Los Angeles sues Wagmor Pets over $2,000 rescue puppy price tags

Los Angeles officials filed a lawsuit accusing Wagmor Pets of selling puppies for up to $2,000, a price point that vastly exceeds the state legal limit of $500 for rescue animals. The suit, filed by City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, asserts that the business operated a "puppy laundering" scheme by purchasing animals from commercial breeders and puppy mills rather than rescuing stray dogs.

According to the complaint, the organization presented these commercially bred animals as rescues to buyers seeking to avoid supporting the pet industry. A press release from the city attorney’s office stated that consumers were misled into financially supporting the very breeding industry they intended to bypass. The lawsuit suggests the operation involved hundreds, and potentially thousands, of such transactions.

Kim Sill, a board member of Shelter Hope Pet Shop, said she has received complaints from the public for years regarding Wagmor’s pricing and record-keeping. She claimed the owner manipulated financial records to disguise where the funds went. "She's been selling them way over $2,000 and cooking the books to make it look like it's going to different places and that's against the law," Sill said.

The owner of Wagmor Pets rejects the new legal action, characterizing it as a rehash of previous claims that were litigated and dismissed. She defended the business on social media, asserting that the new allegations are false. "The allegations are not true, and we will prove it in court, just like last time," she wrote.

The dispute centers on the financial mechanics of the rescue model and the legal definition of a rescue animal in California. While the city argues the high price tags and sourcing methods violate state regulations, the business maintains its practices are consistent with its past successful defenses in court.