Last Just Pups Store Put In Quarantine

The final store in the Just Pups chain has been placed in quarantine by the East Hanover Board of Health after 68 puppies were illegally imported without the proper veterinarian checks, officials said.

The quarantine is the result of an investigation by the board that began in January. East Hanover Police have been stationed at the store since the quarantine was put into effect.

There was "sufficient reason" to suspect some dogs had diseases following the death of three of them, Health Director Carlo DiLizia wrote in the quarantine notice. Another two "had signs of communicable disease while being housed in general population," he said, something the owner disputes.

In a follow-up visit by the Board Of Health, the proper veterinarian paperwork had still not been acquired, and three dogs had died as a result, leading to the quarantine, DiLizia wrote.

LoSacco, however, said in a statement the three dogs that died did not have any communicable diseases; instead, they died from fading puppy syndrome.

RELATED: Just Pups Owner Written Up For Several Violations At Missouri Facility

East Hanover Police first investigated LoSacco last month for allegedly bringing a number of dogs into New Jersey from Texas without the proper paperwork, something he also got in trouble with the Missouri Department of Agriculture for involving at a puppy farm he owns there.

LoSacco has been the subject of intense criticism from North Jersey residents and animals rights groups since health inspectors found three dead dogs inside a freezer at the Just Pups location in East Brunswick last January. Inspectors also found puppies inside the store being kept without enough fresh water, and healthy puppies mixed in with very sick, contagious dogs.

The closing marks the fourth and final of LoSacco's stores to close since police discovered 67 puppies inside a van in near-freezing temperatures outside the Paramus store last April. LoSacco and his brother Leonard were each charged with 67 counts of animal cruelty in connection with the incident.

LoSacco also had stores in East Brunswick and Emerson, both of which are closed.

The East Brunswick Town Council voted to permanently revoke Vincent LoSacco's health license March 28 and shut the store down. The Paramus Board of Health also revoked LoSacco's license. Emerson denied Just Pups' business license, a decision that a Superior Court judge upheld, NorthJersey.com reported.

Additional reporting by Katie Kausch

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Photo: Some of the puppies police found in the van outside the Just Pups in Paramus last year. — Paramus Police Department