Pretrial pacts proposed over parvo puppies

SANDPOINT — Pretrial settlement agreements are still pending in the cases against the former operators of an Oldtown pet store accused of selling puppies infected with parvovirus.

Roxane Marie Clairmont and Albert Charles Clairmont are charged with selling animals with communicable diseases, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.

Roxane Clairmont, 47, of Newport, Wash., owned the Feed Bag Farm & Pet Supply, while Albert Clairmont, also 47, of Post Falls, managed the business, according to court records. The relationship between the defendants is not specified in court documents.

They were cited in August of last year, after they allegedly sold two ill puppies. One of the dogs died and the other had to be euthanized, a Bonner County deputy sheriff’s report said.

The Clairmonts purchased puppies and kittens without health certifications or vaccination records, court documents allege. The deputy’s report further indicated that a local veterinarian had worked with them in dealing with a parvo outbreak.

Parvo, which is especially fatal to puppies, causes gastrointestinal tract damage, cardiac problems and dehydration. It can be spread by contact with an infected animal’s feces.

Trials in magistrate court are pending, as are settlement agreements which propose 60-day jail sentences with 55 days suspended and five days of work in the sheriff’s labor program. Fines of $2,500 with $2,000 suspended are also proposed.

A landowner who leased space to Roxane Clairmont sued to evict the business after it fell in arrears on rent. The landowner won a $13,000 default judgment last year after she failed to respond to the lawsuit, according to documents filed in 1st District Court.

The landowner sued Roxane Clairmont again this year after $13,000 in alleged damages was discovered after the business was forced out of the premises.