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Pennsylvania buyer blames Iowa breeder for puppy who died
Does Iowa need a puppy lemon law?
Erin Jordan
May. 6, 2024 5:30 am, Updated: May. 6, 2024 7:47 am
Lauren Stevenson wanted a Maltese papillon mix — or papitese — puppy just as cute, energetic and hypoallergenic as her 13-year-old papitese Dexter.
The Philadelphia resident searched online and found SE Iowa Country Puppies in Lee County. She put down a $250 deposit on a male papitese born Dec. 15 and waited until he was old enough to leave his mother.
Within hours of picking up the puppy — named Lemmy — from a transport van Feb. 27, the dog was throwing up blood, Stevenson said. She took him to the pet hospital twice and he died within a week.
“Not only was that painful/heartbreaking to witness, but I am now nearly $8,000 deep in vet bills for a dog I only owned for one day,” Stevenson wrote in an email to The Gazette.
Stevenson, 29, blames the breeder and Iowa for not having a so-called puppy lemon law that would require breeders to reimburse buyers if a puppy gets sick or dies from a pre-existing condition.
SE Iowa Country Puppies owner Heather Anderson says the dog had a clean bill of health when he left Iowa. She refunded Stevenson’s $1,000 payment, but said the breeder is not responsible for vet bills.
“He was 100 percent great or I wouldn’t have sent him,” Anderson said.
The conflict illustrates the challenges of a U.S. dog breeding industry that has boomed to more than 1.3 million estimated puppies born in licensed facilities in 2021, but has minimal regulation, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
As more Americans search online for specific dog breeds, puppy transport services have popped up to drive or fly dogs across the country. This system doesn’t allow for consumer safeguards, such as buyers meeting the mother dog and seeing where she lives.
“I know a lot of people would purchase from a distance,” said Lee County Sheriff’s Detective Chad Donaldson. “Me personally, I’d like to see them (dogs) in person. I’d like to see where they are bred and make sure I’m not inadvertently creating an environment where this can continue to happen.”
Iowa known for puppy mills
Iowa had 15 “problem puppy breeders and dealers” on the Humane Society of the United States’s Horrible Hundred list, released this week. Iowa ranked third on the list behind Missouri and Ohio.
“The entire Midwest is where the puppy mill industry is centered,” said John Goodwin, senior director of the society’s Stop Puppy Mills campaign.
As agriculture consolidated and fewer families could survive with small farms, many turned to raising pets for profit, he said. Iowa has 1,239 breeders licensed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which means they get regular inspections. But the system is lax, Goodwin said.
“Even places that don’t make this list are keeping dogs in terrible conditions just because the federal rules for commercial dog breeding are so poor,” he said.
Many breeders operate under the radar.
“The other, unlicensed breeders are typically more problematic,” Donaldson said. “We have to follow up with criminal code sections for animal neglect. There’s are a lot of animals typically found at these locations. They are very difficult cases.”
Authorities removed 131 dogs from a puppy farm near Riverside last summer. Eight dogs died from health issues and a ninth was killed because of temperament issues related to treatment at the farm.
Name change for Lee County breeder
SE Iowa Country Puppies sells golden retriever, Pomeranian, Labrador, dachshund and Shih Tzu puppies, according to the company website.
Anderson is a licensed breeder, whose most recent USDA inspections, including March 27, found no violations. The company website says puppies are vaccinated and microchipped. Anderson and her mother, Lora Lampe, take classes every year through the Iowa Pet Breeders Association.
Lampe was included on the 2017 Horrible Hundred list after USDA inspections showed some dogs in need of medical treatment and unsanitary conditions, the Humane Society of the U.S. reported.
Anderson said the USDA inspector who filed those reports was biased against female breeders.
“Once you’re written up, they don’t take it back,” she said. “It’s all online for everyone to see.”
The family decided to put the license under Anderson’s name.
Goodwin said it’s common for puppy breeders to change names or addresses to avoid being linked to past incidents. Wuanita Swedlund, a Cantril breeder named on the 2024 Horrible Hundred list, was forced to downsize this past winter after failing six USDA inspections. She operates on the farm of Steve Kruse, a repeat offender, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported.
Does Iowa need tougher laws?
More than a dozen U.S. states have puppy lemon laws.
Minnesota’s law outlines rights for buyers and sellers. If, within 10 days after a buyer gets an animal, a veterinarian says the animal has a health problem that existed at the time of the delivery or if the pet dies within one year of a hereditary defect, the animal is declared unfit for sale.
If the animal dies, the pet seller must give the buyer a refund or provide an equivalent animal and reimburse them for vet bills up to the full original purchase price.
Iowa Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville, wants Iowa to strengthen laws to reduce the chances of animal mistreatment at puppy farms. But he’s not sure the state needs a puppy lemon law.
“It’s part of the buyer’s responsibility too,” he said. “If I was getting a dog from a breeder, I’d ask for names of one or two people who purchased dogs and find out how they were healthwise.”
In the case of Lemmy, the papitese puppy, a veterinarian inspection Feb. 24 showed no signs of infectious or communicable diseases before transport. Anderson did not have the vet check the dog’s feces for worms because the pup seemed healthy, she said.
After arriving in Philly, Lemmy was diagnosed with intestinal parasites, which were causing hypoglycemia and seizures, according to a text thread Stevenson shared with The Gazette.
Pet transport services
Puppy Travelers, based in Neosho, MO., drove Lemmy nearly 1,000 miles in a van from Southeast Iowa to Philadelphia.
“We met at a shopping center parking lot,” Stevenson said. “My dog was only a pound. He was covered with poop and pee.”
Puppy Travelers, which specializes in transporting “teacup” puppies and kittens, has routes through 24 states, according to its website. Seven USDA license holders drive for Puppy Travelers, but none has any inspections online. The Gazette left a message for the general manager Wednesday, but he did not call back.
Goodwin, with the Humane Society, said puppy transport services are riskier than rescue vans full of adult dogs because puppies have immature immune systems and can be infected by other dogs.
“When are you going to inspect them?” Goodwin asked. “You can show up Monday when they leave, but that won’t show the conditions inside the van during the trip.”
How to find a responsible dog breeder
Visit the breeder and spend time with the dog’s mother.
Check the area where the mother dog lives and where the puppies will live. Is it clean? Is there enough room for the dogs to move around? Too many animals could be a red flag.
Ask to see veterinary records for the puppy’s parents and the puppy. You may want to have genetic testing done for some breeds.
Consider adopting a dog from an animal shelter or rescue.
More information is available from the Humane Society of the U.S.
Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com