Animal Legal Defense Fund files a class action lawsuit against pet store, Barkworks
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

ALDF Animal Legal Defense Fund
October 2011

The Animal Legal Defense Fund has filed a class action lawsuit against Barkworks, the pet store that sold Buddy, for repeatedly engaging in fraud and false advertising in an effort to conceal from customers that they are selling puppy mill puppies, who have a much higher rate of illness and health problems as a result of abusive breeding practices and inhumane living conditions.

April and Daniel Akiva were delighted to welcome Buddy, a three-month-old Cockapoo puppy, into their family. But their joy quickly turned to concern the evening they brought Buddy home from Barkworks, a Southern California pet store chain.

Buddy began coughing and was later diagnosed with kennel cough, a respiratory disorder. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with an ear infection, and less than two months later, when Buddy was just five months old, the Akivas rushed him to the vet for emergency medical treatment after he had shortness of breath and began foaming at the mouth. His lungs full of fluid, the young puppy died five days before Christmas.

Sadly, Buddy’s story is not unique. That’s why the Animal Legal Defense Fund has filed a class action lawsuit against Barkworks, the pet store that sold Buddy, for repeatedly engaging in fraud and false advertising in an effort to conceal from customers that they are selling puppy mill puppies, who have a much higher rate of illness and health problems as a result of abusive breeding practices and inhumane living conditions.

The Akivas, along with several other named plaintiffs in the case, and untold numbers of others, purchased extremely sick puppies from Barkworks, despite being given warranties that the animals were “fit for sale” and “not ill.” What’s more, the store misled countless customers about where their puppies came from. Prior to purchasing Buddy, April asked a Barkworks representative if the puppies they sold came from puppy mills -- she was explicitly told they did not.

Barkworks misrepresented the breeding history and health of its puppies in order to convince customers to purchase them, resulting in large profits for their business -- and heartbreak for countless dogs and their adoptive families.

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