BEL AIR—The court case involving Pets of Bel Air, a pet store that had been formerly patronized by celebrities in the Bel Air location on 2924 Beverly Glen Circle, is now coming to a close, according to attorney Wayne S. Kreger, of the Millstein, Adelman, and Kreger LLP Injury Law Group in Santa Monica.  The lawsuit judgment, which began in December of 2007, found that the store was illegally selling its animals from puppy mills.

Puppies pictured from the Pets of Bel Air Web site.

"Some of these puppies were inflicted with the parvovirus," Kreger said on March 3 to Canyon News.  "It is inhumane the way they are bred and it is inhumane the way they are shipped."

The Online Academic Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica reads that the canine-parvovirus-disease "is an acute viral infection in dogs characterized by a severe enteritus that is associated with bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration.  The disease is spread by either direct contact with infected dogs or by exposure to the virus in feces from infected dogs.  Young dogs are especially susceptible." 

"Typically, puppies who were raised in puppy mills have maladies and illnesses that puppies who were not raised in puppy mills do not have," Kreger stated. "They are shipped in crates with no food and no water, and are surrounded by feces, where they likely contract the deadly virus."

Kreger confirmed that parvo is contagious and that other animals who do not have the virus can be affected. "It's kind of like having a baby, and bringing in another child with an infectious illness that you did not know about until later," he said.  "If you have a puppy and bring in another puppy that turned out to have parvo, then you just hold your breath and hope that your puppy doesn't get it.  But if the animal you purchased was raised in a puppy mill, then it increases the chances of his having the virus exorbitantly."

Kreger further reports that Pets of Bel Air was mass-breeding small-breed animals for sale and keeping them in bare wire cages. "These were inbred puppies that you can buy locally for $50 to $100," he said, "but Pets of Bel Air was selling them as pure breeds for $2,000 to $3,000."

Customers had purchased young animals from Pets of Bel Air that usually died within a few weeks of being purchased. The store closed out of business in December, 2007, shortly after the case opened.  However, the Pets of Bel Air web site at http://www.petsofbelair.com states that all of the puppies are from local private breeders.  It is claims that the animals have health warranties. There is also a sister store called Puppies and Babies in West Hollywood.

"We filed a class action for false advertising against the store," Kreger explained, "and the court agreed to certify the action, because a large amount of customers had been affected by this store's misrepresentations."

Kreger said that the outcomes and results of the lawsuit indicate that the case is now closed. "We're not stopping here, though," he affirmed. "We are inclined to get compensation by the defendants for over 800-900 customers.  We don't know their names and addresses yet, but we do hope to help them recover from being defrauded by this company."

A Los Angeles judge ordered documentation on February 23 of the plaintiffs' losses, and scheduled an additional hearing on April 21, 2009.