Dead Dogs Could Have Been in Freezer 'For Months,' Pet Store Owner Says

East Brunswick, NJ - The owner of a now-closed East Brunswick puppy store hit with 267 animal cruelty violations said he is “totally innocent” of the charges filed against him.

Officers with the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) filed the animal cruelty charges Monday against Vincent LoSacco, the owner of Just Pups off Rt. 18.

The charges are serious: Inspectors say he failed to prevent disease from spreading in his store, mixed sick dogs with healthy ones, and denied the puppies food and fresh water. An East Brunswick municipal judge approved a restraining order filed by the state Monday to temporarily close the store.

“Me and all my employees are totally innocent of all these allegations. And that’s all they are — allegations,” LoSacco told Patch in an interview Tuesday.

Dead dogs could have been in freezer for months, LoSacco says

One of the most shocking reveals in the state’s report was the finding of three dead puppies in a store freezer. LoSacco did not dispute the finding. He didn’t even know his staff was keeping dead animals there, he said.

“When the inspector found them, we were just as shocked as her,” he told Patch. “We never even look in that thing. It could have been in there for eight months, a year.”

“There were three dead dogs in a freezer because that’s where we’re supposed to keep them,” he added. “There are 100 dogs in the store at any time. We don’t know how long they were in there. Whoever put them in there didn’t inform the manager or myself.”

He said it’s standard protocol when a puppy dies to first place it in the freezer, and then take it to the vet to be cremated.

“Dogs in pet stores die. That’s a fact. If people don’t want to admit it, they’re lying. Puppies, when they are born — 30% don’t make it to 12 weeks old,” he said.

Buys 300 puppies a month

LoSacco said he buys his puppies at 8 weeks of age from breeders in Missouri and Arkansas. By New Jersey law, he said he is only allowed to buy from breeders that have been licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and approved by the state of New Jersey.

By rough speculation, LoSacco said he buys about 300 puppies a month for his four different stores in New Jersey: East Brunswick, Paramus, East Hanover and Emerson. He said he could not speculate on how many of those puppies die, however.

LoSacco also said all the complaints written against him were filed by one officer, who he said has a vendetta to shut down his store.

“The only officer who wrote all the summons told a veterinarian in East Brunswick that her goal was to shut my store down for good,” he said.

An NJSPCA spokesman told Patch the fact that the summonses were issued by one officer is irrelevant.

The complaints were filed Feb. 25 and 26th, and the NJSPCA officer said they occurred in January and early February, LoSacco said.

“If she thought the dogs weren’t being fed or given water, or at risk of bodily injury, why didn’t she write a summons or make an arrest at that time?” he asked.

The charges carry fines up to $100,000, and Steve Shatkin, the NJSPCA president, has said publicly that more charges related to LoSacco’s other stores are “highly likely.”

Read the original story here.