Pet store neglect
Stuart, FL (US)Incident Date: Monday, Jan 27, 2003
County: Martin
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Mike Michelle Guerra
Mike Guerra, Puppy Country pet store owner, was arrested January 27, 2003, and then released from the Martin County Jail on $2,000 bail. He faces a misdemeanor charge of violation of the consumer guarantee on the sale of animals.
The arrest came almost five months after Tracey Wallace bought a puppy named Chloe from Guerra's store. Wallace said Chloe's veterinarian calls the dog "a genetic nightmare." "She goes into breathing fits -- cries, yelps -- because she gets scared," said Wallace.
Chloe is the second sick puppy Wallace has gotten from Guerra. The first died two weeks after she bought it and Guerra offered Chloe as a replacement. Now, Wallace said Chloe would also die from an irreversible condition called "collapsing trachea." "As she gets bigger, it's going to collapse and cause her to suffocate," said Wallace.
Wallace isn't the only one complaining. The Martin County sheriff's office and the Better Business Bureau have gotten several complaints about Puppy Country. "This morning, we got about four calls from people wanting to make a complaint," said Jenell Atlas in the sheriff's office.
The Better Business Bureau has filed two complaints against Guerra, but the Pet Lemon Law arrest is the first in the area. "We have been working with him for a number of years, trying to get him to comply, but he would not," said the BBB's Jacqueline McNeal.
Wallace went to the sheriff's office after Guerra would not return the more than $750 she paid for the dog. References« FL State Animal Cruelty Map
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