Local News in Brief : Animal Cruelty Charged

Ninety-three counts of cruelty to animals, failure to properly care for animals and theft were filed Thursday against the operators of the Docktor Pet Center in Torrance.

Pet store owner Richard A. Rosenthal of Whittier and manager Raymond A. Charpentier of Torrance were to be arraigned this morning in South Bay Municipal Court on charges that they mistreated animals ranging from puppies and kittens to a monitor lizard, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.

Similar charges are still pending against Rosenthal for previous alleged abuses at the Torrance store, located in Del Amo Fashion Center, and at a San Bernardino County outlet of Docktor, the nation’s largest franchiser of pet stores.