A Rowan County dog breeder accused falsifying documents to ship sick puppies to out-of-state customers showed up to face the charges Sunday after authorities couldn’t locate him for several days.
Kevin Settineri, owner of Right Puppy Kennel, turned himself in Sunday afternoon. He was served with warrants for nine counts of felony obtaining property by false pretenses.
He was released after posting a $7,500 secured bond.
A man who answered a telephone number listed for the kennel owner on Monday said Settineri wasn’t available.
Settineri, 45, whose Union Church Road kennel specializes in rare dog breeds, is accused of falsifying information on a certificate of health for small animals. The certificate is required to ship dogs out-of-state for profit.
His daughter, Danielle Settineri, who is listed as co-founder of the kennel, was charged with five counts of felony obtaining property by false pretenses and arrested a week ago.
Investigators with the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office say the kennel obtained a legitimate certificate of health examination for one dog and then altered it for several other dogs.
Rowan Sheriff’s deputies tried to serve arrest warrants for Kevin Settineri last week, but they were unable to locate him.
The arrest warrants say the incidents occurred between March 2011 and November 2012. Three veterinary hospitals — Mooresville Animal Hospital in Iredell County, Lenoir Veterinary Hospital in Caldwell County and Randall Veterinary Hospital in Mooresville — were listed as places where the Salisbury kennel obtained health examinations for its animals.
The falsified documents came to light after veterinarians in Lenoir and Mooresville received phone calls from out-of-state veterinarians questioning the health certificates of dogs from Right Puppy Kennel, investigators said.
Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.