A controversial puppy store inside the Franklin Park Mall has closed.
The former Family Puppy space has been vacated, and signage has been removed.
Owner John Stottele did not return messages from The Blade seeking comment. A mall spokesman said the store closed Nov. 30. A mall security officer said the store moved out of its space Dec. 2.
The Family Puppy opened in October, 2013, amid controversy as animal advocates pushed the city of Toledo to adopt an ordinance banning retail sales of companion animals unless those animals come from a rescue and are spayed or neutered. The ordinance passed the following December, but the Family Puppy was grandfathered in.
Susan Robinson, organizer of the grassroots boycott the Family Puppy store group, cheered news of the store’s closure. After hearing the rumor and confirming the news by phone, she visited the mall in person.
“I just had to see it for myself,” she said.
Advocates argue Family Puppy obtained its dogs from puppy mills, saying responsible breeders would never sell their animals to a pet store. For four years, Ms. Robinson led weekly protests against the Toledo store at Talmadge Road and Monroe Street.
“We would constantly get positive reinforcement while standing on the corner, lots of honking and waves,” she said. “I’d like to think we had a good hand in [the store’s closure]. We didn’t let it go.”
Protests died out about a year ago, but the group has continued its efforts with an education campaign.
“That was always our goal, education,” Ms. Robinson said. “We wanted to see the store close, but the mission for education will continue until there are no more puppy stores. The battle is won, but the war is not over.”
Mr. Stottele previously said he works with 15 to 20 primarily Amish breeders in northern Indiana. He also said his requirements of breeders, like exercise yards and quarterly veterinary visits, go above and beyond the requirements set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Breeders with five or more breeding females by law must be licensed by the USDA.
Family Puppy shipped dogs first to its three Michigan stores, then to the Toledo store when they were old enough to have a rabies shot as required by city ordinance. Health certificates signed by a veterinarian and sent to the Michigan Department of Agriculture, which is required to ship dogs into the state, often note genetic defects in some dogs purchased by the Family Puppy.
The Toledo ordinance also required Family Puppy pay a $50 fee for each unaltered dog sold. City records show the store paid $7,550 for 151 dogs in 2014, $8,500 for 170 dogs in 2015, and $7,900 for 158 dogs in 2016.
The city received $4,400 for 88 dogs in 2017 before the store stopped paying the fee. Paul Syring, general counsel for the city law department, said the store argued that a state law passed in December, 2016, restricting cities' ability to regulate sales of pet dogs superseded the Toledo ordinance.
Then Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Ian English in December, 2017, upheld the city of Toledo’s ordinance. The 6th District Court of Appeals last month affirmed Judge English’s ruling, and the state has until Monday to appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Mr. Syring was unaware until The Blade’s request for information that Family Puppy had stopped paying the fee. He said the law department would look into the matter and consult with the mayor’s office to determine whether the city will pursue collecting the funds.
“It’s worth looking into,” he said.
First Published December 8, 2018, 6:15 p.m.
