Blue Ribbon Puppies owner John Kowal charged with 23 counts of animal neglect, Suffolk DA says

A Manorville dog breeder, arraigned on Friday on nearly two dozen counts of animal neglect, including failing to provide heat or enough space for the animals to move around, has failed five previous state inspections in the past three years, records show.

John Kowal, 57, of Manorville, owner of Blue Ribbon Puppies, was arrested on March 9 and charged with 23 counts of misdemeanor animal neglect. Investigators from the State Department of Agriculture and Markets found a host of issues during a Feb. 24 inspection related to the welfare of dogs and puppies at his River Road property.

Kowal was arraigned on Friday  before Riverhead Town Justice Court Judge Lori Hulse and released on his own recognizance because the charges are not bail eligible.

If convicted, Kowal faced up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

"The conditions that these dogs and puppies are alleged to have endured at the hands of the defendant are unacceptable," Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement on Friday. "Individuals who choose to breed and sell animals must ensure that the animals are provided with proper care including food, water, shelter, and veterinary care."

The Suffolk County Legal Aid Society, which represented Kowal at his arraignment, did not respond to requests for comment.

Inspectors visit property

Last month, inspectors from Agriculture and Markets conducted an unannounced visit at Kowal’s property — their ninth such visit in the past year — where he has a license to breed and sell dogs and puppies, records show.

Inspectors found snow obstructing the access to the building where Kowal kept the animals, an indication that no one had visited the dogs inside for at least 48 hours since the Feb. 22 blizzard that dropped nearly 30 inches of snow in some locations across the Island, officials said.

When Kowal finally shoveled a path for inspectors to access the facility, investigators discovered 21 dogs and 2 puppies living in indoor and outdoor kennels within the facility, prosecutors said.

Inspectors observed several "critical" health and safety violations, including frozen water, a lack of adequate heat, insufficient space that restricted the animals’ movements and an accumulation of animal feces, records show.

When Kowal eventually turned the heat on inside the facility, inspectors determined the indoor kennel temperature rose to only 43 degrees one hour later, officials wrote.

 The investigators also found many of the animals had not received their required rabies vaccines; many did not have proper licensing, exercise plans were not properly documented or implemented and the sick dogs had not been treated according to veterinary instructions.

State inspectors alerted the District Attorney’s Office’s Biological, Environmental, and Animal Safety Team (BEAST) to the violations, and detectives — with the help of the Riverhead Town Police Department — executed a search warrant at Kowal’s property.

"Leaving dogs and puppies alone for days in freezing conditions without adequate heat, water, or sanitation is unacceptable," said John Di Leonardo, executive director of Humane Long Island. "New York banned the retail sale of puppies in pet stores because the commercial breeding industry has repeatedly put profit ahead of animal welfare ... Dogs are not merchandise. They are living, feeling beings who depend entirely on humans for their care." 

Failed 5 inspections

Blue Ribbon Puppies, a state-licensed pet dealer, has failed five previous inspections since March 2023, records show.

For example, on June 30, 2025, Blue Ribbon was cited for sick and injured dogs and animals sold from the facility that were not born or raised on the premises, inspectors found.

On June 13, inspectors documented animals lacking mandatory rabies inoculations and licensing and dogs sold without a recent health examination, records show.

One week earlier, on June 5, inspectors determined a yellow labrador had been sold without a rabies vaccination while others were lacking health exams, documents show.

On June 10, 2024, Kowal was cited again for animals lacking enough space to move around while a female labrador named "Sunshine" was not treated according to veterinary instructions.

And on March 25, 2023, state inspectors noted that a health certificate were not available for six breeding dogs while the paperwork for three animals that had recently been sold was not provided, records state. 

The State Department of Agriculture and Markets did not respond to requests for comment.

Kowal is due back in court on March 24.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.