Special Report: In the Dog House

He's got a face that's hard to resist and when Ingrid Price saw this Westie puppy at the Woof and Company pet store in South Shore Plaza, it was love at first sight.

Ingrid Price
"Frankly, Peter sold himself to me."

But the honeymoon was brief. Peter fell ill almost immediately with a nasty case of what Ingrid first believed was kennel cough...

Ingrid Price
"The puppy was only two months old and eight pounds. And he convulsed. We thought we were going to loose him that night."

In fact, Peter had giardia, an infection of the intestine, the same condition that left 17-month Corey nearly crippled.

Geffin Falken, Cory's Owner
"She had a fever and a kidney infection and sever anemia and he could hardly walk."

What do Peter and Corey have in common besides giardia? Both were purchased from Woof and Company stores, Peter from Braintree, Corey from Saugus... And now a former manager is stepping forward to say the chain should shape up.

Laurie Reggiannini, Former Manager
"Bottom line really at the end of it all was I realized they didn't care about the puppies, they just cared about the bottom line, they cared about the dollar."

Problems at the Saugus store have led to a temporary ban on their selling of puppies. Customers at the store are told not to bring their children inside and workers are being tested.

As for Ingrid, in addition to the $950 she spent for her dog, she has vet bills approaching $500... And she says Woof and Company has reneged on its guarantee to foot the bill.

Ingrid Price
"They're very nice when you come on the phone and one passes the buck to the other. And I feel the Woof and Company is very insincere in their approach to selling puppies."

Local Woof and Company employees referred our calls today to their corporate headquarters in New Jersey. And for the second consecutive day, those calls went unreturned.