A pet store in Escondido and another in Santee have been ordered by San Diego County Superior Court Judge Eddie Sturgeon to stop selling puppies. Broadway Puppies in Escondido and Pups & Pets in Santee were issued a temporary restraining order on Wednesday.
The order says the stores must stop their sales until they are in compliance with California law. Environmental attorney Bryan Pease said like many other stores selling puppies, Broadway Puppies and Pups & Pets have been fraudulently labeling puppy mill puppies as “rescues” to evade California law against selling non-rescue dogs in pet shops.
Jan. 1, 2019 marked the start of the Pet Rescue and Adoption Act in which California became the first state in the country to ban the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at pet stores unless the animals come from a shelter. The law is aimed at “puppy mills” and millions of dollars a year spent by the state to euthanize animals in shelters across California.
Nonprofit organizations Animal Protection and Rescue League, Companion Animal Protection Society, and Not One Animal Harmed as well as those who have purchased animals from the stores in North and East counties, have sued Broadway Puppies and Pups & Pets as well as the “fake” rescue used by the stores, said Pease, who is representing the nonprofits and customers.
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The cited stores as well as another pet store in National City are owned by David Salinas.
The lawsuit claims that all of Salinas’ pet shops violate California’s ban on puppy mills because they procure the dogs from a Missouri-based breeder that “fraudulently holds itself out as a ‘rescue’ organization to launder puppies from puppy mills to pets stores including National City Puppy, Broadway Puppies, Pups & Pets, and other stores owned by Salinas,” according to the lawsuit.
The court previously ordered National City Puppy to stop selling puppies in January, and voters followed up in March by overwhelmingly approving Measure J to make sure the store stays closed. But, the court closed down due to COVID-19 measures before the injunction could be expanded to more stores.
The order issued on June 3 during a telephonic court appearance also requires Missouri-based Pet Connect Rescue, Inc., which Pease says “is a fake rescue brokering puppies from puppy mills,” to stop doing business in California unless in compliance with California law.
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George Najjar, the attorney representing Salinas, said the stores “are presently in the process of taking the necessary steps to come into compliance, and as soon as they are, will return to court. Until then, my clients will fully comply with California law and the judge’s order.”
The defendants are due back in court June 18 to show why the order should not remain in effect until the rest of the lawsuit is heard.
Both stores last weekend were issued citations over the weekend by the San Diego Humane Society’s Humane Law Enforcement team for selling puppies illegally.
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