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Amity Kennel is Sued By State

Posted on: Thursday, 27 April 2006, 12:01 CDT

By Steven Henshaw, Reading Eagle, Pa.

Apr. 27--An Amity Township kennel owner sold sick or diseased dogs and deceived the buyers about their rights, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Berks County Court by state Attorney General Tom Corbett.

The suit seeks to close Bullie Pups R Us, 313 W. Morlatton Road, until its owner, Traci Murai, pays restitution, fines and other costs.

Those amounts have not been determined yet.

Bureau of Consumer Protection agents said Murai, who imports and sells English bulldogs, has sold more than 250 dogs nationally since 2004. Customers paid $1,350 to $2,400 for each puppy.

At least seven of the dogs had health problems and three those seven died, said Barbara Petito, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office. The buyers contacted state officials The alleged victims live New Hampshire, Maryland Florida, California, Georgia New York and Massachusetts.

Murai required customers sign a contract forfeiting their rights under the state's "puppy lemon law," Petito said.

"That's what makes this case more egregious," Petito said "Not only did she charge a lot money for these puppies, (but people who bought them were made to feel they had no re course if they unfortunately got a sick or diseased animal." In an e-mail, Murai said a lawyer approved her contracts and that she has cooperated with investigators.

"They have totally taken this out of context and turned me into a dishonest monster and I am the total opposite from that," she wrote.

Her lawyer, Steven Nierenberg, said Murai had determined the puppies were healthy when she sold them.

According to investigators: Murai sold puppies that were sick, had infectious diseases, congenital or genetic defects or were falsely represented as healthy dogs.

Murai ignored those buyers' attempts to contact her about the health problems.

She also failed to honor buyers' requests for reimbursement -- up to the purchase price of the puppy -- for veterinary bills or other medical treatments as required under the law.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Reading Eagle, Pa.

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Source: Reading Eagle

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