Fancy Pups Hit with $21,000 in New Fines from the State

Woodbridge, NJ - More trouble for Fancy Pups.

The now-shuttered pet store on St. Georges Avenue in Avenel — shut down by the state on Christmas Eve for allegedly selling sick dogs — was hit with a maximum $21,500 in fines from the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs for failing to follow state laws designed to prevent the sale of unhealthy pets.

In total, Fancy Pups was slapped with 42 violations, the state announced Monday. Other pet shops across the state were cited by Consumer Affairs as well, some receiving as many as 153 violations and other pet stores as few as 5.

State inspectors say Fancy Pups failed do several things: Put specific info on the cages of each dog, including where and when the animal was bred; disclose the name and address of anyone who brokered the sale between breeder and pet store; and finally, include the date and name of the vet who performed the animal’s initial medical exam.

All that information is required by law under the Pet Purchase Protection Act, designed to inform buyers about where their pet came from, state officials say. The law was also created to make sure only healthy animals are sold.

When the Woodbridge Health Department inspected Fancy Pups in December 2015, it found many medical records for its dogs missing and no evidence of recent veterinarian visits, both of which are required by law. Fancy Pups owner Rocco Garruto has been convicted twice in Woodbridge municipal court for selling sick puppies. Several dogs taken from his store in December were found to have worms.

If Fancy Pups complies with the citations, Garruto would pay a $5,375 fine, state officials said. But if he does not amend any of the violations, the full fine levied by the state is $21,500.

However, the license for Fancy Pups expired at the end of December, and Woodbridge officials want the store shut down for good. The township health department will ask a municipal judge to support their decision not to renew the license for Fancy Pups, a township spokesman told Patch in December.