. Soon after she bought the puppy, whom she named June, Mullins saw that she was "excessively thirsty" and constantly needed to urinate. But when she contacted the Petland store, she allegedly was told by a store representative that puppies drink a lot, according to the lawsuit.

Seven months later, veterinarians diagnosed June with "bilateral renal dysplasia," leaving her unable to eat or drink without an IV. Mullins spent thousands of dollars on hospital bills and vet costs and eventually decided to have June humanely euthanized, according to court documents.

The third plaintiff, Rosemarie Haddad, 70, who now resides in Bowerstown, in eastern Ohio, purchased a Rottweiler puppy from a former Petland store in Columbus' Carriage Place and agreed to finance the puppy for $7,500, including interest. However, after 24 hours, she realized she could not care for the puppy due to her physical limitations.

She contacted Petland to try to return the puppy, but they required her to prove that she could not care for it properly. After getting proof from her physician and veterinarian, Petland refused to return her calls, according to court documents.

Less than a week after Haddad bought the puppy, a neighbor returned the Rottweiler to the Petland location. The Humane Society alleges that Petland employees threatened to call police and accuse him of criminal abandonment.

Petland says Humane Society has pattern of 'frivolous' lawsuits

"The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has a long pattern of using donor dollars to file frivolous lawsuits across the country," Petland's Smith said in the email, "especially during state legislative sessions in states where they are trying to implement a pet sale ban — and especially during their fundraising season."

In the email, Smith included official documentation from when Louie went to the Ohio State University veterinary clinic. A veterinary doctor did diagnose Louie with right-lateralizing hip dysplasia, an orthopedic disease that causes looseness of the hip joint. The vet also diagnosed Louie with osteoarthritis and included a treatment plan for the disease.

Smith did not include any correspondence between Petland and the Rivas family detailing reimbursement for veterinarian fees or a refund for Louie.

smeighan@dispatch.com

@ShahidMeighan

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Petland denies allegations in lawsuits that they sold sick dogs