Secret Investigation Found Puppies Abused In Chelsea Pet Store, Humane Society Says

CHELSEA, NY — A high-end Chelsea pet store abuses its dogs and hides illnesses in puppies from buyers, according to an investigation from the Humane Society of the U.S.

The Chelsea Kennel Club was found to have routinely mistreated sick puppies and lied to buyers about the dogs' health in an undercover investigation launched by the Humane Society. The pet store, which also provides grooming services, sold some of its dogs for more than $4,000, the group said.

The Humane Society, which says it selected the Chelsea pet store at 213 Seventh Ave. at random, began to look at it in April 2017. An undercover investigator got a job at the store and, during the roughly two months she worked there, documented her experience using a hidden camera and a logbook. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

According to the investigator, the pet shop routinely failed to adequately treat sick puppies and often obscured longterm illness from buyers by telling them their newly purchased canines had simple colds.

In addition to the undercover investigator, the Humane Society deployed two "secret shoppers" to buy puppies from the Chelsea Kennel Club. In one of the sales, store employees told the Humane Society's buyer that a shiba inu puppy named Gertie had a cough, according to the investigation. Gertie was later diagnosed with bronchitis and pneumonia and might have permanent lung scarring, the Humane Society said.

The investigator also said she witnessed at least three employees "smack at puppies, pick them up by the scruff, yell at them or forcibly hold them down while the puppies cringed and sometimes cried out in fear."

The 44-day investigation was launched as part of the Humane Society's initiative to stop the use of puppy mills and discourage potential dog owners from shopping at pet stores, which the group says often mistreat animals. Some of the dogs sold at the Chelsea Kennel Club were linked to puppy mills, according to the investigation.

The Humane Society said it shared its findings with the New York attorney general's office and Mayor Bill de Blasio's office.

The attorney general's office said in a statement that it had been in touch with the Humane Society and that they "do plan to look into their complaint."

"We have zero tolerance for animal cruelty, and are investigating this facility," a spokeswoman for the mayor said in a statement.

Both the NYPD and the city's health department sent investigators to the pet store on Tuesday.

A man who answered the phone at Chelsea Kennel Club on Tuesday morning, who identified himself only as Anthony, denied the allegations of abuse at the pet store.

"The only comment I have on that is that the video is obviously old," Anthony said. "I've been working here for two months and I've never seen any of that."

"I'm a veteran who fell in love with animals after leaving the military," he added. "I wouldn't work a job that would abuse animals because I find that I'm closer to animals than people."

The pet store's website promises dogs that are "healthy, loved and lovable."

"Our puppies come to us with veterinarian-issued health certificates, and they are examined again by our vet and issued again with health certificates when they arrive at Chelsea Kennel Club," according to the website.

Lead photo courtesy of the HSUS. Photo caption: A pomeranian puppy's infected eyes stuck shut and her nose oozing mucus, in the back room at Chelsea Kennel Club, 6-26-2017. Secondary photo via Ciara McCarthy / Patch.