Just Pups Store To Close After License Not Renewed, Report Says

After being at the center of controversy for months, Vincent LoSacco has decided to shut down the Just Pups Emerson location.

LoSacco told The Record that the decision to close the store was "personal" and that he's had enough.

"I can't push it any further," LoSacco said in the report.

The Emerson Borough Council voted Wednesday to deny LoSacco's renewal of his license.

LoSacco and the chain have been at the center of controversy since April when 67 puppies were found smelling of feces and urine in the back of a van outside the chain's now-closed Paramus store.

The vote was unanimous.

Banning the sale of dogs and cats at pet mills has come to the forefront since the puppies were found in the van. The State Senate approved a revision to the New Jersey Pet Protection Act that would only allow the sale of dogs and cats obtained from shelters, pounds, and animal rescue organizations. Emerson and Wyckoff already passed similar legislation.

Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal charged Losacco and his brother, Leonard, with 134 counts of animal cruelty.

The NJSPCA filed 267 animal cruelty charges filed against the chain's East Brunswick store and the East Brunswick Township Council revoked its license after three dead puppies were found in the store earlier this year.

Just Pups' East Hanover location is the chain's lone remaining store.

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