City Sues Wagmor Pets Over $2,000 Rescue Puppy Prices

The City of Los Angeles filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing Wagmor Pets of operating a financial scheme involving the resale of commercial dogs. The city alleges the organization purchased hundreds, or possibly thousands, of animals from breeders and puppy mills before selling them to the public as rescue pets.

City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto stated that buyers thought they were adopting animals in need but were instead funding the commercial breeding industry they hoped to avoid. The lawsuit argues that Wagmor Pets misrepresented the origin of the dogs to secure higher prices from consumers.

Kim Sill, a board member at Shelter Hope Pet Shop, noted that complaints about the business had circulated for years. She pointed out that California law caps the adoption fee for rescue dogs at $500. Sill claimed Wagmor Pets charged customers more than $2,000 per dog and manipulated its financial records to hide the true destination of those funds.

The owner of Wagmor Pets rejected the claims, describing the new suit as a repetition of older cases that were already dismissed. She used social media to argue that the current allegations mirror previous litigation where the business was found not to have acted improperly.

The owner stated that the accusations are false and promised to prove their invalidity in the courtroom. The case is now set to proceed through the Los Angeles municipal court system.

The lawsuit marks the latest legal challenge to the financial practices of a high-profile animal welfare organization in Southern California.