Cruel tail fail
Pet store in abuse scandal closes
A CHELSEA pet store accused of abusing puppies and selling sick dogs to unsuspecting customers has closed its doors.
The Humane Society conducted a two-month undercover investigation into the Chelsea Kennel Club, where video captured a store staffer cracking a towel at one young dog, smacking crying pups and banging on cages.
The video also showed dogs with mucus in their eyes, limping and shaking in their cages.
After the video surfaced in July, animal-rights activists protested in front of the store.
On Wednesday, there was a “closed” sign on the front door of the shop, located on Seventh Ave. near W. 22nd St., and the phone was disconnected.
Owner Dana Derraugh has defended her affection for animals — noting she is a vegetarian — and denied animal abuse at her store. “I decided to retire,” she said Wednesday, noting the video and subsequent protests “didn’t help.”
“I didn’t want to stick around for the political witch hunt,” she said.
Derraugh, contacted by phone while she was on a subway train, didn’t answer when asked where the animals went. The call dropped and she declined to respond to subsequent messages.
The Humane Society group that conducted the investigation was happy with the store’s closure, but cautioned more needs to be done.
“While we certainly want outliers in regard to animal care and cruelty to change their ways or to go out of business, we cannot do in-depth investigations at the hundreds of places throughout the country that are supplying stores like the one in New York,” said Wayne Pacelle, the Humane Society’s CEO. “That’s why the nation needs sound policies that set measurable standards of care and assure that these standards are enforced.”
He’s urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to close loopholes that have allowed delinquent pet shop owners to simply get new licenses under different business names.
“The new proposed USDA rule can help prevent puppy millers from gaming the system,” Pacelle said.