A two-month-old Shih Tzu and Bichon Frise mix died this month, just days after it was purchased from The Dog House pet store in Manchester. The puppy was diagnosed with the parvovirus.
It’s the same illness that cut short the lives of two puppies in February. The puppies' owners claimed The Dog House sold them sick animals, but store owners denied knowing the dogs had parvo. An NBC Troubleshooters investigation discovered a dozen consumer complaints about sick dogs over the past six years against the store. The Dog House also had a history of failed state inspections due to improper paperwork.
Last week, the State Department of Agriculture took action after confirming the latest parvo death. It ordered The Dog House into a 14-day quarantine to make sure the virus doesn’t spread. That means none of the 34 dogs currently in the store can be sold during that time, and the store can't take in more animals either.
“Our concern now is to see if any other animals that came in with that litter break also with the canine parvovirus,” said Department of Agriculture spokesman Ray Connors.
Store owner Dick Carty tells us in a statement, “This is an unfortunate situation that emerged after receiving this particular dog from a new breeder. That relationship has been terminated. Once we were made aware of this, we urged the dog owner to allow our vet to treat the animal, which she refused. This is an isolated case. We are working closely with the state which has issued a temporary quarantine of our retail facility as is standard procedure.”
