HOUSTON – The Houston Humane Society is looking into complaints after a representative said it received multiple calls from people claiming they bought sick, dying puppies from a breeder who knew the animals were ill.
Keishae Thomas said she learned the lesson the hard way. She bought an adorable maltipoo to be the family pet for her three young children. Less than 24 hours after bringing the puppy home and spending $1,000 on purchase and vet bills, the dog was dead from parvo.
"My daughter went into the bathroom to check on it," Thomas said. "She was petting it, and she was like, 'Mommy, why is the puppy not moving?' And that's when we found out it passed away."
Thomas bought the dog from a breeder named Jesse Vazquez. Vazquez was sued by then Texas attorney general Greg Abbott for selling sick, dying puppies from his store in McAllen in 2006. The Houston Humane Society said multiple people reported buying sick puppies from Vazquez recently in the Houston area. Their concern is that more buyers will become victims as the Christmas season approaches -- a popular time for new pets.
"Department stores are running more ads, trying to get buyers to come to them," Houston Humane Society representative Monica Schmidt said. "It's the same thing with the puppy breeders. But unfortunately, it's not the same as just going and buying an electronic device that you can easily read a review online."
Vazquez also goes by the name of Jesse Balderas. The Thomas family was able to find a new puppy from a different breeder but are considering legal action against Vazquez.