More pet owners who purchased animals from a Polk County pet store are coming forward worried about their animal’s health.

From the moment Jody Miner’s family purchased their Toy Australian Shepherd, Fenway from the Petland store in the Lakeland Square mall last year, they knew something wasn’t right.

“When we got him my boys were like, 'let's go play,' and he just laid down and went to sleep,” Miner said. “And I thought it was from the stress of bringing him from the pet store home and all he wanted to do was sleep. He wouldn’t eat.”

After a stint in the hospital and several treatments later Fenway is doing just fine.

At least that’s what Miner and her three kids are hoping.

“He’s part of the family now. If anything happened to him, all of us would be devastated,” Miner said.

It’s why she said she panicked when she saw the mug shots of Wendy Carrier, the woman who sold her Fenway. And Wendy’s husband, Christopher, the vet who she went to for help.

Wendy is accused of selling the dogs from her Petland store and forging health documents, using her husband Christopher’s vet clinic to keep the scheme going.

“I had no idea it was her husband and I had, truthfully, I didn’t have kind words about Petland because my dog was so sick and I thought I was going to have to tell my boys, I’m sorry the puppy passed away,” Miner said. “Not once did he ever come clean and say that’s my wife’s business.”

And we found out how they enticed customers. According to documents, Miner got from the store and Care Animal Clinic, the customers at that pet store were offered free services with the vet. For some customers it made it hard for them to resist taking advantage of the services.

Now that the news is out, Miner and dozens of others who’ve contacted Bay News 9 are concerned about their pets.

The owner of Maya, the Siberian Husky, said the pup lived two years with a cancer they were told she was born with. Sadly, she had to be put down.

That’s why Miner says she’s getting a new vet to make sure Fenway is around for as long as possible.

“Thankfully you can’t over vaccinate," Miner said. "So I’ll be able to take him to get him the vaccinations they think he needs and he’ll be good to go.”



One woman said she just settled a civil suit with the Petland company.

If you think you may have been a victim, contact the Florida Department of Agriculture at 1-800-HELP-FLA (1-800-435-7352).