A Wisconsin woman has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of cruelty to animals after selling puppies she allegedly knew to be carrying a deadly and contagious disease.
According to police, 37-year-old Jacqulyn Hutchison of Kenosha sold at least four shepherd-pit bull mix puppies with parvovirus.
The disease affects the gastrointestinal tracts of dogs and is spread via contact between dogs, as well as through contaminated feces, reported FOX8.
Legal records indicate Hutchison sold the sick puppies on Craigslist in June. The four families who purchased the puppies later contacted police after discovering the animals had parvovirus.
It was later discovered that Hutchison was also adverting the puppies on Facebook using the alias Autumn Carpper.
Mary Shackett told WDJT said it was “love at first sight” when she saw the advertisements for the puppies on Facebook, and decided to purchase one that seemed to be the runt of the litter, naming the puppy “Bo.”
“I was super excited,” she said.
But Shackett said that after she picked up the puppy, she could tell that something was off. “He was so small, and the feeling of his skin felt a little different,” she said.
She was told the puppy had fleas, however after a visit to the vet, she discovered that Bo’s health was much a lot worse than she was led to believe.
“He had ringworm, heartworm, Parvo, he was underweight,” she told the CBS affiliate. Bo, the dog she considered a family member, passed away about a month later.
“I tried everything to save him, just like I’d do for my own children,” Shackett said.
Another victim, who wants to remain anonymous, claims to have paid Hutchison $150 for a puppy, reported Fox News.
“The next day it was still sick. It wasn’t eating. It was having diarrhea. We took it to the vet, tested parvo,” said the victim.
Another victim told the news outlet: “It was depressing. My daughter got them for her graduation gift, and she full on took care of the dog, and then she woke up to give him his medicine and take him out and he was already gone.”
A Kenosha woman has been charged with several counts of mistreating animals after she admitted to knowingly selling puppies that were ill with a deadly and contagious disease. https://t.co/YHlcYCDqkD
— FOX61 (@FOX61News) August 26, 2019
After receiving multiple complaints, officers went to Hutchison’s home in Kenosha and determined that “the defendant immediately knew that the puppies were in danger of parvo from being exposed to the grass area,” according to a criminal complaint.
Hutchison also told officers that she had been buying and selling puppies online for four years, reported Fox News.
During the investigation, officers said they found ten dogs on a wooden deck covered in feces—which is where Hutchison reportedly kept the puppies she had been selling.
Hutchison is facing up to eight years in prison if found guilty. She is set to appear in court next week.
Canine Parvovirus
American Veterinary Medical Association, canine parvovirus is highly contagious and can affect all dogs, with unvaccinated dogs and puppies less than four months old being most at risk of infection.
“The virus can also contaminate kennel surfaces, food and water bowls, collars and leashes, and the hands and clothing of people who handle infected dogs,” the association states on it website. “It is resistant to heat, cold, humidity, and drying, and can survive in the environment for long periods of time.”
