Dutchess County pet store is finally giving customers who were sold sick pets the opportunity to apply for a refund.

Earlier last month we told you that after a long investigation, the New York Attorney General's Office announced that the Pet Zone pet store deceived customers into purchasing sick pets and that "deception" was going to cost them.

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Pet Store to Pay Back Customers $200,000

When the Attorney General's Office announced that the Bell Pet Company, LLC, which does business as The Pet Zone, reached a $200,000 agreement to pay back any customer that was deceived into buying a pet that the pet store said was healthy, many wondered how long it would take for customers to receive their money back.

As the agreement was announced back in January, Attorney General Letitia James said,

"Deceiving families into buying sick puppies and kittens is not only cruel, it’s illegal. The Pet Zone turned a happy moment of bringing home a new pet into misery for pet owners when they discovered that their pet was sick and that they had to pay expensive medical bills to help them recover. This agreement will ensure that no one is deceived about the health of a pet they bring home. I encourage any individual who purchased a pet from The Pet Zone and was misled about their health to file a claim for reimbursement."

Attorney General James gave Bell Pet Company 30 days to provide customers a way to apply for some of the settlement funds.

Am I Eligible for a Refund?

--If you purchased a pet at the Pet Zone at any of its locations in Poughkeepsie, Albany, Watertown, or Queensbury, in or after January 2014 and that pet became sick and/or was deemed "Unfit for Sale" by a veterinarian.

--If you received a certification from a vet that your pet was sick and should have been unfit for sale within 14 days of purchase due to illness or the presence of symptoms of a contagious infectious disease.

--If you received certification from a licensed veterinarian that the animal was unfit for purchase due to a congenital malformation that adversely affected the health of the animal within 180 calendar days after the sale or receipt of the animal.

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If you meet any of the criteria above you could be entitled to a refund of your veterinary bills up to the total cost of the pet according to the Pet Zone website.

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How to Apply for a Refund From the Pet Zone

If you go to the Pet Zone website, one would think this would be the first thing you see on the website, but it's not, it's all the way at the bottom of their homepage and is written in extremely small lettering. To save you the hassle of trying to find it, simply click HERE and you will be directed to the page you need to fill out.

SEE ALSO: Poughkeepsie Pet Store Accused of Selling Sick Dog, One Woman Demands Answers

You will need documentation to prove that the pet you purchased meets the criteria above. You will also need to include your name, phone number, and email when you apply. If you have any questions, you can call The Pet Zone at 1-941-787-4005 or send an email to: thepetzone@yahoo.com

If you think you might be eligible for a refund, make sure you apply ASAP because the claims period closes on January 6, 2024.

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LOOK: Here are the pets banned in each state

Because the regulation of exotic animals is left to states, some organizations, including The Humane Society of the United States, advocate for federal, standardized legislation that would ban owning large cats, bears, primates, and large poisonous snakes as pets.

Read on to see which pets are banned in your home state, as well as across the nation.

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