Convicted Pet Shop Owner Must Sell Store, Pay Fines

A Torrance pet shop owner convicted of animal cruelty and improper pet shop maintenance has been ordered to sell his business, pay fines and restitution totaling nearly $13,000 and serve 3 years probation.

South Bay Municipal Court Commissioner Andrew C. Kauffman ordered the penalties Tuesday for Richard Allen Rosenthal, 35, owner of the Docktor Pet Center franchise at Del Amo Fashion Center.

Docktor is the nation’s largest pet store franchiser.

The sentence was part of a plea agreement arranged in July, when Rosenthal pleaded no contest to 11 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and improper pet shop maintenance. Nearly 100 similar charges were dropped as part of the agreement, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Amy-Hannah Kraus.

Under the terms of his probation, Rosenthal must sell the Torrance pet store by March 1 and cannot own or operate a pet shop anywhere in the county for 3 years.

He also must pay a $2,000 fine, $1,000 to eight disgruntled customers and $9,925 to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The SPCA cared for sickly pets that were confiscated from the store, then put 21 of the dogs, cats and other animals up for adoption in July.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge had earlier rejected the pet shop’s argument that state animal laws are too broad because they permit criminal charges against pet shop owners who do not immediately clean soiled cages.

“Armed with this statute, I could walk into any pet shop in California and arrest the owner,” said Alex Forgette, Rosenthal’s lawyer. Forgette said there was “never any intentional cruelty to any animal.”

Rosenthal and SPCA agents became involved in a “personality conflict” that led to the criminal charges, Forgette said.

Animals Crowded, Diseased

But SPCA investigator Cori Whetstone said animals were crowded in small cages and that sick animals were poorly cared for. At least 35 customers said that pets bought at the store were sick.

The case against Docktor Pet Center began in late 1986, when a shopper reported seeing a dead rabbit in a window.

The Torrance conviction was the second for Rosenthal, who was found guilty last year of improperly operating the Docktor Pet Center franchise in Montclair. He was put on probation, fined $1,700 and ordered to pay $2,500 restitution.