Citipups Village
45 Christopher St
New York, NY 10014
(888) 400-0859
Date and time of CAPS investigation: 05/13/18; 13:36
Approximate number of animals observed at time of investigation: about 50 puppies
Puppies were kept in enclosures that had two solid walls on their sides, cage door on their insides, clear plastic walls for customers to look through, and slatted plastic floorings. A sign offering information on breeders to customers was at eye level on a post near the puppy enclosures, facing customers as they approach the enclosures.
An employee (Caucasian male, about 38 years old, 5’8”, 180 lbs, with short black hair beneath a baseball cap and a buzzed moustache and beard), claimed he had personally met and visited most of the store’s breeders, and that most of them breed dogs in their homes, having about six to ten dogs each. He also claimed breeders skip breeding cycles, and that the store’s owner inspects breeders two to three times a year by flying to Arkansas and renting a car to drive through various states where breeders live.
I asked for paperwork on a Pomeranian puppy, and the worker produced it, showing the breeder was Doris Burton in Lebanon, MO. He said he didn’t know Burton, however. I looked at an older, four-month-old Pomeranian puppy in a playpen in the store. The puppy was excited to run and jump around the pen, but had a constant, raspy, hacking cough. Another worker (African American male, about 35 years old, 5’9”, 195 lbs, with short black hair, a short moustache and beard) told me the puppy may have a trachea problem which Poms are prone to, and would go “downstairs to get checked out.” The previous worker showed me the coughing Pom’s paperwork, which revealed Doris Burton was also the breeder of this dog.
Evidence of false statements and misrepresentations of breeders by store:
CAPS obtained a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection showing that the store received one or more puppies on 2/23/18 from Susie DeLozier in Green Forest, AR, one of numerous breeders the store uses. DeLozier has a USDA inspection report in which the inspector wrote, “The kennel facility consists of a sheltered building and two outdoor enclosures.” This contradicts the employee’s claim that breeders breed dogs in their homes, especially when considering that I have never visited a single USDA-licensed kennel in which I saw dogs bred in homes instead of kennel facilities.
Breeder info:
1. Doris Burton, Lebanon, MO
