AG lawsuit: Man sold fatally ill puppies out of his home

SHREWSBURY, Mass. — The state's top prosecutor says a Shrewsbury man knowingly sold sick and diseased bulldogs out of his home.

Heath Morse markets his dogs as AKC certified, pure breeds in great health, but Attorney General Maura Healey says they're diseased and sick. Some even died.

"People took these dogs home and within hours, within days they were at the vet's," said Healey.

AG lawsuit: Man knowingly sold sick, diseased dogs out of his home AG lawsuit: Man knowingly sold sick, diseased dogs out of his home

For Savanna Pescolido, it was love at first sight when she saw her Bulldog, Wellington, advertised on social media.

"It had all descriptions of the breeder, champion bloodline, everything good that you want in a dog," said Pescolido.

When they went to the Shrewsbury home to buy the dog, she said she noticed the first of many red flags.

"8 puppies in one cage... and you're like, that's kind of weird," Pescolido said.

After paying $2,300 cash for the pup, they brought Wellington to the vet and found out that something was wrong.

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"Right away our vet was like, something is wrong the paperwork isn’t right," she said. "The vaccinations aren’t looking right."

Pescolido said they first noticed signs of Wellington's sickness with him frequently going to the bathroom. They then noticed blood in his urine. That's when he was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney stones caused by a genetic disorder.

"If we had not done the surgery that we did, he would have died," said Pescolido. "Just for surgery and ultrasounds and X-rays, we spent about $7,000."

She said she called Heath Morse but was getting nowhere, so her next call was to Healey's office.

"What we uncovered was so egregious," said Healey.

Last week, Healey's office filed a lawsuit against Heath Morse and all his businesses. Investigators say Morse kept the dogs in "overcrowded, unsanitary quarters, deceiving customers about the health and origin of the puppies" and that he was "charging some customers thousands of dollars to purchase dogs" some of which were "gravely ill."

Boston 25 News went to his home for comment but got no response. We also reached out to him via phone call, text message and Facebook message.

Healey says she is working to permanently shut down Morse's business and refund his customers. She is suing on behalf of seven pet owners but says if you have done business with Morse, she wants to hear from you. Call 617-727-8400 or file a complaint online.

Cox Media Group