NE Charlotte puppy pet shop closes after 11 puppies die in two months

CHARLOTTE, NC — The photos are picture perfect on Happy Puppy Universe’s social media pages. However, inside the pet store, things were not as they seemed.

An investigation by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services found several violations ranging from failures to maintain vet records, to not disclosing medical conditions, and not keeping records of dead puppies.

On Monday, the state sent a letter to Happy Puppy Universe’s owner, Lawrence Master, revoking their licensee.

By Tuesday, the business’s website was shut down, the phone was off and the doors were locked. Our camera could still see more than a dozen puppies still behind glass.

Jayla Patton has been coming to the pet shop for 3 years. In that time, she never found the perfect puppy, until Monday. But, she says they abruptly closed that day. So she came back on Tuesday hoping to get her dog only to find out the store shutdown for good.

“I never fell in love with the dog. So for the first time, for me to fall in love with the dog, I was like, okay, I’m gonna come back, I’m gonna get the dog. You know? I’m finally gonna make you know him, have a home and I come back in, the doors are locked,”  said Patton.

According to state records, 11 puppies died in 63 days likely from a “significant disease problem”.

In one violation, an inspector told the manager a puppy had died. The report shows the manager took the health certificate out of the inspectors hand and threw it in the trash.

The Dept of Ag tells WCCB the business owner chose to immediately close the business and plans to transfer the dogs to local shelters. The state does not know which shelters will get the dogs.

We made several attempts to reach out to the business for comment. no one has responded.