50 Dogs Found In Freezing Van Outside Paramus Puppy Store: Police

PARAMUS, N.J. – Police found 50 puppies and small dogs inside a van with near-freezing temperatures parked outside the Just Pups store on Route 17 South Monday morning, authorities said.

Police were patrolling the store parking lot when they saw a 2002 Freightlinder Sprinter van parked in the lot and heard crying and whining coming from inside, said Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg.

The officers entered the van through an unlocked door and found 50 puppies and small dogs inside several small metal crates containing two to four dogs each, the chief said.

Some of the crates were so small the dogs couldn’t stand up inside them, Ehrenberg said. Some of them did not have food and water and some of the dogs were covered in feces.

The temperature inside the van was 38 degrees, only a few degrees higher than the 35-degrees it was outside, Ehrenberg said.

A propane tank in the back of the van was connected to a space heater, police said, which was “ineffective” in heating the inside of the van. The van was also not properly ventilated, police said.

The van is registered to Just Pups, police said.

The puppies were transported to Oradell Animal Hospital for treatment. Additionally, 15 of them needed “further medical treatment,” Ehrenberg said. All of the puppies were alive as of 11:30 a.m. Monday.

The Paramus Health Department closed the Just Pups store pending an investigation.

The Bergen County Animal Cruelty Task Force, Paramus police detectives, and the Paramus Health Department are conducting the investigation.

New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) filed 267 animal cruelty charges against the Just Pups store in East Brunswick after three dead dogs were found in a freezer at that store. That store was also shut down.

The store’s owner, Vincent LoSacco, exposed puppies to illnesses and several dogs died after they were purchased there, state inspectors said.

Pictured:

Some of the puppies police found in the cages.

Inside the van where the dogs were found.

The space heater that was used to try and keep the dogs warm.

The van the dogs were found in, police said.

Photos courtesy of the Paramus Police Department