Two Maryland pet stores, and their owner, were charged Thursday with selling puppies in violation of the state’s No More Puppy-Mills Act and the Consumer Protection Act.

Two Just Puppies retail pet stores, in Rockville and Towson, and the stores’ owner, Mitchell Thomson, were charged.

The law bans the sale of dogs and cats by retail pet stores. It was passed in 2018 but took effect on Jan. 1, 2020.

The statement of charges against Just Puppies said that both stores continued to sell puppies following their move to an appointment-only model in February 2020, and that Just Puppies “misled consumers about its relationship with the sources of some of the puppies it sold,” according to a news release from Attorney General Brian Frosh’s office.

“Simply shifting to an appointment-only sales model does not exempt stores from this
law that was designed to curb the sourcing of animals from irresponsible breeders,” Frosh said in the release.

A hearing has been set for Sept. 13.