Bought a Sick Pet Store Puppy? What You Can Do

Posted on by NHARL in Campaigns - Puppy Stores

Many people unknowingly buy a sick puppy from a New Hampshire pet store. If this happens to you, there are things you can do to help prevent it from happening to other people and puppies. Contact us if you need help.

1. Contact the Better Business Bureau. You can file a complaint online with the Better Business Bureau. This is an important step because Better Business Bureau reports stay on file and are available for others to read.
2. Contact the New Hampshire attorney general and file a Consumer Complaint. You can file your complaint electronically or by printing and mailing a form.

3. Contact animal control. Animal control in the town/city where the pet store is located may not have jurisdiction over the store, but it’s good to alert them to your situation. Animal control officers are busy people, so be prepared to leave a message.

  • Manchester Animal Control: (603) 792-5461
  • Nashua Animal Control (Bob Langis):
    (603) 594-3500
  • Hudson Animal Control:
    (603) 886-6011 or
    (603) 889-PETS (7387) or
    jmcmillan@hudsonnh.gov
  • Lebanon Police: (603) 448-1212
4. Contact the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture and make a complaint. Call (603) 271-3551 (8:00 am–4:00 pm, M-F) or send email to the following three addresses:
  • Dr. Nathan Harvey, Assistant State Veterinarian: nathan.d.harvey@agr.nh.gov
  • Anna Richards, Veterinary Technician: anna.l.roberts@agr.nh.gov
  • Pet vendor complaints: petvendingcomplaints@agr.nh.gov

5. Contact the media. Local news outlets are always looking for human/animal interest stories. Reach out to New Hampshire newspapers, radio stations, and television channels via “tip lines” or contact an investigative reporter directly. Provide as much documentation as you can (photos, video, receipts). 

  • To Contact WMUR, call (603) 669-9999 or send email to breakingnews@wmur.com
  • To contact the Union Leader call (603) 668-4321 ext. 757 or email news@unionleader.com
  • To contact NHPR, call (603) 228-8910 or email news@nhpr.org

6. File a complaint with the breed club or registry. If your puppy came with breed registration papers, contact the registry. You might also contact the parent breed club for the breed of your dog.

What Happened to Gus?

Posted on by NHARL in Campaigns - Puppy Stores

This was Gus. He was our puppy and he died at puppy palace...

— Holly B. (Yelp reviewer)
Gus the puppy

On July 22, 2023, a woman named Holly B. reviewed The Puppy Palace on Yelp and told the world how Gus, the puppy her family had planned to take home, died at The Puppy Palace.

(Note: Please disregard Yelp’s “Not Recommended” rating for Holly’s review. The site’s automated software likely mistook it for an unhelpful “rant” because it’s long and her only review.) 

A short, sad life

Puppy mills are large-scale breeding operations that put profit before the well being of dogs. The Puppy Palace in Manchester, NH sells dogs from puppy mills located in the Midwest. One of those dogs was Gus.

Bred in Missouri, Gus arrived at The Puppy Palace on May 25, 2023 in poor health and was not seen by a veterinarian for seven days. When finally examined, the veterinary report shows that Gus was riddled with hookworm and Giardia.

Veterinary report for Gus

According to Holly, Gus also had a cough that she noticed days after his arrival.

He was lethargic, his eyes and nose were runny, and he was not gaining weight like a healthy puppy.

— Holly B.

Holly goes on to write that the store told her that Gus had some kind of respiratory issue and would be treated with antibiotics.

On June 7, Holly went to see Gus, but he was not on display with the other puppies. According to her review, she was told Gus was heavily sedated due to his antibiotic treatment and was resting in the back.

Gus was found dead the morning of June 8, 2023 when staff opened the store.

March 27, 2024 — Remembering Gus on what would have been his 1st birthday

Gus was only one of many sick puppies

Gus is just one of many sick dogs who have passed through The Puppy Palace in Manchester. Below we share accounts of some other sick puppies and their stories.

You can find many more complaints about The Puppy Palace on Yelp and Google reviews.

About Kilo the Puppy

We caught up with this very unhappy customer outside The Puppy Palace on July 29, 2023. His puppy, named Kilo, was extremely sick.

About Alicia’s Puppy

In July 2024, the following review from Alicia Boisvert appeared briefly on The Puppy Palace website before being removed. 

About Chili the Puppy

My son bought his dog there…..$6,000 later! Picked up his Husky on Sunday August 27th….assured he was all healthy and ready to go home. Well on Tuesday (2 days later) he was at the emergency room veterinary hospital with a very sick dog. $$$$. My son WILL be taking legal action. It’s funny how the sales person was checking in to see how the puppy was doing. When my son told him the dog was very sick…. Those texts stopped immediately. I wonder why?! They knowingly sold a sick puppy!

— Angela DeVito Savastano (Facebook comment)