Local News in Brief : Pet Store Owner Told to Sell His Business
A pet store owner has been ordered to sell his business and pay nearly $13,000 in fines for keeping sick animals in unsanitary conditions.
Richard Allen Rosenthal, 35, owner of Docktor Pet Center in Torrance, was sentenced Tuesday in South Bay Municipal Court to three years’ probation for 11 misdemeanor convictions of animal cruelty and improper shop maintenance.
Rosenthal was also ordered not to own or operate a business involving pets in Los Angeles County during his probation. He had pleaded no contest to the charges.
Most of his fine will go to the Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which is sheltering animals seized in two raids on the store in the Del Amo Fashion Center.
Rosenthal relinquished ownership of 21 dogs, cats, turtles and birds. He has until March to sell his business, prosecutors said.
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