Just Pups Loses East Hanover License

EAST HANOVER, NJ — The last Just Pups location was denied a license to operate by the East Hanover Town Council during Tuesday's meeting, seemingly putting an end to a long saga about the treatment of the stores' animals.

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, as Patch previously reported.

“I have been doing this for almost 23 years,” TapInto quoted Health Director Carlo Dilizia as saying at a town council meeting. “I am a hard worker, but I have never worked harder in my life than on this case. Every time you turn the page it’s something different…I sleep better at night knowing this place is not open.”

Owner Vin 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?"

>>>Read More: Just Pups Put In Quarantine By East Hanover Board Of Health

The dogs were removed from the store following the quarantine and placed with different rescues for adoption. Of the 18 given to the Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter, all have been adopted, according to the Hanover Eagle.

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.

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

Outside of the Paramus Just Pups location, 50 puppies were found freezing in the trunk of 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. The Just Pups website is no longer online.

You can read the February quarantine notice here:

Image: Quarantine notice by Tracie Koehnlein