End Comes for Infamous Pet Hotel

The owners of a San Diego kennel closed by authorities because of many animal-abuse violations have moved out of the building, signifying the end of Kelly’s Pet Hotel.

Moving crews removed furniture and boxes out of the West Morena Boulevard kennel Monday, the deadline set by the court after a decade of legal battles.

Ruby Mae Brown, co-owner of the kennel, was not there, although in past years she staunchly fought to keep the kennel open. At one point, she bought an assault rifle to protect the kennel, though she never used it.

Her business associate B.J. Holland supervised the move.

Brown housed everything from dogs to ducks in the pet hotel. But Brown, who owned the kennel since the early 1980s, was forced to close down last year, after years of confrontations with the County Department of Animal Control and the Humane Society.

Often the battles ended up in court, where she and Holland were convicted of 20 animal-abuse violations. However, the kennel remained open while Brown appealed the conviction.

Emro Dapcevic, the new owner of the 10,000-square-foot building, wants to move his welding shop there. He said Tuesday he’s not sure whether he will raze the building or simply renovate it.

Although Dapcevic purchased the property in February, he said the owners decided to wait until Monday’s deadline to remove their belongings from the building.