The puppy was cute and expensive. And then it died
LOS ANGELES - The Loy family realized pretty quickly that something was wrong with their new puppy, a red-brown bundle of fluff they christened Penny.
But they could not have imagined how much trouble they were in for when they drove into the parking lot of a Tijuana's Tacos restaurant in Pomona to take possession of a 9- to 12-week-old miniature goldendoodle.
They'd found Penny online and fallen in love. They'd shelled out $1,200 cash in March 2018, for what they thought was a pure-bred designer dog, healthy, happy and hypoallergenic. Half the money came from then-10-year-old Manuel, who earned it sweeping floors in his father's barbershop. It cleaned out his entire savings.
They eventually found out that the sellers belonged to a Phelan family whose matriarch had been the target of an FBI sting,
