Legislature bites back: Governor signs bill banning dog leasing

Leasing dogs, a transaction practiced by Reno-based financial firm Bristlecone Holdings, will soon be illegal in Nevada after Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a bill outlawing the act.

Senate Bill 185 is a consumer protection bill that bars businesses from using contracts that financially punish customers for leaving bad reviews.

However, an amendment to SB 185 before reaching the governor's went a little further, prohibiting a person from leasing “any living animal or goods intended for personal, family or household use, including, without limitation, pets, tires, batteries and hearing aids” if there is only a “residual financial value” at the end of the lease.

Basically, if there is next-to-no value at the end of the lease, it can’t be leased. Items that retain their value, such as home furniture and electronics, are exempt.

For example, pets.

The amendment to SB 185 specifically targets many of the practices of Bristlecone Holdings, whose founder, Dusty Wunderlich, conceptualized the idea of leasing a number of products listed in the bill – wedding dresses, car parts and dogs.

Bloomberg magazine profiled Wunderlich in a March 1 report titled, “I’m renting a dog?” drawing the attention to what amounted to Bristlecone Holdings subsidiary Wag Lending’s practice of subprime dog leasing.

The Bloomberg piece described the confusion of several customers of Wag Lending who ended up owing much more than they expected for their furry friends. Some customers paid up to 170 percent of the original price over their lease schedule.

One woman, Dawn Sabins, purchased a $2,400 golden retriever, but because she didn’t know she was only leasing the dog, ended up owing $5,800.

The leases allowed Wags Lending to repossess the dog at any time, even if payments were up-to-date, if owners did not meet the company's standards for dog care.

Assemblywoman Lesley Cohen, D-Las Vegas, introduced the amendment. She read the Bloomberg story, but the issue mostly came to her attention out of constituents’ concerns.

Cohen does pet rescue, which she said likely made people think of her.

The bill does more than just address dog leasing and applies to a number of products. Anything that loses almost all of its value at the end of a lease is covered under the amendment.

“We want to make sure when there are leases that it is fair to consumers and there aren’t high interest leases that are being leased to people on emotional bases,” she said. “With hearing aids, that’s not emotional, that’s a necessity.”

The bill labels that kind of leasing as a deceptive trade practice or consumer fraud, exposing a company that does so to civil liability.

Cohen said while the article probably brought the issue forward, she did not concern herself with Bristlecone Holdings when presenting the amendment.

Both chambers passed the bill without opposition and Cohen said she was hopeful the governor would sign. The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Wunderlich is a contributing columnist to the Reno Gazette-Journal. He resigned from Bristlecone Holdings on March 31. He could not be reached for comment.

Bristlecone Holdings declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, the same day competing firm Nextep Funding filed a trade practices suit against the company.

Nextep Funding has a similar business model to Bristlecone Holdings. Nextep Funding did not return a phone call requesting a comment.

Bristlecone Holdings did not respond to a request for comment. Wag Lending did not return a phone call requesting a comment.

The bill becomes effective July 1.