She bought a sick puppy outside a grocery store. Months later, animal control freed 100 more from the same seller.

When Ashley England met a woman in Salt Lake City’s lower Avenues in November, she thought she was buying the perfect Christmas surprise — a young chihuahua for her family.

“We got her home, and the next day, she was just puking everywhere,” England said. “At first, I thought maybe it was just the new environment. But then she became really lethargic, and it kept getting worse.”

After taking the puppy — named Suki — to the vet, England learned she had parvovirus, a highly contagious and potentially deadly illness in young dogs. Without treatment, Suki would not have survived another 24 hours, England said.

After three stressful and costly days at the vet, Suki survived, England said.

Nine months later, animal control officers rescued more than 100 dogs and a tortoise from that same woman’s home. News of the rescue caught England’s attention, as well as that of a neighbor who said she had complained about the house for years.

England said she reported the woman to Salt Lake County Animal Services and the Humane World for Animals’ Puppy Mills campaign months before the August rescue. After being sold a sick dog, she worried for the safety of the other puppies still being advertised online.

At one point, she said, officials told her there was little they could do because she had never entered the home or witnessed the living conditions herself.

Ashley Bales, animal services communications coordinator, explained that animal services officers are not police and cannot enter homes without permission or cause, often relying on coordination with law enforcement and other agencies.

While there had been previous complaints about the residence, Bales said officers addressed them and were able to “close them out at that time.”

Neighbor complained for a decade

England was not the only one raising concerns.

Michelle Corpus, a neighbor who made the call that led to the rescue, said she had been contacting animal control and police about the property for nearly a decade.

“I knew they had a few dogs — I would see maybe four or five — and I just saw what bad shape they were in,” Corpus said. “Really long nails, they could barely walk. They looked sick. So I started making calls about that over the years.”

About two years ago, Corpus heard screaming coming from her neighbor’s basement — where most of the rescued dogs were later found in August — and called authorities.

“I was in my bedroom, in the middle of the afternoon, when I suddenly heard screaming — through my walls, through hers — coming from the basement,” she said, “and I could hear tons of dogs barking in fear.”

But over time, Corpus said, nothing ever came of her calls — and eventually, she stopped making them as frequently.

“It was frustrating, because it’s like everyone in the neighborhood knew something was wrong,” she said. “There’s signs all over the house that something’s wrong.”

Buying Suki

The seller arranged to meet England outside a Smith’s grocery store in the Avenues. There, England put down a $200 deposit to reserve the puppy until Christmas Day. But as the holiday approached, communication from the seller grew inconsistent, she said.

Concerned, England decided to pick up the puppy earlier than planned. When she returned to Smith’s, the woman told her the original puppy was no longer available — and offered several others to choose from instead.

With her kids eagerly waiting at home, England agreed. But after coming home with the wrong puppy, her husband said she got scammed and should return it.

“I think my puppy died of parvo, because if the dog that I bought was on the verge of death, I can only assume that every other dog in her house was the same,” England said. “She just didn’t want to tell me because otherwise I wouldn’t have bought a sick puppy.”

England and her husband asked for the original dog for which they had put a deposit down or their money back, she said. When they met at Smith’s for the exchange, the woman gave her half her money back, but demanded England return Suki to her.

“I was like, ‘No, I told you — all my money back or bring me my original puppy,’” England said. “Why do you think you’re just going to keep $800 and I get no puppy?”

The police got involved, and the woman threatened to sue her, England said.

England, who has a large TikTok following, began posting about the purchase and Suki’s illness shortly after bringing the puppy home. Her first video about buying Suki has since garnered over 3 million views.

“Everybody was just invested in the story,” England said.

It was a TikTok user who told her that the breeder’s home had been searched and more than 100 dogs had been rescued.

Lax oversight for breeders

Salt Lake City doesn’t limit how many dogs or cats a person can own, as long as all animals are properly licensed and cared for, according to city code.

This is outside the norm for most cities along the Wasatch Front. West Valley City limits households to four animals. In Sandy, residents can own up to three dogs without a hobby permit. North Salt Lake allows up to three dogs or cats, and requires a permit for a fourth.

Corpus, who owns two dogs and two cats, said she values the flexibility, but questions why there isn’t some kind of limit.

“I feel like people should be able to have more than two, you know, if they’re taking care of them and they have big house, fine by me,” she said. “But 100, 110, I mean, there’s no person in the world that can take care of 110 animals.”

There also are not any laws in Utah regulating dog breeders, according to Humane World for Animals, the nonprofit formerly known as the Humane Society of the United States.

There are more than 10,000 puppy mills in the U.S., many keeping dogs in “deplorable and inhumane” conditions, the agency wrote in response to England’s complaint about the Avenues homeowner.

And while some facilities clearly neglect animals, many operate within the law — and enforcement often depends on local regulations and circumstances, the agency wrote.

A 2024 law, passed by the Utah Legislature and signed by Gov. Spencer Cox, gives state officials more authority to enforce humane care standards for animals in shelter facilities. However, lawmakers removed all language regulating breeders before passing the bill.

After the rescue

A spokesperson for the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday an investigation is ongoing and the case has not yet been turned over to the District Attorney’s Office or the Salt Lake City Prosecutor’s Office.

Bales, with animal services, said she did not have any information on potential arrests or citations and the information “won’t be released to the public.”

The Humane Society of Utah took in 27 of the 97 dogs originally removed from the Avenues home, said Guinnevere Shuster, the organization’s marketing and communications director. Several of the puppies tested positive for parvovirus — one even required emergency treatment — but all survived, she said.

One of the oldest dogs, about 13 years old, had to have an eye surgically removed, Shuster said. But for most, the issues stemmed from poor hygiene rather than medical emergencies.

“The neglect was really the amount of urine and feces that they smelled of or had in their coats,” she said.

‘The sweetest dog’

Though Suki had a rough start, the once-sick puppy is now healthy and full of affection. Nearly a year old, she loves to be close to her people, England shared in a TikTok update for her followers.

In the video, Suki climbs onto England as she tries to work. England gently lifts her aside, but the puppy keeps coming back for more scratches.

“She really is just the sweetest dog,” England says in the video, smiling. “She wants to be cuddled all day long and all night long.”

In the March video, England said Suki weighed about 11 pounds and had fully settled into the family that had fought to keep her. She laughed as she told followers how much the puppy adores her husband.

“She’s happy, we’re happy — she’s part of the family,” England said.

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