Problems Pile Up for Corona del Mar Pet Store

I Heart Puppies in Corona del Mar has been in hot water this month with many animal lovers and on Tuesday was required by the city to temporarily close its doors. 

Problems for the pet store began on July 5, just a few days after it opened, when the Companion Animal Protection Society—a national nonprofit, investigative group—launched a probe into the store after receiving numerous complaints from residents. Carole Davis, the organizations's West Coast director, said the investigation has led to information that showed I Heart Puppies did not have proper permits to have a pet store with live animals and resulted in the store's temporary closure.

"I went into the store last week and did an inspection," Davis said. "I noticed there was no sprinkler system or any kind of alarm that would hook up directly to the Fire Department in case of an emergency.

"We alerted building and safety, the Fire Department and City Council in Newport Beach that they were in violation of state law," Davis said.

Councilwoman Nancy Gardner said she was aware of the order being issued by the city due to building safety violations.

"Yes, it is my understanding that as soon as the store owners were notified of the requirement, they proceeded to rectify it," Gardner said.

How it started

The investigation does not claim I Heart Puppies has abused animals, but implies that the problem is they are being supplied by substandard commercial breeders in the Midwest that have repeat and multiple violations from USDA inspections violating the Animal Welfare Act. 

Suzanne Bradford, owner of I Heart Puppies, did not return phone calls or emails seeking comment Tuesday, but last week she refuted the claims of the animal group and said she does not support illegal kennels or those with a history of problems meeting USDA requirements. Instead Bradford claims I Heart Puppies gets its animals from Critters and Pets in San Diego.

"We cannot find any USDA license for the broker they say they use. In fact, we can't find them at all," Davis said. "The 36 San Diego area USDA brokers all have R licenses, meaning they broker dogs to be used for research experiments. That's creepy."

According to Davis, the breeder that supplied the Corona del Mar store is the same breeder that was investigated in a two-year national probe. The breeder is not in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act and is part of the reason for an ordinance being drafted in Los Angeles that would ban puppy mill puppies citywide. Additionally, that investigation led to an ordinance being passed in West Hollywood that states that stores can sell only dogs and cats that come from a local municipal shelter system or a legitimate rescue organization.

Davis said she would provide the City Council with a full investigative report, once it is concluded, and would work to get a similar ordinance passed in Newport Beach.