Abandoned animals and fish - some dead - found in closed Scotts Valley pet store
By Jennifer Squires
Posted: 03/31/2010 07:24:39 PM PDT
SCOTTS VALLEY - Maintenance workers cleaning out a shuttered pet store Wednesday discovered dead fish and rodents in a Dumpster and abandoned, live sea creatures in dirty tanks, prompting an investigation by county Animal Services officers.
The fish, snails, crabs and rodents were left behind when Round Up Pet Supply closed its doors in February, according to property manager Matthew Turner. His family, the Ows, owns the King's Village Shopping Center on Mount Hermon Road where the pet store had been located for about two decades.
Turner and Nate Urbanlic, a maintenance worker, found the abandoned fish and animals.
"We started noticing live fish in the tanks with dead fish," said Urbanlic, who was draining stagnate water from the fish tanks Wednesday. "This is kind of gross. It's sad, too."
"Once we found those fish, we started looking around, finding everything else," Turner said.
There were dead rodents - maybe gerbils, hamsters or rats, but they were too decayed to identify - found in two cages in a back storage room and in buckets in the Dumpster. The three found in cages still had water; Brzezinski said they either starved to death or were sick.
Two dead sichlids, a fish, were found floating in one tank and other dead fish had been dumped in the trash.
"We take any neglect of any type of animal seriously," Brzezinski said. "It's no different than a dog or a cat case. These animals weren't properly cared for."
Wednesday, the store was sparsely lit. In some areas, bare shelves and empty racks littered the floor, but other displays still contained dust-covered dog bowls and decorative rocks for aquariums. Valentine's Day decorations adorned a back wall.
The shop had specialized in birds, reptiles, fish and rodents, the sign on the building facade stated. Inside, handwritten posters promoted sales on birds - $50 for cockatiels, parakeets for $100-$200 and $300 parrots - and a bunny cage padded with wooden chips was still stocked with a dish of pellet food and a filled water bottle.
However, no larger pets were found in the store.
Brzezinski said investigating a pet store for animal neglect case was a first in Santa Cruz County. The owners could face charges of crimes against animals and animal neglect, he said.
The owners were not at the store Wednesday as Animal Services officers netted the 18 gold fish, two crabs, three snails and two crawfish that survived.
Three or four years ago, the original Round Up Pet Supply owners sold the shop to a couple, the Sanders, according to Turner. They could not be reached to comment Wednesday.
The pet store owners had fallen behind on rent and were kicked out about a month ago, Turner said. He did not have specifics about how much money the business owed or what the monthly rent for the space was.
After the pet store owners were evicted, a dispute erupted between they and the Ow family as to who had the legal right to be inside the store because much of the pet store merchandise had been left behind, Turner said.
Urbanlic said he had seen one of the owners at the property Saturday but the Ow family, through attorneys, won access over the weekend.
Turner changed the locks Monday and, Tuesday, workers started cleaning the blacked-out windows, which Urbanlic said were still decorated for Christmas. The store smelled "horrible," Turner said, something later linked to rotting krill in an unplugged refrigerator.
It was too dark to explore the depths of the 5,000-square-foot commercial space until Turner and Urbanlic came back Wednesday with lights. That's when they discovered the abandoned animals and fish.
About 10 days ago, the pet store owners posted a sign on the front door of the Nob Hill Center shop directing customers to call a San Jose pet store for assistance. An employee at that store said the Round Up Pet Supply owners planned to reopen soon. The phone number listed for the San Jose store was disconnected Wednesday.
Clair Francis of Felton was surprised to find Animal Services officers rescuing pets from the store when she stopped by Wednesday afternoon to buy food for the bird she'd purchased at Round Up Pet Supply last year. She said thing had seemed fine and employees were helpful, but in recent weeks the phone had been disconnected.
"That's really sad," Francis said, when hearing about the dead animals found in the shop. "Yuck."
