Puppy smuggler selling puppies from car
Paramount, CA (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Mar 15, 2006
County: Los Angeles

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Maria Barrera

Sick, underage puppies were confiscated and a woman who allegedly offered to sell them to an undercover officer was arrested in a sting operation on March 15 near Spane Park.

The arrest and confiscations represent the second phase of Southland animal rescue agencies' efforts to stop the "puppy pipeline," a network of breeders and smugglers who sneak puppies across the border from Mexico into California.

A SouthEast Area Animal Control Authority officer went undercover as a prospective buyer of a cocker spaniel-poodle mix puppy that was advertised in a Penny-Saver magazine. She set up a meeting with the seller near Spane Park for noon on March 15.

The seller agreed to meet her there and make the sale from her car on a street corner, authorities said.

Seconds after the undercover officer handed over $400 in marked bills for the fluffy white puppy, animal rescue officers swarmed the corner with their guns drawn and arrested Maria Barrera of Los Angeles.

Cpt. Aaron Reyes, director of operations at SEAACA, said that this fits the profile of puppy smugglers. They often use an alias, make contacts using a throw-away cell phone, and sell the puppies from the backs of cars in parking lots or street corners far from where they live, he said.

Barrera was arrested on suspicion of selling underaged puppies and failure to provide veterinary care to the puppies, both misdemeanors.

Barrera, who owns a Compton pet shop, could receive up to $1,000 in fines and one year in jail.

Reyes said the two puppies Barrera attempted to sell the officer for $400 each were too thin and had worms.

A SEAACA veterinarian said the puppies appeared to be no older than seven weeks. Puppies under eight weeks of age cannot be sold.

"I'm not a violent person," Barrera said as she was handcuffed. "I'm just trying to make a living."

After arresting Barrera, SEAACA and Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCALA) officers served a search warrant at her Los Angeles home.

They found a large amount of cash in the home, and possible contacts in a network of puppy smugglers, said Reyes. Authorities also took a parrot and two dogs from the home because they were in poor condition and had no food.

The sale of these puppies has become more popular in Southland communities in the past year, and animal rescue agencies are geared up to fight the practice, said Reyes.

"We've only just begun," he said. "We're going to make it very difficult on puppy sellers. We've seen too many hearts broken and too many puppies die."

In December, the Border Puppy Task Force, a group of animal rescue agencies organized by SEAACA, spent two weeks at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa border checkpoints searching vehicles for smuggled puppies.

Hundreds of young, unvaccinated puppies were found during the task force's census operation at the border.

"We see puppies packaged up together in mixed litters, under seats and in speaker boxes," said Reyes.

He added that many of the puppies have compromised immune systems from being separated too early from their mothers, and as a result contract usually fatal diseases such as parvovirus and distemper.

Consumers often buy these puppies, which are bought for $125 to $200 in Mexico and sold here for $400 to $600, only to watch them die days later.

The Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals participated in the Border Puppy Task Force and Wednesday's sting.

Madeline Bernstein, president of SPCALA, said that selling sick, underaged puppies is abusive to the animals and "massive consumer fraud." She added that there are many homeless animals already living in shelters.

"With our agencies sharing information and working together now, you'll be seeing a lot more of this," Bernstein said.

References

• « CA State Animal Cruelty Map
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