A total of 39 puppies were removed from a Brick pet store after an anonymous tip led to a multi-agency response Thursday.
Officials from the Ocean County Health Department along with volunteers from the Jersey Shore Animal Shelter removed 39 dogs from Puppies Galore, a puppy store located in the Brick Mall shopping plaza at the corner of Brick Boulevard and Hooper Avenue.
Brick Police kept watch over the scene.
"The concern was the overall welfare of the 39 puppies that were here," said Dr. Adam Christman, a veterinarian from Brick Town Veterinary Hospital.
Christman was called to the scene after the county health department contacted the Jersey Shore Animal Center Thursday afternoon. Of the 39 puppies at the store, 26 were determined to have health problems, including four with serious health issues.
The four with the most serious health issues, which Christman said appeared to be pneumonia, were taken immediately to NorthStar VETS in Robbinsville, a 24 hour veterinary emergency trauma center.
The other sick puppies, which varied in size and breed, will be treated at local animal hospitals and shelters, including St. Hubert's in Madison, the Monmouth County SPCA in Eatontown and the Jersey Shore Animal Center in Brick. Those puppies were determined by Christman and another veterinarian on scene to be suffering from mild to moderate respiratory issues, gastrointestinal problems and intestinal parasites.
"Things that will be deemed treatable," he said.
"Our mission right now is just to take care of the welfare of the animals," Christman said. "They're going to be divided up and, at least, have their care provided for until the legal process has transpired."
Ryan Griffin, Senior Public Health Investigator for the Ocean County Health Department, said the store was issued an unsatisfactory notice Tuesday, and agreed to voluntarily shut down. But a tip from an individual prompted the response Thursday. The tip, according to Christman, included a report that one dog had escaped from its pen and was running around the store.
"The township was in the process of reviewing continued licensure," Griffin said.
Griffin said an investigation is ongoing, and animal cruelty officers will be making a determination as to whether any charges will be filed against the owners of the pet store, identified by a county representative on scene as Maria Desantis and Nat Sladkin.
Christman said Desantis was "belligerent" toward officials who came to the store to investigate the complaint.
Neither owner remained on scene, though Christman said he knew of multiple "unfit for purchase" letters filed by local veterinarians against the store, which entitle purchasers of sick puppies to receive refunds and recoup expenses.
Neither Desantis nor Sladkin could be immediately reached for comment.
A check of public records showed Desantis registered the business with the Ocean County Clerk's office last July.
janice
Apparently he will be hiring representation and a new court date will follow. There is an overwhelming outpour of outrage over Sladkin's inhumane actions against God's innocent creatures. The community will ban together until justice is sought.
I saw him sitting there by himself with no attorney. I knew he wouldn't go down without a fight.
Whenever we witness abuse by folks in a position of power over those in a position without the power, we must do our part to end the inhumane treatment and opression. Can you imagine anyone getting upset at the mere mention of asking to be treated in a decent manner? We must continue to prevent the mistreatment of animals and expose those iwho act in a cowardly fashion simply because they can.
janice
But the message does not stop here. Oppression comes in many shapes and sizes. Abusers such as Ms. DeSantis and Mr. Sladkin remain unscathed while the fate of the innocent is left to their mercy. The mistreatment of animals is never acceptable!
Many years ago, the same Mr. Nat Sladkin sold my family a very sick pet which eventually we had to put down (thousands of dollars in vet bills later) I can only conclude that we need the establishment of a NJ CONSUMER & ANIMAL PROTECTION REGISTRY whereby consumers could easily identify a manner (with one central location) in which to lodge complaints and relevant information should be required to be printed on all sales receipts with purchase of sale. Further we need legislation and provisions for the court, upon finding a person or operator of a store selling animals guilty of abusing an animal or otherwise violating the State animal cruelty laws to be issued an animal protection order against the person or store operator adjudged guilty of the abuse or other violation, requiring the person to refrain from interacting with any animal PERMANENTLY. The time for the enactment and implementation of animal protection measures is long overdue. It is my hope that I do not have to read about this same operator doing more of the same.
People need to come together in towns across NJ. They need to ask their local officials to BAN the sale of puppies in pet stores. This, and only this, will prohibit these businesses from scamming the public, abusing consumers AND animals. Brick residents - please come to the next council meeting 2/28/12 at 7:00 PM. The ordinance to ban pet sales in pet stores will be introduced at that meeting. WE MUST FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THIS MATTER!!!!
http://patspupsnj.com/