Citipups Chelsea
147 8th Ave
New York, NY 10011
(888) 400-0859
Date and time of CAPS investigation: 05/13/18; 14:21
Approximate number of animals observed at time of investigation: about 55 puppies
Puppy enclosures had solid walls on two sides, metal barred doors on their insides, clear plastic walls on their outsides for the public to view them through, and treated wire floorings. A sign offering information on the source of puppies to the public was posted at about chest-height facing the entrance of the store, between a merchandise stand and against the side of the closest puppy enclosures. The sign wasn’t visible to anyone looking directly at puppy enclosures or talking to workers at the check-out desk (17-703 Required information for the purchaser (11)(c)).
A worker (olive-skinned male, about 32 years old, 5’9”, 160 lbs with short black hair buzzed on the sides, and short chinstrap beard with no moustache) talked to me about the store’s breeders He claimed the store visits the store’s breeders three times a year, and then became so agitated when I asked him about conditions at the store’s breeders that I asked him to calm down. He was upset customers questioned the sources of puppies the store used and that called many breeders “puppy mills.” He then told me that I should just go buy a puppy directly from a breeder instead of at his store. After about a minute and half of calming the worker down, he offered to showed me pictures of the store’s breeders. He took me over to a display board at the end of the store, but the pictures showed breeders standing next to the store’s owner instead of how breeding dogs are kept in kennels.
I then asked to see paperwork on a Pomeranian puppy. Another worker (Caucasian male, about 50 years old, 5’7”, 150 lbs, with a bald head and tattoos covering his forearms) showed me the puppy’s paperwork, including the breeder information. I photographed it with my phone, and the previous worker became upset again and said I had to delete the photo from my phone for privacy reasons for the breeder. When I hesitated, he repeated I had to delete the photo, and I then asked him to write down the breeder’s information for breeder Barbara Netroy, USDA license # 43-A-5407. The worker misspelled her name “Barbra” as he wrote it down.
CAPS received a consumer complaint that Barbara Netroy sold a puppy to the Citipups’ Village location that had parvovirus. A customer purchased this puppy on 12/1/16. The puppy died within 24 hours of purchase.
Breeder info:
1. Barbara Netroy, 43-A-5407
