A home improvement contractor who was already feeling the heat from unhappy customers is now facing thousands of dollars in fines from a state agency tied to allegations of illegally transporting and selling puppies out of his Fall River, Massachusetts, home.
Larry Westgate imported dogs from Pennsylvania without the required medical certificates from a veterinarian, according to an enforcement action from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
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Westgate is then accused of selling dozens of puppies without a license to operate as a pet shop from his Fall River home.
The violations tallied $23,000 in fines, but state law caps the total penalty at $10,000 per enforcement action.
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Ally Blanck, the director of advocacy for the Animal Rescue League of Boston, explained why those laws are in place.
“It’s important for a lot of reasons. Most of them have to do with the health and safety of the animals,” Blanck said. “Nationwide, there have a number of issues with puppies coming from out of state that have bacteria that is transferred over to humans and can cause some really serious infections.”
On social media, Westgate advertised the puppies via his personal profile along with a Precious Puppy Placement business page. One video showed at least 8 puppies running around the patio of his backyard.
After learning of the unlicensed business, the MDAR sent a “cease and desist” letter to Westgate last March.
“Larry Westgate is hereby ordered to immediately cease and desist from importing any dogs into Massachusetts without an official health certificate,” the letter said.
The document NBC10 obtained also ordered Westgate not to sell any dogs without a license to operate a pet shop.
However, the social media posts offering different breeds of dogs continued throughout the year.
Westgate has since removed the Precious Puppy Placement page, but a post on his personal profile last December noted, “Christmas puppies advertised.”
Following an investigation, the MDAR imposed $500 fines for each of the 45 alleged illegal puppy sales after receiving the order to cease operation.
According to the MDAR, the agency has issued about a dozen cease and desist order over the past two years and levied about $50,000 in fines, including the $10,000 against Westgate.
Add it to the list of problems for Westgate, who is already dealing with complaints from homeowners who say they are owed a lot of money on unfinished projects.
Customers even formed a private Facebook group called, “Scammed by All Phases Renovations” that grew to 80 members after our initial investigation in November.
Westgate has not responded to our questions about the puppy business.
However, social media posts we saved before the business page was taken down seemed to complain about landing on the radar of state authorities.
“There’s always a snake in the grass,” Westgate wrote in an August post. “No matter how many good things you do, there’s always somebody who needs to ruin it.”
A spokesperson at MDAR said Westgate has not requested a hearing to plead his case, nor has he paid the $10,000 in fines.
As we reported in December, the contractor has filed for bankruptcy and is trying to get his debts discharged through that process.
If they haven’t already, Blanck with the Animal Rescue League recommends people who bought a puppy from Westgate bring their dog to a veterinarian to get checked out.
“I think there are, unfortunately, a number of businesses that take the risk and take the gamble that they can continue operating because they think that enforcement won’t catch up to them,” Blanck said.
