She sued Puppyland after her $6K Dachshund died. Here’s why the lawsuit won’t go to trial
A woman has settled her lawsuit against a Puyallup-based retail pet store that she alleged pressured her while vulnerable into financing a sick, $6,000 Dachshund puppy who died shortly after being taken home.
Powell Rattanavong’s suit against Puppyland, its owners and others was settled in December before a scheduled trial in April, according to Pierce County Superior Court records. The terms of the settlement were unclear. Attorneys representing Rattanavong or the defendants didn’t return multiple messages seeking clarification and comment.
In January 2024, Rattanavong sued the pet shop, New Jersey-based Cross River Bank and loan-servicing company LendingUSA, alleging that she was pushed into taking out a high-interest loan for a puppy presented as healthy while visiting the store during the summer of 2023. She would ultimately owe $11,600 for the puppy after five years, accounting for a nearly 26% interest rate, according to a copy of a loan agreement attached in court records.
The young animal subsequently appeared sick “[o]ver the next month” after purchase and died of lung failure days after playing with one of Rattanavong’s children, the complaint said.
In court-filed responses to the suit, all defendants rejected any allegations of wrongdoing.
Rattanavong was on Medicaid and undergoing chemotherapy when she stopped by to browse the store in July 2023 for therapeutic purposes, according to the complaint. In the aftermath of the pet’s death, as Rattanavong struggled to keep up with loan payments, she was allegedly aggressively hounded by collection activity.
The lawsuit, which was officially settled and dismissed Dec. 19, had alleged that Puppyland tried to hide the puppy’s “real” condition. It sought unspecified damages and an injunction that would have required Puppyland to overhaul its practices and procedures and to cease engaging in alleged “puppy mill” conduct, among other things.
Doxiedor LLC, doing business as Puppyland, said the animal was healthy when it was sold and contended that third parties had caused the alleged harm.
Kayla Kerr, whose husband Justin Kerr has an ownership interest in the pet store, according to a court filing, previously suggested to The News Tribune that the animal’s death was the result of an accident with one of Rattanavong’s children.
“At Puppyland, our puppies undergo thorough vet examinations, and we offer health warranties for post-sale support. However, our guarantees don’t cover accidents like the one involving Ms. Rattanavong’s child falling with or on their puppy,” she had said in a statement in January 2024. “We want to clarify that Puppyland adamantly denies engaging in ‘puppy mill conduct,’ and we believe Ms. Rattanavong’s accusations are false. We remain committed to upholding high standards in our practices.”
Puppyland, which owns stores in three other states, has come under hot water in the past. The Washington State Office of the Attorney General sued the store in 2023 for allegedly failing to honor advertised health guarantees of its animals and channeling customers into predatory loans. The suit remains ongoing in King County Superior Court, court records show.
Puppyland has denied those allegations.
The Pierce County Council passed sweeping safeguards for dogs sold in pet stores and their buyers in June 2022. The bill, which only affected Puppyland as the lone store selling puppies in the county, included a requirement that shops obtain dogs from a state-licensed organization in compliance with Washington’s more stringent dog-breeding laws.
The county Auditor’s Office reported no violations of state or county code during monthly inspections conducted at Puppyland in 2023 and through November of 2024, according to the office’s latest available reports, which can be found online.
Puppyland’s legal counsel alleged that Rattanavong provided no evidence of unfairness or deception in the shop’s sale of dogs that are financed, nor did she provide any expert medical evidence that her cancer had caused her to be in an impaired or vulnerable state at the time of purchase, a court filing shows.
Defendants said that she ultimately promised to pay a principal amount of $6,480 plus interest and other charges for the puppy and signed a form acknowledging that the purchase price and interest rate were disclosed to her prior to buying.
The lawsuit alleged that Rattanavong knew she could not afford the puppy — which it said cost $6,800 — but she was persuaded into filling out a loan application initially just to see if she qualified for financing. The complaint also alleged that Cross River Bank presented two different interest rates on paperwork — 25.9% and 29.9% — leaving her confused about which of those was the default rate.
Two months before the purchase, Gov. Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1424 that made it illegal for pet shops in Washington state to offer financing. The legislation — focused on ending commercial dog-breeding facilities or “puppy mills” — didn’t go into effect, however, until a few weeks after Rattanavong bought the animal.
