Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Settlement reached in ‘Arson Puppies’ case, reviving raffle

Raffle Planned For Rescued Puppies

Steve Marcus

Puppies look out from a kennel at the Animal Foundation Campus, 655 N. Mojave Road, Tuesday, March 4, 2014. They were among 27 puppies rescued during a fire at the Prince and Princess Pet Shop on Jan. 27.

Gloria Lee Pet Store Fire

Gloria Lee, accused of arson and animal cruelty in connection with a fire at her pet store, Prince and Princess Pet Boutique, appears in court Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014. Launch slideshow »

Rescued Puppies

Yorkshire terrier puppies look out from a kennel at the Animal Foundation Campus, 655 N. Mojave Road, Tuesday, March 4, 2014. The puppies were rescued during a fire at the Prince and Princess Pet Shop on Jan. 27. Launch slideshow »

A raffle for more than two dozen puppies rescued from a January pet shop fire is back on after a court battle over the animals was settled today.

According to The Animal Foundation, which has been caring for the dogs since the Jan. 27 fire, 25 of the animals will be put up for adoption by animal welfare groups through a raffle while two older dogs will be placed with the animal rescue group A Home 4 Spot.

The Animal Foundation will offer $250 tickets for a drawing to adopt the pups. Tickets will be available through the organization’s website at animalfoundation.com until Sunday; raffle winners will be vetted by The Animal Foundation and A Home 4 Spot. Money paid by ticket holders who do not receive dogs will go to subsidize future adoptions.

A date for the drawing has not been announced.

The dogs, which were taken to the Lied Animal Shelter in Las Vegas after the fire, have been the focus of a court battle between the pet shop owner’s estranged husband, Donald Thompson, and The Animal Foundation, which owns the shelter.

Clark County commissioners had approved the foundation raffle earlier this month, but it was called off after Thompson’s attorney filed a civil lawsuit claiming the county and the foundation conspired to steal the puppies from Thompson and sell them for their own profit.

A deputy district attorney and a lawyer for the foundation argued that Thompson hadn't properly demonstrated his stake in the store and lost ownership rights by waiting more than a month to try to claim the dogs.

Today’s settlement, which resolves the lawsuit, was agreed upon by Clark County officials, the foundation and Thompson’s attorney.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy