Laughlin Kennel owner fights back after accusations of selling sick dogs

OXFORD, Mass. — Two families are dealing with the pain of falling in love with a new pet, only to learn it was sick and needed to be put down.

Yesenia Cirilo and her two children saw Logan, a boxer, for sale at Laughlin Kennel in Oxford in June.

They fell in love, but within days of bringing him home they noticed something was wrong.

“He was really struggling to breathe, he was making a loud wheezing noise,” Cirilo said. “He had pneumonia, he had a disease around his heart, ruptured abscess through his body.

The kennel where Logan was bought has been owned by Robert Fink for the past 25 years. The family was given a full refund, and Fink said selling a sick dog was not his intention.

“We do not sell sick puppies. We go through a lot of trouble to not sell a sick puppy,” he said. “I can no more guarantee every puppy here is healthy, than a daycare with 115 students, where none of their students had a snotty nose. It's not possible.”

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A woman who asked to only be identified by her first name, Ally, told Boston 25 News she had a similar experience last month after getting a dog to help her through a rough time when her father was diagnosed with cancer.

“When I brought her home. I realized she was really sick. She was having terrible diarrhea,” Ally said.

The kennel told her to bring the dog back, and they gave her a full refund.

Fink says allegations that the kennel falsifies veterinarian records are false, and that everything done is in accordance with Massachusetts regulations.

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Boston 25 News’ Malini Basu was shown the downstairs area of the kennel. Fink would not allow cameras, but did share a photo showing the 24-hour surveillance system.

“The sick dog thing is not true. We have a good record of not selling sick dogs. There are exams every week by our vet,” he said.

Cox Media Group