CA: Pet shop owners plead not guilty to list of charges

CA: Pet shop owners plead not guilty to list of charges
By Brian Hamlin/
Posted: 12/23/2009 01:03:15 AM PST
Updated: 12/23/2009 01:03:15 AM PST


A Dixon couple arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty last week after more than 90 high-priced, purebred puppies were confiscated from their pet shop and home have pleaded not guilty to charges including animal cruelty, grand theft, conspiracy to commit grand theft and illegally operating a lottery in the sale of the dogs.

Defendants Christopher John Ellis and Leeanna Kamp, both 29, of Dixon, appeared briefly before Superior Court Commissioner Barbara James on Monday and entered their pleas. They also were charged with child endangerment, prosecutors said, because of conditions in their home.

Each is being held on $50,000 bail; their attorneys indicated they would be seeking a reduction in bail, but Deputy District Attorney Melissa Marshall told the court that her office would be seeking to raise it.

According to the District Attorney's Office, the pair operated California Pets & Supply on East A Street in Dixon and also had an online business, YorkieAngel.com, which dealt in expensive canine breeds priced from $900 to more than $2,500.

Solano County District Attorney David Paulson said his office received several complaints from people who purchased dogs from the pair only to have the dogs become seriously ill or die within a short time. Responding to repeated complaints about the operation, DA investigators and Solano County Humane Animal Services served search warrants at the pet shop and the couple's Hackman Road home and seized 83 puppies.  On Friday, another 14 dogs were located and taken from cages on a lot off rural Fox Road.  During the search, investigators reported finding unsafe conditions in the couple's home and shop and temporarily removed their 22-month-old daughter, who later was placed in the care of relatives.

Chief District Attorney Investigator Al Garza said the county had received more than 25 calls on the case by Friday and complaints continued to come in from people throughout the state who had purchased dogs from Ellis and Kamp. Anyone with information about dogs from the couple's businesses, Garza said, can call 784-6859 or e-mail to dacepu@solanocounty.com

The dogs seized over the weekend are being cared for by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Vacaville. According to SPCA president Dave Roth, the puppies were suffering from a variety of problems, ranging from ear mites to ringworm to giardia intestinal infections. Five of them, he said, were seriously ill and fighting for their lives.

The biggest worry, he said, is that there's no documentation that any of the puppies have been vaccinated for distemper or parvovirus and will have to remain under a 21-day quarantine. If parvovirus develops, it could wipe out the pups.  "There's no saving them if they get it," Roth explained. "Right now we're keeping the little guys alive. That's our task, keeping them safe."

Because of the unexpected influx of puppies, the SPCA is in need of blankets, towels and cleaning supplies as well as puppy food. To find out what's needed most on any given day, call the SPCA at 448-7720.

Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_14054912?nclick_check=1

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Woman Accused Of Selling Sick Dogs Denies Charges
David Begnaud
DIXON, Calif. (CBS13) ―

The woman who is charged with knowingly selling sick dogs from a Dixon pet store denied the accusations to CBS13, and called the additional charge of mistreating her child an "absolute lie."

When CBS13 approached Leanna Kamp after she was released from the Solano County Jail on Wednesday, she immediately recoiled away from our camera and started crying, saying she's financially and emotionally broken.  "I love them [the dogs], I do," she said.

Investigators seized more than 100 dogs from her Dixon pet store last week after customers complained that the dogs they bought from the store were sick. April Escobedo told CBS13 she paid $1,200 for a Tea Cup Yorkie that tested positive for Parvo and had to be euthanized just days after she purchased it.

Officers arrested Christopher John Derek Ellis and Leanna Rachelle Kamp last week on charges of animal cruelty and the illegal operation of online lotteries, according to the Solano County District Attorney's Office. Kamp vehemently denied knowing that the dogs were sick when she sold them. When asked about the additional charge of mistreating her child, Kamp said, "That's absolutely a lie." Kamp then said her lawyer advised her not to talk.

Christopher Ellis is still in custody.

The seized dogs are still in quarantine, and there is no estimate on when they will be available to adopt.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Source: http://cbs13.com/local/leanne.kamp.sick.2.1389026.html