Three self-described "celebrity breeders" from Philadelphia have been identified as the men behind an illegal puppy-selling operation run out of the trunk of a luxury SUV in New York City's Diamond District, and the law has barely touched them.
Brandon Rone, 34, Tyshawn Walker, 31, and Dasheim Harris, 29, have been spotted at least five times over the past year hawking designer puppies on West 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan, selling breeds like toy poodles, cavapoos, cockapoos, goldendoodles, and Pomeranians for as much as $4,500 apiece, the New York Post reported. A fourth, unidentified man has also been seen with the group. The men operate out of a Mercedes SUV, park on one of the most famous commercial streets in America, and disappear before police can respond to 911 calls.
All three men live in Philadelphia, per public records. They promote their operations on Instagram under business names like "Pups R Us" and "FUReverhome," advertising puppies they claim are "home raised" and will weigh just five to eight pounds fully grown. Their social media pages also feature Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton bags, stacks of hundred-dollar bills, a neon-green Corvette, and vacation photos from the Maldives.
Rone and Walker were arrested in November 2024 at a Walmart parking lot on the outskirts of Philadelphia for illegally "selling, bartering or trading" dogs. Both pleaded guilty. Rone's punishment: a $400 fine. Walker's fine amount remains unclear.
That brush with the law did not slow them down. The men were seen on West 47th Street as recently as July 2026, and Rone even posted video of the alleged illegal activity to a since-deleted Instagram account earlier this summer.
In New York, the consequences have been even lighter, which is to say, nonexistent. The NYPD told the Post last month that the men fled by the time officers responded to 911 calls in Midtown. No arrests have been made in the city. The Manhattan District Attorney's office did not return the Post's request for comment.
New York City law prohibits selling pets at any location not licensed for that purpose. And since 2024, New York State's Puppy Mill Pipeline Act has gone further, barring even licensed pet shops from selling dogs. Under the law, New Yorkers may only buy dogs directly from a responsible breeder or adopt from a shelter. Street sales out of an SUV trunk plainly violate both the city ordinance and the state statute.
Yet neither law has produced a single consequence for these three men in New York. The gap between what the law says and what authorities have done about it is striking. Manhattan's courts and prosecutors have shown no shortage of energy for politically charged cases, but an illegal puppy operation running openly in Midtown for a year has apparently not warranted action.
Sarah Barnett, executive director of the Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia, told the Post that the men are well known to her organization.
"We've been getting calls about these guys for years."
Barnett added that the men had the audacity to set up shop directly outside an animal rescue center to sell their puppies, a detail that captures the brazenness of the operation. Philadelphia law enforcement and the animal control team have been investigating the men, but the current status of those investigations is unclear.
Where the dogs are actually bred remains an open question. Rone's home, per public records, is a semi-detached three-bedroom house in north Philadelphia with a small front yard open onto the street and no backyard, not exactly the setting for a responsible breeding operation producing multiple designer litters.
When a Post reporter reached Rone by phone, he denied involvement.
"We do puppy yoga... that wasn't me."
Rone claimed he simply offers free puppy yoga. Walker and Harris could not be reached for comment. Walker did, however, update his Instagram two days after the Post's first story on the operation ran on July 25, adding the caption "not for sale" and a shushing-face emoji to photos of puppies on July 27.
Harris, the youngest of the three at 29, has a criminal history beyond the puppy operation. He was arrested in a 2021 gun bust in Philadelphia, though there is no record of a conviction. On Instagram, he describes himself as a "celebrity breeder" and "vibe creator," and promotes events including a "Wet n' Wild" pool party in New Jersey. His account, like those of his associates, projects a lifestyle funded by cash that appears to flow from these unlicensed puppy sales.
The broader pattern, men with criminal records operating openly, flouting animal welfare laws across state lines, and facing minimal consequences, fits a familiar failure of accountability. Philadelphia has seen its share of cases where enforcement lagged far behind the offenses.
Mian Osumi, policy and advocacy manager for Voters for Animal Rights, offered a blunt assessment of the operation's impact on the animals.
"These puppies are being treated like disposable toys, with sellers pocketing a pretty penny off animals who are often sick, stressed and traumatized before they've even had a real chance at life."
Osumi went further, warning prospective buyers that the operation lacks any of the safeguards a legitimate breeder would provide.
"Nobody should trust the breeding practices of someone running a black-market puppy operation out of their vehicle. There's no vet oversight, no health guarantees, no accountability, just a business model built on volume and how fast they can disappear before police arrive."
No veterinarian or official body has publicly confirmed the health status of the puppies sold by the three men. But the conditions Osumi described, no oversight, no guarantees, animals bred and transported for quick cash sales, are the hallmarks of a puppy mill pipeline, exactly the kind of operation New York's 2024 law was written to shut down.
The men's Instagram accounts paint a picture of easy money and zero consequences. Luxury goods, exotic vacations, flashy cars, all while running an unlicensed animal-selling business out of parking lots and city sidewalks. In a system that can move swiftly when it wants to, the question is why three men with guilty pleas and a known pattern of illegal sales have been allowed to keep operating in broad daylight.
A $400 fine and a shushing emoji are not enforcement. They are an invitation to keep going, and these men have accepted it.
