Advocating for the Rights of Misled and Defrauded Pet Shop Consumers
Working to end Pet Industry Consumer Fraud and Puppy Mills
New Jersey Consumers Against Pet Shop Abuse (NJCAPSA) is a federally approved, all-volunteer non-profit 501(c)(3) consumer and companion animal advocacy organization working to raise public awareness about the connection between pet stores, puppy mills and pet shop consumer fraud.
We help buyers with complaints against pet stores, breeders and other pet dealers, including Internet sellers, puppy resellers and brokers, and inform consumers of their rights under the New Jersey puppy lemon law.
We also research breeders, with an emphasis on Pennsylvania's puppy mills, and consult with experts and fact checkers in the fields of puppy mills, veterinary medicine, cruelty investigation, and animal behavior. These professionals provide their expertise and guidance to help us in our investigations and casework.
NJCAPSA is often called upon by NJ cruelty investigators, veterinarians, attorneys, local zoning and health department officials to provide thorough, up-to-date information on pet dealers and brokers. There is no charge for our services or educational materials, although donations of any amount are greatly appreciated and are fully tax deductible.
Sick puppy complaint?Due to the high volume of complaints we receive, we regret complaints will no longer be taken over the phone. If you purchased a sick puppy from a pet store, breeder or broker, OR have a question about a particular pet dealer, please fill out our complaint form or email us and we will respond within 24 hours. We will need copies of your paperwork, i.e. sales contract, veterinarian's certification of unfitness, etc. in order to expedite your complaint. No exceptions! Thank you for your cooperation! Forced to purchase a puppy health warranty?
Some stores are charging customers as much as $100 (or more) for so-called extended puppy health warranties that cover the same provisions as the NJ puppy lemon law. Please contact us if you paid for a warranty and/or were denied reimbursement of veterinary fees incurred to treat your sick puppy.
Consumer Alerts
Below is a partial list of puppy dealers (breeders, brokers and pet stores) on whom we’ve received complaints. Complaints as filed indicate one or more violations of the NJ Pet Purchase Protection Act. In addition, some of the pet dealers are operating as unlicensed kennels and barred from selling animals in their respective municipalities. If you purchased or “adopted” a puppy from any of the following individuals and feel your consumer rights were ignored, please contact us. You may be entitled to reimbursement under the NJ Consumer Fraud Act. For more details, seeALERTS
Barbara & Ted Back -Pups Rescue.netandP.E.T.S. Rescue
Alabama, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Kim Deslonde, Kearney, dbaPets for Keeps Jim and Barbara Hutton, Flemington, dbaHutton’s Precious Puppies Allan Levine, Millstone (also Clarksburg and Freehold) Vicki Patterson, Whitehouse Ann Marie Rice, West New York, dbaGuardian Angels Rescue
Denise Rhodes, Whitehall Road, Williamstown (Great Danes) Donna Marie Truex Roberts, Oak Shade Road, Shamong (also Indian Mills, Vincentown, Medford) William ‘Bill’ Roberts, traveling puppy broker from South Jersey, Gloucester County, Woodbury Pet Stores
BARK AVENUE, Red Bank PUPPY PALACE, Clementon & Moorestown
Attorney General Consent OrdersJean P. Ransdell, dba Ragdolls by Ransdellformerly of Randolph, NJ, now residing in Scottsdale, Arizona
This was our first cat case back in 2004, involving four complainants. Jean Ransdell sold Ragdoll cats that were certified unfit for sale due to congenital or genetic defects. Ransdell failed to disclose the conditions to buyers, failed to comply under the NJ Pet Purchase Protection Act and failed to reimburse buyers veterinary costs. Ransdell's buyers never gave up their quest for justice and we are pleased with the Attorney General's recent (Nov 10, 2009) Administrative Action. Click here to read the Consent Order. Victoria Patterson, dba Adoption Alliance aka NJ Collie and Rescue Referral
Patterson, aka Vicki Patterson, of Whitehouse Station, NJ, is a pet dealer who was posing as a rescue but importing dogs from commercial kennels/puppy mills for resale. Patterson is still engaged in the sale of dogs. Read the Consent Order.
Coming March 2010
SAVING GRACIEHow One Dog Escaped The Shadowy World Of American Puppy Mills
By award-winning journalistCarol Bradley
A compelling true story of one dog’s rescue from a Pennsylvania puppy mill
SAVING GRACIE (Howell Book House; Hardcover; $21.99; March 2010) chronicles how one little dog is transformed from a bedraggled animal worn out from bearing puppies into a loving, healthy member of her new family; and how her owner, Linda Jackson, is changed from a person who barely tolerated dogs to a woman passionately determined not only to save Gracie’s life, but also to get the word out about the millions of American puppy mill dogs who need our help.
Puppy mills have been around for decades and are one of America’s most shameful secrets. It is a hidden world of substandard kennels, where dogs are caged like chickens and forced to produce puppies over and over, until they can produce no more.
SAVING GRACIE traces this resilient dog’s journey out of a puppy mill, and tells the stories of the people who helped her along the way: from Cheryl Shaw, the humane society police officer who raided her kennel; to Lori Finnegan, the prosecutor who took Gracie’s breeder to court; to Pam Bair, who cared for Gracie in a shelter; and finally to Linda Jackson, the woman who gave her a permanent home.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CAROL BRADLEY is an award-winning former newspaper reporter who spent 26 years covering the U.S. Congress and state legislatures in Tennessee and New York and writing features and investigative stories in Montana. She studied Animal Law as a 2004 Nieman Fellow at Harvard. She has written about many aspects of animal welfare, including horse slaughtering, rodeos, animal hoarding, and animal cruelty. Carol resides in Great Falls, Montana.
For further information please visitCarolBradley.com
Some of our favorite sites For the most thorough puppy mill information: ANIMAL FOLKS MN Best animal blog with a pulse on Pennsylvania’s puppy mills,PHILLY DAWGby award winning Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Amy Worden gets our vote!
Super website for puppy mill legislation in Iowa (and great ideas for others in states fighting puppy mills):IOWA VOTERS FOR COMPANION ANIMALS
For your free puppy report and tons of info on puppy mills, nothing compares toPET SHOP PUPPIES.ORG
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