Leslie Fleischer didn\u2019t see any harm in taking a look at the puppy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knew the odds of a Kijiji ad leading her to a dream dog\u00a0for daughter Abby were slim, but the Thornhill seller claimed to be a\u00a0\u201cregistered breeder\u201d\u00a0and provided a two-year health guarantee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Milton mom had no way of knowing the woman who brought the storage bin of Maltipoo pups\u00a0up from her\u00a0basement had used an alias \u2014\u00a0concealing her identity as a prolific puppy broker who sold sick bulldogs in B.C. a decade ago, and in 2021 was hit with a\u00a0$10,000 federal\u00a0fine for illegally importing dogs from Ukraine using\u00a0fake documents signed by a disgraced veterinarian in Poland.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time she discovered these facts, Abby had long fallen in love with the six-pound ball of black fluff she called Teddi.<\/p>\n
Fleischer saw\u00a0a spark in her 17-year-old\u2019s eyes she hadn\u2019t seen in months, so when the \u201cbreeder\u201d upped the advertised price by $100 to $1,000 that Sunday in late March, the single mom didn\u2019t blink.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the one everyone loves at puppy yoga,\u201d the seller told them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It was love at first sight for Leslie Fleischer\u2019s daughter Abby the day she met Teddi at a dog seller\u2019s home in Thornhill.<\/p>\n
Leslie Fleischer<\/p>\n
By the time Fleischer and Abby had\u00a0returned home, it was clear Teddi was unwell. Vomiting. Diarrhea. An emergency clinic confirmed the pup had parvovirus, a highly contagious disease that attacks an animal\u2019s\u00a0gastrointestinal tract, and can damage the heart.<\/p>\n
The next few days, Fleischer said, felt like psychological torture \u2014 ending in the euthanization of Teddi and the start of provincial inspections, and a formal investigation by animal services in Vaughan.<\/p>\n
Typing the name \u201cManuela Sadykow\u201d into a search engine would give most people shopping for a puppy pause.<\/p>\n
So that\u00a0may be why she called herself \u2018Jenifer\u2019 in the ad Fleischer saw on Kijiji, though others who shared complaints on redflag\u200bdeals.com, ripoff\u200breport.com and the CBC shared Sadykow also went by \u2018Ella.\u2019<\/p>\n
It was Interac, however,\u00a0that first alerted Fleischer to the seller\u2019s\u00a0true identity when an\u00a0email confirmed acceptance of her e-transfer to \u201cManuela Marlene Sadykow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fleischer, a journalist who works as a digital editor, immediately started digging.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy heart was in my stomach,\u201d she says. \u201cIt made me feel marginally better that we were taken by someone so prolific.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2015, the CBC investigated Sadykow for selling a \u2018fatally ill\u2019 French bulldog to a couple in Surrey, B.C. through a business she ran with her husband called Platinum Rare Bulldogs.<\/p>\n
Fined $10,000 by the\u00a0Canadian Food Inspection Agency<\/p>\n
The dog had a severe intestinal infection, and was humanely euthanized four days after its purchase. Sadykow returned the couple\u2019s $1,800\u00a0adoption fee, and after the CBC started asking questions, provided them with a cheque to cover most of their veterinary costs.<\/p>\n
Sadykow told the broadcaster that two additional lawsuits filed against her and her husband, Brandon Nahmaiche (also known as Brandon Nahm), and their former business \u2018Perfect Bulldog Puppies,\u2019 stemmed from issues at a supplier with which she had severed ties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By 2020, Sadykow came on the radar of investigators at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which acts as a border patrol for \u2018zoonotic germs,\u2019\u00a0such as viruses and parasites. They ensure animals entering the country are vaccinated.<\/p>\n
The CFIA found that on Oct. 28, 2020, Sadykow imported\u00a0puppies using fake\u00a0veterinary certificates that were\u00a0intentionally misleading.<\/p>\n
The documents were signed by a Polish vet, Dr. Ewa Michalowska, identified as an \u201cofficial veterinary inspector.\u201d But Canadian investigators confirmed Michalowska\u00a0had\u00a0lost her license to practice veterinary medicine in 2017.<\/p>\n
The CFIA also\u00a0noted that \u201cdozens\u201d of Sadykow\u2019s documents used two differently coloured stamps \u2014\u00a0red and black \u2014\u00a0to mimic formatting used by legitimate veterinary officials to intentionally mislead the agency.<\/p>\n
In 2021, the CFIA fined Sadykow $10,000, noting she had no previous record. The federal agency confirmed the fine has not been paid.<\/p>\n
The adjudicator referenced the CFIA inspector\u2019s \u201cuncontested testimony\u201d inwhich Sadykow admitted the dogs she imported were originally from Ukraine and not \u201cborn in Poland\u201d as the paperwork stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a significant admission because at that time,\u201d the tribunal decision states, \u201cthe importation of Ukrainian dogs into Canada was prohibited.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Leslie Fleischer posted this selfie with Teddi on Instagram the day before she had to have the animal put down after an emergency vet clinic confirmed the pup had parvovirus.<\/p>\n
Leslie Fleischer<\/p>\n
While the federal tribunal that heard Sadykow\u2019s appeal in 2023 acknowledged she had no prior record, the adjudicator expressed concerns about the puppy broker\u2019s business acumen.<\/p>\n
Asked about her credentials<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven how much of the information on the certifications was false, it may also be true that the dogs in question were ill or unvaccinated when they were imported,\u201d the tribunal decision states. \u201cThis in turn could result in the spread of communicable diseases to these or other animals in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
The CFIA and subsequent federal tribunal decision also acknowledge harm to consumers.<\/p>\n
Sadykow\u2019s \u201cdeception,\u201d the tribunal decision states, \u201cdefrauds potential customers from making informed decisions about whether to spend large sums of money for animals of dubious origin and health.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Fleischer met the woman she now believes was Sadykow that Sunday afternoon in Thornhill, she said she asked about her credentials.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was told she came from a family of long-time breeders based in Quebec, and admitted to no longer being registered because it made puppy adoption prohibitively expensive for good families like Fleischer\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On April 2, just before Fleisher\u2019s vet confirmed Teddi\u2019s Parvo diagnosis, she texted Sadykow with a question. Fleischer shared the thread with me and Vaughan\u00a0Animal\u00a0Services.<\/p>\n
The vet noted it was strange that Teddi\u2019s vaccination record showed she received two dewormings prior to the adoption.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was she recovering from something? Fleischer asked by text.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just do it to make sure no worms,\u201d Sadykow, or whoever was behind the Toronto437\u00a0area code number, typed back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the vet confirmed the diagnosis, Fleischer texted back with the update.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s very odd, all of the litter mates are doing great,\u201d was the reply.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has to be put down,\u201d Fleischer texted. \u201cAnd the vet said there is no way possible she didn\u2019t come to me with Parvo and you should tell the other litter owners.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so sad to hear this,\u201d read the reply. \u201cI\u2019ve inquired with the other litter mates and they are telling me that their dogs are healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sadykow returned Fleischer\u2019s adoption fee by e-transfer, but told Fleischer, \u201cwe don\u2019t pay vet bills.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The urn containing the remains of Teddi, a Maltese poodle Leslie Fleischer purchased on March 29 only to have to put it down a week later after an emergency clinic confirmed it had parvovirus.<\/p>\n
Leslie Fleischer<\/p>\n
Later, last week,\u00a0when I reached Sadykow by phone at a 604 number (British Columbia area code),\u00a0she said: \u201cThere were no other puppies in the house and I will pay for the cost of the vet bills.\u201d She hung up when I asked about her history in B.C. and the federal fine, and sent a text that stated she could not provide further comment.<\/p>\n
Fleischer said Sadykow reached out to her by phone on Sunday using the 437 number, just before this story was published, and offered to repay her through $500 biweekly instalments, the first of which she transferred that day.<\/p>\n
Exactly seven days after adopting Teddi, Fleischer and Abby were in a veterinary room,\u00a0watching through tears, while tech after tech struggled to find a vein in their severely dehydrated pup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Fleischer consoled her daughter, she couldn\u2019t stop worrying about other families who might have also unknowingly adopted a sick dog.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The vet instructed her to destroy everything Teddi had come in contact with and warned the virus could thrive for six months or longer.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson from the Ontario Solicitor General\u2019s office, which oversees animal welfare services, confirmed by email that it is conducting regular inspections related to this matter, but could not provide details.<\/p>\n
The City of Vaughan told the Star its animal services department is investigating.<\/p>\n
Teddi\u2019s ashes came home last week in a tiny green urn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leslie Fleischer didn\u2019t see any harm in taking a look at the puppy.\u00a0 She knew the odds of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647478,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48,26994],"class_list":["post-647477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-puppy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}