Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Pet store neglect

Pet store neglect
Venice, FL (US)

Incident Date: Monday, Sep 27, 2004
County: Sarasota
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted

Abuser/Suspect: Janice Lee Cabezas

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

Case ID: 2778

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment, Other

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office removed several dead animals from a Venice pet shop Monday as part of a criminal investigation stemming from allegations of possible falsified animal health records.

Fido's Puppy Shop, 4117 South Tamiami Trail, was served with a warrant and several computers and records were seized, according to Sgt. Chuck Lesaltato, Sarasota County Sheriff's Office. He also said several dead animals were removed.

"We had received several complaints from people who had bought animals at the store," said Lesaltato.

Fido's Puppy Shop is registered as a fictitious name with the Sarasota County Tax Collector's Office. The company name registered with the Florida Department of the State, Division of Corporations, is Bahuaka Inc. The names registered with Bahuaka Inc. are Kristen A. Cabezas, 398 Jeannette Court, Nokomis; Peggy Simpson, 59698 Bob White Drive, Homosassa Springs, Fla.; and Roseanne Brady, P.O. Box 173203, Tampa.

The phone book lists the name of the store as the Puppy Shoppe.

Attorney Donald Grieco, of Grieco and Burzynski in Sarasota, said the dead animals had been found in the freezer, awaiting autopsy. He said his client has not been charged with any criminal activity and no complaints have been filed against her in the past.

However, a complaint was logged on the Web site www.ripoffreport.com. A Plant City woman signed on as "Melinda" said her boyfriend had bought a puppy from the Puppy Shoppe/Bahuaka Inc. in November 2002.

She tells a similar story, of being given a certificate that shots had been given and that the puppy was to be checked within 48 hours by a vet on their list.

The staff at the Puppy Shoppe had indicated the paper work for American Kennel Club registration would be sent in. More than three months later, the papers still hadn't arrived.

Case Updates

Former East Manatee pet store owner Janice Cabezas pleaded no contest Friday to scheming to defraud, a third-degree felony, for selling puppies with fraudulent pedigrees.

She agreed to pay more than $22,000 in restitution. Cabezas also was placed on five years' probation.

Sarasota Circuit Judge Charles Roberts also ordered that Cabezas perform 100 hours of public service and told the woman she could not work or volunteer in any field involving the pet industry during her probation.

Cabezas, a former Parrish resident, had stores in East Manatee, North Port and Venice. Those stores all closed in 2005.

Cabezas will make restitution to about 85 pet owners, Assistant State Attorney Jeff Young said.

Among them, Loretta Lovre, who said she paid $2,000 for an English bulldog whose pedigree is in question. She will get $1,000 in restitution.

The pet owners, who all claim they were sold sick or misrepresented puppies, were orderly, although the bailiffs scolded them for clapping wildly after a statement was read by their spokeswoman, Mary Ellen Whitehead of Venice.

Taylor Whitehead, a Laurel Nokomis Elementary School student, cried during his mother's emotional statement, which touched on his Havanese puppy named Havana, who died of distemper during Hurricane Charley on Aug. 13, 2004.

"I remember looking into her big, brown eyes and feeling so helpless that I didn't even have the option to help her or to end her misery humanely," Whitehead said. "She suffered until the very end, and I just had to sit there and watch her die, all because Janice Cabezas didn't give her a simple 75-cent vaccine."

In her lengthy statement, Whitehead accused Cabezas of forging state vaccination certificates, selling fraudulent warranties, consciously selling puppies with disease and chronic medical conditions and misrepresenting the breeds and the origins of the puppies sold.

Cabezas' defense attorney, Donald E. Grieco, interrupted Whitehead during her speech and argued to Roberts that Whitehead was going beyond the scope of what is allowed in a statement.

Roberts overruled Grieco.

After Whitehead's statement, Young rose and told Roberts there wasn't enough evidence to back some of the claims Whitehead had just made.

Young said the pedigree charge was the only one the state was comfortable pursuing.

Roberts, however, told Cabezas he would accept a plea of guilt from her, rather than no contest.

Grieco and Cabezas left the courtroom for 15 minutes to confer.

After they re-entered, both attorneys and the judge had a meeting at the bench and Roberts changed his position and agreed to accept Cabezas' plea of no contest.

Cabezas was not available for comment after her plea.

A call was left with Grieco, but was not returned Friday afternoon.

"We feel as if it was a victory, even though we were hoping for more," said Whitehead after the hearing was over.

Whitehead made it her mission to keep all the pet owners informed on the case by e-mail and phone over the past two years, said Jack Anderson, who said he paid $800 for a cockapoo that didn't have any poodle in it.

"I have more poodle in me than my dog does," Anderson said. "But Mary Ellen did an incredible job keeping everyone in the loop. We owe her a debt of gratitude."

Whitehead said she didn't expect more than a plea deal.

"From the start, we were told that since this was a nonviolent crime, it probably wouldn't go to trial," Whitehead said.

Source: Herald Today - Sept 30, 2006
Update posted on Oct 2, 2006 - 11:04AM

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When Mary Ellen Whitehead's dog died of illness, she would have blamed misfortune had it not been for one major detail: It had happened before, under eerily similar circumstances.

Whitehead paid $897 in July 2004 for a Havanese-poodle mix from the Puppy Shoppe, one of a chain of pet stores that closed after the owner, Janice Lee Cabezas, was arrested in 2004. Charges were later dropped.

Cabezas, 49, of Parrish, who had stores in Bradenton, Venice and North Port, was arrested again on July 26 on felony charges of scheming to defraud customers of more than $50,000.

Cabezas pleaded not guilty on Aug. 2. Her next court date is scheduled for Sept. 2 in the Sarasota County Courthouse.

In a probable cause report, Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Detective Jim Klay wrote that "animals were given false papers to inflate their value and sold to unwitting victims."

Authorities believe that Cabezas gave customers false pedigree papers. As a result, they allege, customers paid up to $1,000 for what they thought were pure-bred or designer dogs that really were mutts.

Detectives also allege that Cabezas forged documents, including vaccination forms and warranties, costing her customers thousands of dollars, according to a probable cause report filed by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office in May.

For a month, Whitehead, 39, said she spent hundreds of dollars on veterinary visits, trying to figure out what was wrong with her dog, whom she named Havana.

On Aug. 13, 2004, Whitehead and her two children watched as the 18-week-old puppy convulsed from seizures and yelped in pain.

Because of Hurricane Charley, no veterinary offices were open, Whitehead said.

The dog died the next day.

Seven years before, Whitehead had purchased another dog from Cabezas' store. Four years later, that dog also died from a chronic illness.

Whitehead chalked up her first dog's death to bad luck, not suspecting that something was wrong at the Puppy Shoppe.

But two dead dogs from the same store were too many.

Whitehead, a stay-at-home mother, decided to investigate.

She sent Havana to the University of Florida's veterinary school for an autopsy.

A week later, the results showed that Havana died of distemper, a rare, contagious disease typically prevented by vaccinations.

Whitehead, who paid $100 extra for a warranty on Havana, went to Cabezas to warn her that her shop could be carrying the disease.

But Cabezas refused to refund Whitehead's money, and blamed her for subjecting the dog to distemper, Whitehead said.

"She said, 'I do not, nor have I ever, had an animal in my kennel spreading disease,'" Whitehead recalled.

Whitehead started poking around local pet stores, asking questions and leaving her phone number in case someone with similar experiences dropped by.

Within days, Whitehead's phone began to ring.

"I started to get a flood of calls from people saying, 'I've had a problem with this store,'" Whitehead said.

Now, Whitehead has a notebook full of names and phone numbers of customers whose dogs became sick, or died.

On Aug. 30, 2004, Whitehead met with sheriff's personnel.

Her complaint was among 134 filed with the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office by customers who purchased dogs from Cabezas.

Some of those dogs died. Others lived, but were frequently sick.

On Sept. 27, 2004, sheriff's deputies searched Cabezas' Venice store. They seized "numerous documents that were questionable," according to the report.

According to the report, many victims were denied refunds, though they had purchased warranties.

In October, deputies arrested Cabezas on 16 misdemeanor counts of failure to possess veterinary health certificates for animals for sale. The state attorney's office later chose not to prosecute her on those charges.

But detectives continued to investigate Cabezas for fraud.

"It's my understanding that all the paperwork was in order, and everything was done according to the law and state and federal regulations," said Cabezas' lawyer, Donald Greico.

It's uncertain whether Cabezas still works in the pet business. A phone number for her store, River Hills City Pets in Valrico, was disconnected.

A phone call to a number for Cabezas, listed on a sheriff's report, was not immediately returned.

Cabezas' accusers credit Whitehead for the progress so far.

She has every phone number she needs written down. She knows what's happened so far, and what can be expected to happen next.

"She knows a lot more about it than I do," said John Ferrazzano, who lives in Manatee County. A dog he purchased in February from Cabezas' Bradenton store died from liver problems.

"She's a detective and a half," said Barbara Kinney, whose pet, purchased from Cabezas, also died.

Whitehead, who has three other dogs, still keeps Havana's ashes at home. She said she's not ready to bury her dog yet. "I haven't been able to bring myself to bury her," Whitehead said. "I don't feel like there's been resolution yet."

Source: Herald Tribune - Aug 9, 2005
Update posted on Aug 9, 2005 - 9:31AM

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Janice Lee Cabezas, 49, owner of the Venice pet store, has turned herself in to face criminal charges that she falsely claimed to have health certificates for puppies she sold in her stores.

Cabezas, of 398 Jeannette Court, Nokomis, has been charged with 16 counts of failure to possess veterinary health certificates for animals for sale, arrest reports state. She was released from the Sarasota County Jail on $1,920 bond.

In a press release, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office states Cabezas is the owner of the Puppy Shoppe, 4117 S. Tamiami Trail in Venice as well as Fido's, 14253 S. Tamiami Trail in North Port and The Puppy Shoppe, 7323 52nd Place E. in Bradenton. All three stores were open for business Thursday.

Her attorney Donald Greico said Cebezas does not own the stores in North Port or Bradenton. He discounted the charges against her.

"They are just allegations," Grieco said. "They have been painful to my client personally and to her business. There have been many allegations and many are unfounded."

Detectives seized several computers and records when they served a warrant Monday at the Venice store, said Sgt. Chuck Lesaltato, Sheriff's Office spokesman. He also said several dead animals were removed.

The Sheriff's Office is reviewing files and interviewing customers as part of its ongoing investigation. Lesaltato said more charges may be filed. So far, the Sheriff's Office has received more than 100 calls from customers who have similar complaints of purchasing sick puppies, Lesaltato said.

Susan Doherty of Port Charlotte said she is one of them. On Jan. 7, Doherty said, she bought a 9-week-old Maltese puppy she named Bustar. Five days before, Doherty lost her dog, Fluffy, of 13 years and was "heart broken" she said. She bought Bustar at the Puppy Shoppe in Venice and paid more than $900 for the puppy and $60 for an extended warranty through Household Pet Protection, based in Aurora, Colo.

Six days later, Bustar the dog began vomiting, but seemed to recover, Doherty said. The next day, Bustar began acting lethargic. Doherty said she called The Puppy Shoppe and spoke to a woman named Donna. Doherty said Donna told her to give Bustar Karo syrup and put Honey Nut Cheerios on the food because his blood sugar was low, she said.

On Jan. 15, the dog was rushed to the Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Port Charlotte and was treated with antibiotics and medicine for vomiting and diarrhea, Doherty said. Seven hours later, he was taken to the Animal Clinic in Port Charlotte, where he was diagnosed with parvovirus, a highly contagious and potentially deadly disease.

Parvovirus affects puppies much more frequently than it affects adult dog, according to the Web site workingdogs.com. The virus likes to grow in rapidly dividing cell, which are often concentrated in the intestinal lining. The virus attacks and kills these cells, causing diarrhea, and depression and suppression of white blood cells, another group of rapidly dividing cells. It can also infect heart muscles and lead to sudden death in puppies.

Doherty said the health certificate provided by The Puppy Shop said Bustar was negative for the virus.

Bustar died Jan. 19 in the care of Bright Cross Animal Clinic, the vet the Puppy Shoppe had recommended.

"We were heart broken," Doherty said. "And our vet told us we could not have another puppy in the house or yard for six months because parvo is so contagious."

That opinion is seconded by workingdogs.com, which states a strong bleach/water solution has to be used to kill the virus, which can live in yards, carpets and fabrics for up to six months.

Doherty said she has spent an additional $783 in veterinary bills. Doherty said she and The Puppy Shoppe went to mediation and Doherty was able to recover the cost of the dog -- but is still fighting to get the money spent on veterinary bills recovered.

"The last I heard from Household Pets is that Lee is handling the warranties," she said. "We've gotten no where."

JoAnn Carrin, director of communications for the Florida Office of Attorney General, said a complaint was filed against the Puppy Shoppe in Venice in June.

Grieco said he could not comment on the cases.

There have been several suits filed in Small Claims Court in both Sarasota and Manatee counties against The Puppy Shoppe, which list Lee Cabezas as the president.

Source: The Su Herald - Oct 8, 2004
Update posted on Oct 9, 2004 - 12:25PM

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References

	Venice Gondolier - Oct 2, 2004
	Herald Tribune - Oct 12, 2004

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Pet store neglectVenice, FL (US)

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Pet store neglect
Venice, FL (US)