State wants to revoke licenses of Batavia, St. Charles businesses selling puppies
Two businesses selling puppies in Batavia and St. Charles could lose their licenses in a dispute about whether dog dealers can sell dogs at retail stores.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture wants to revoke the dog-dealing licenses of the Petland store at 401 N. Randall Road in Batavia and The Perfect Pup at 2400 E. Main St. in St. Charles.
Both were charged on Nov. 14 with violating the Illinois Animal Welfare Act. The allegation is they were operating as pet stores without having a pet store license.
According to the revocation petitions, a state inspector visited the facilities on Sept. 27 and saw they were selling dogs.
The Petland store used to have a pet shop operator's license but gave it up on July 25, according to the state. The petition states the applicants said they had removed all animals from the shop. It received a dog dealer license on July 28.
The Perfect Pup also had a pet shop license but gave it up on May 19. It received a dog-dealer license on May 26, according to the state.
The issue arises out of a change in state law that took effect on Jan. 1, making it illegal for pet shops to sell dogs unless they obtained them from animal shelters or animal-control facilities, not breeders.
In August, the state petitioned to revoke the dog-dealing license of Furry Babies stores at malls in Lombard, Aurora and Rockford. Furry Babies is fighting the revocations. Furry Babies, Petland and The Perfect Pup say they get their puppies from breeders.
Responses
The Batavia store referred a request for comment to Petland Inc.
Elizabeth Kunzelman, Petland Inc.'s vice president of legislative and public affairs, said the store is independently owned and operated. "They have been operating legally with a dog-dealer license granted by the state. Petland Batavia will fight the petition as they have been operating as required by the license. Petland believes consumers should have the choice of where they get their pet and are proud of the work done behind the scenes to ensure that their puppies are sourced from responsible, licensed, regulated breeders," Kunzelman said.
Starfish Ventures owns the Petland stores in Batavia, Bolingbrook and Hoffman Estates. The other two stores don't sell dogs; their websites direct customers to the Batavia location.
A request for comment has been left with The Perfect Pup.