Protestors gather outside Reno puppy store

Protesters demonstrated outside a Reno pet store Saturday, September 21, 2019, to dissuade people from buying dogs there.

The owners, Michael Schneider and Leilani Tau-Schneider, face charges of Practicing Veterinary Medicine Without a License. Tau-Schneider also faces one county of Felony Torturing and/or Killing an Animal. In their initial court appearance, the judge entered not-guilty pleas on their behalf. Their attorneys also filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus on September 18, 2019, requesting that the charges be dropped.

Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and the City Council are now discussing a moratorium on stores that sell animals.

The protesters say more needs to be done to protect animals from mistreatment. "Anybody can walk into that store and they should see that these animals are being sold like purses on a shelf and they are killing creatures, they are not inanimate objects" said Marika Moore.

The protesters said their goal is to make people aware of the current situation at Puppies Plus and to allow them to make their own assumptions.

KOLO 8 News Now reached out to the store, but the owners did not comment.

The Schneiders also own the Puppy Love store in Sparks on Sparks Boulevard.