• FILE —A West Highland terrier puppy that was stolen from a pet store in Crossgates Mall is held by Bob Meyers, Guilderland senior animal control officer, on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, at the town animal shelter in Guilderland, N.Y. The puppy was taken from the Pet Zone store on Wednesday and later turned in at an Albany homeless shelter. (Will Waldron/Times Union) Photo: Will Waldron, Albany Times Union
Photo: Will Waldron, Albany Times Union
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FILE —A West Highland terrier puppy that was stolen from a pet store in Crossgates Mall is held by Bob Meyers, Guilderland senior animal control officer, on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, at the town animal shelter in Guilderland, N.Y. The puppy was taken from the Pet Zone store on Wednesday and later turned in at an Albany homeless shelter. (Will Waldron/Times Union) less
FILE —A West Highland terrier puppy that was stolen from a pet store in Crossgates Mall is held by Bob Meyers, Guilderland senior animal control officer, on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, at the town animal shelter ... more
Photo: Will Waldron, Albany Times Union
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FILE — A West Highland terrier puppy that was stolen from a pet store in Crossgates Mall is held by Bob Meyers, Guilderland senior animal control officer, on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, at the town animal shelter in Guilderland, N.Y. The puppy was taken from the Pet Zone store on Wednesday and later turned in at an Albany homeless shelter. (Will Waldron/Times Union) less
FILE — A West Highland terrier puppy that was stolen from a pet store in Crossgates Mall is held by Bob Meyers, Guilderland senior animal control officer, on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, at the town animal ... more
Photo: Will Waldron, Albany Times Union
Image 3 of 3

The owners of a New York pet store chain with a Guilderland location stand accused of illegally selling puppies without necessary exams and medication and destroying and falsifying records to avoid being caught.

Acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood filed a lawsuit against Bell Pet Company, LLC and its owners, Theodore and Sheila Bell, who operate a pet store chain called The Pet Zone. The lawsuit claims that the chain sold puppies to people without first having the dogs examined by veterinarians, failed to tell owners when the puppy they bought received necessary pre-sale medical treatment and didn't provide timely reimbursement for veterinarian expenses owners took on after buying a sick dog from the stores.

Supreme Court Justice James McClusky issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday barring The Pet Zone from getting any new dogs for sale and putting additional oversight on the sale of puppies in their stores while the lawsuit is pending. Underwood is looking to permanently bar the pet store chain and its owners from ever operating a business that sells live animals in the state, as well as penalties and restitution for consumers.

"Pet dealers have a legal and moral responsibility to provide proper treatment to the animals in their care, and consumers deserve to have confidence that the pets they purchase are certifiably healthy," Underwood said.

The Pet Zone has locations at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland as well as Watertown, Queensbury and Poughkeepsie.