By MICHAEL NUNES
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — Time appears to be up for Just Pups in East Brunswick.
In a three-hour public hearing on March 28 that saw five witnesses and a statement by Vincent LoSacco, the owner of Just Pups LLC, members of the Township Council voted unanimously to revoke the store’s pet shop license.
“To me a lack of any witnesses by the licensee to refute any of the testimony given tonight doesn’t give me much of a position to take but to trust the professionals that have been on site,” said Councilman James Wendell before the vote was taken. “We haven’t heard from anyone who is from the licensee’s side that was actually on site during those periods of time. No one has provided any testimony regarding that.”
Lawyers representing LoSacco said the reason they did not call any witnesses for testimony was due to the belief that the council had already made up its mind on the matter.
“We’re evaluating which remedy we’re going to elect. Once we make that decision, we would file the appropriate papers,” said Barry Guaglardi, who works for the firm Arturi, D’Argenio, Guaglardi & Meliti LLP in Rochelle Park.
“We received notice before the hearing that they have already made their decision,” he said, stating that the town council in its agenda only published resolutions suspending or revoking the pet store’s license.
“As far as we’re concerned this hearing was nothing more than pretext. … We believe the decision that was made was a gross miscarriage of justice.”
LoSacco’s lawyers said they were looking into an appeal process.
LoSacco, after the decision came down, echoed the remarks by his counsel.
“They predetermined that they were going to take my license before the hearing. This was just a show, and we have grounds for appeal,” LoSacco said after the ruling of the Township Council.
On Feb. 29, officers with the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) filed 267 animal cruelty charges against LoSacco, the owner of Just Pups in East Brunswick as well as in Paramus, East Hanover and Emerson. According to LoSacco, none of his other stores is currently under investigation.
There are currently no animals at the store’s East Brunswick location off Route 18.
According to Township Attorney Jean Cipriani, the complaint made by the licensee that the only two choices of the council was the suspension or revocation of the license was unfounded because the council could always choose not to act.
“Not acting, as you might guess from the way it’s described, does not require a resolution. If no one moves to suspend or revoke the license, then the license will stay in effect,” she said during opening statements of the hearing.
The first witness to be called was Lester Jones, the director of the Middlesex County Health Department (MCHD), who spoke of his recommendation to the township to investigate the pet store.
“It was my recommendation based on the fact that since the beginning of the year we have had multiple inspections, the facility has been quarantined twice and we have issued four conditionally satisfactory postings based on our inspections and four unsatisfactory postings,” he said.
Jo Ann Lesko, an animal control officer for the township, the second witness to testify, recounted how she received a phone call on Jan. 21 about a German shepherd puppy, bought from Just Pups, that became seriously ill less than a day after being purchased.
“That puppy had very bad pneumonia, and they were told it would need extensive medical care,” Lesko said.
She inspected Just Pups a day after the call.
Lesko spoke of several reports she filed detailing several puppies at the location which she identified had kennel cough as well as one puppy, who was in isolation, that was in need of a veterinarian.
Greg Laszlo, the chief registered health specialist at the MCHD, then testified, “We had several animals exhibiting signs of respiratory infection. The isolation room was filled to capacity with no area left to isolate additional sick animals,” continuing that there was improper disinfection at the location as well as inadequate record keeping.
“In the nature we found them in, every animal in that facility was potentially exposed to whatever illness was going through that facility,” he said about the store being quarantined Jan. 22.
He also spoke of the three dead dogs found in a freezer at the location.
“We discovered the dogs in the freezer with no paperwork. … Regardless of the fact they passed away on site, documentation needs to be maintained,” he said, continuing that one of the dogs had been found positive for distemper.
Traci Vogler, a veterinarian with the NJSPCA, testified to a lack of treatment sheets for the puppies.
Lina Frese, an inspector with the state Department of Health, gave testimony to what she observed at the store during her inspection.
“The most outstanding was the lack of veterinary supervision. … There was a lack of veterinary documentation, there were numerous records that were missing. The disinfection processes were not being performed correctly, and the medications were not being administered according to the manufacturer’s product label,” she said, stating that it took her six hours to find the animals’ records, some of which would not be found.
There were originally six witnesses who planned to testify, but according to Cipriani, due to the “lateness of the hour” and information already presented to council, it was best to end the testimony.
According to Anthony Arturi, another of LoSacco’s lawyers from the same firm, the township had no authority to take away his client’s license.
“They can’t proceed with suspension or revocation without a recommendation from the county, and it was admitted here that the county made no such recommendation. That recommendation has to be based on the number of unfit certificates that are issued versus the total annual sales,” he said, stating that there have been more than 600 sales the past year and two certificates of unfit sale.
Contact Michael Nunes at [email protected].