Feb 4, 2006 12:15 am US/Pacific
Dirty Dogs: Is Your Best Friend From A Puppy Mill?
by David Goldstein
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
"What do you think of Kate?"
"I think she's the best dog ever."
Nine-year-old Janelle Dinsmore loves her golden retriever Kate.
"Your mom said you wanted a dog for a long time. Why?"
"Because they're so fun and entertaining and I get so lonely sometimes," Janelle said.
The Dinsmores shopped around for the right dog -- and were told Kate came from a reputable breeder in California.
Until the police told them the real story -- the dog was from Mexico.
"At that point I was really enraged, angry and sickened that I had basically been duped."
And she's not alone.
"He used to be our dog. He used to be your dog?"
Four-year-old Ava Bogart and her 7-year-old sister Adalia fell in love with their golden retriever puppy Goldie who came from the same litter.
"They loved the golden retriever. They wanted to get it and we finally decided to get it."
But Goldie -- who was also from Mexico -- got sick as soon as they got her home. They ended up returning the dog to the pet store after she was diagnosed with parasites and dehydrated.
"The vet told my wife that if we wouldn't have taken the dog to the vet it would have been dead in 24 hours."
These dogs weren't purchased from backyard breeders or fly by night puppy peddlers. Each was for sale for $2,000. One was purchased here at trendy Fashion Island in Newport Beach, the other at the Irvine Spectrum.
Both were bought at branches of Russo's Pet Store, where salespeople said the dogs were from California -- and even provided documentation. But the owners later discovered they were smuggled from Mexico.
"When you go to Fashion Island you don't expect to buy a $5 dollar dog off a truck that just came back from Mexico."
Becky Dinsmore is noticeably upset. That's because her puppy is facing two hip surgeries to fix genetic problems she believes stems from the dogs' breeding in Mexico.
At the San Diego border -- federal agents see puppies being imported illegally from Mexico all the time.
In a task force in December -- vehicle searches turned up hundreds of puppies under 3 months old. They were found hidden in a make-up bag and under blankets. And they have hidden dangers.
"Most of these puppies are too young, they have underlying diseases that we can't detect during a five-minute inspection."
But at Russo's pet store -- the owner, Dan DiGiacomo claims the dogs came from a reputable breeder. And DiGiacomo says the breeder told him the dogs came from California. They didn't and now he says he won't buy from him again.
"I took him at his word. I'm sorry I didn't check up on it. Obviously that was my mistake. But his dogs are quality. It's not like they aren't quality dogs," DiGiacomo said.
But tell that to the Bogart family who had to buy another dog to replace Goldie.
And to the Dinsmore's. Their dog Kate is facing two serious surgeries -- and many months of recovery they never expected.
"Our last dog we had for 18 years and we waited on purpose to get the right dog.
But we certainly should not be going through this."
(© 2006 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Stumble It!
