INFECTED PUPPIES SOLD OUT OF VANS THREE PEOPLE FACE CHARGES.

Byline: JOSH KLEINBAUM Staff Writer

Three Sun Valley residents have been charged with selling sick puppies from a van on the side of a road, authorities said Tuesday.

Officials said Daniel Ruiz, 51, Graciela Garcia, 50, and Ismael Ruiz, 53, bred dogs at their Sun Valley home, where they operated a kennel, and sold Chihuahuas and poodles from the back of two vans along Sunland Boulevard.

The city's Department of Animal Services received complaints from people who bought the dogs and found out they were in grave condition.

``One woman bought a puppy and then took it to a veterinarian and had it diagnosed with parvovirus, a highly contagious disease in dogs,'' said Frank Mateljean, spokesman for the City Attorney's Office. ``All of the dogs that were found were sick. They had skin lesions on their bodies.''

Investigators said Daniel Ruiz admitted that he sold puppies out of a van. Authorities said they then discovered that his brother, Ismael, sold puppies out of a second van.

Daniel Ruiz turned six of his nine dogs over to the Department of Animal Services and agreed to provide medical care for the three remaining dogs.

He and Garcia were charged late Monday with animal cruelty, selling dogs in a public place without a permit, operating a kennel without a permit and failing to have dog licenses.

Ismael Ruiz was charged with operating a kennel without a permit and failing to have dog licenses.

``Unlicensed breeders -- they don't have training, and they're not giving the animals proper veterinarian training,'' Mateljean said. ``We want to get the word out to the public that these animals could be sick, and they should not be purchased from unlicensed breeders.''

josh.kleinbaum(at)dailynews.com

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