Last Just Pups Store Denied License

The last Just Pups store was denied a license to operate in New Jersey, seemingly putting an end to a long saga about the treatment of the stores' animals.

The East Hanover Town Council denied the business a license during a meeting Tuesday.

The license denial comes a month after the East Hanover location was put into quarantine for allegedly illegally importing dogs. Thirty-four dogs were imported without paperwork in early January, and another 68 were imported later in the month, Patch previously reported.

Owner Vincent LoSacco had fought against the quarantine notice, calling the decision "nothing short of tyranny" and writing, "Is this East Hanover New Jersey of the United States of America or Cuba?"

The dogs were removed from the store following the quarantine and placed with different rescues for adoption.

East Hanover was the chain's last remaining location, after three others were shut down amid controversy. Three dead dogs were found in the freezer of the East Brunswick Just Pups last February, and the store was shut down by the town. The NJSPCA filed 267 animal cruelty charges against the pet store.

>>>Read More: Year In Review: The Just Pups Case

Outside of the Paramus Just Pups location, 67 puppies were found in near-freezing temperatures inside a van last April. The Paramus Health Department closed that store pending an investigation, and LoSacco did not attempt to renew that store's license. A fourth location in Emerson closed last July.

LoSacco was served almost 60 health code violations at a court appearance in Emerson earlier this week, The Daily Voice reported.

The Paramus Board of Health issued more than 400 summonses against LoSacco and the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office filed 134 animal cruelty charges against him and his brother after the dogs were discovered inside a near-freezing van, police said.

The majority of the Paramus summonses were dropped. LoSacco pleaded guilty to four health-code violations and must pay $19,000 in restitution.

Reporting by Katie Kausch and Daniel Hubbard

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Some of the dogs that police found inside the van in near-freezing temperatures outside the Paramus Just Pups store. — Paramus Police Department