Woman held in illegal sale of puppies

A West Virginia woman was charged with violations of Pennsylvania's dog law yesterday for selling puppies in a Bucks County parking lot.

Carrie Lynn Bay, 35, was arraigned before a district justice in Warrington and held after she was unable to pay a fine of $1,800.

Bay pleaded guilty to five counts of violating the law for selling dogs in a public place and operating without an out-of-state license, said Craig Claycomb, the animal-control officer for Warminster. Several of the puppies had respiratory infections and were taken to a veterinarian, he said.

Claycomb and a state dog warden posed as customers seeking to buy two puppies and met the woman at a mall's parking lot, he said. They identified themselves after they paid $300 for the dogs, he said.

Claycomb said he had sought state assistance after getting complaints about two fatally ill dogs sold by Bay before Christmas.

"The common element was that the dogs were dying from parvo" virus, he said. Claycomb said Bay had been transporting dogs from West Virginia to sell in the area for at least a year.