Karen Hulvey
05-15-2005, 10:22 PM
Animals found in abandoned pet shop
By Paul Hampel
Of the Post-Dispatch
05/13/2005
The Department of Agriculture is caring for 206 animals living at the Pampered Pets store in Alton Square mall while the shop's ownership is resolved in court.
Management at Alton Square mall learned this week just how messy a business breakdown can be when pets are the merchandise.
Matthew and Jessica Buckingham, the owners of the Pampered Pets store on the mall's second floor, defaulted on a loan and abandoned the store, said Jeff Squibb, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Agriculture. The agency regulates such businesses.
The Buckinghams stopped paying employees, Squibb said. The employees stopped coming to work. And meanwhile, the store's 206 animals continued to answer nature's call.
When the store did not open for business on Thursday, mall officials notified Alton authorities.
"We arrived and found horrible conditions," said James Greer, Alton assistant chief of animal control. "When animals are unattended like that, even for a short time, things get filthy fast."
Greer said the stench of animal waste was overpowering. Pet food littered the floor in the back room. Maggots infested containers of rodent feed.
On Friday, the Buckinghams were sued in Madison County Circuit Court by the store's previous owner, Ovella Lange, of Lincoln County.
Lange sold the business to the Buckinghams in January for $61,000. She alleges that the couple stopped making payments in March.
Squibb said the Department of Agriculture has reached an agreement with Lange to care for the animals until ownership of them is resolved in court.
Among the store's stock were several cats and dogs; dozens of mice and hamsters; 14 hedgehogs; several reptiles; and 84 fresh water and 15 sea water tanks containing a wide variety of fish.
Greer said all but two of the animals appeared to be in good health. They also appeared to have been well-fed.
"One snake, (and) possibly another animal, were showing signs of some type of disease," Greer said. "But in the last few weeks we had started to get complaints from people who had purchased animals from Pampered Pets that seemed in poor health."
Greer said one man filed a formal complaint after he said he spent $1,500 on veterinarian bills for a puppy he had purchased at the store.
The Buckinghams did not return telephone calls for comment on Friday.
Les Morris, spokesman for the Simon Property Group in Indianapolis, which owns Alton Square, said mall management had also been unable to reach the owners since officials became aware of the problem on Thursday.
"I get a lot of incident reports, usually dealing with crime and the like," Morris said. "But this one was really horrendous."
By Paul Hampel
Of the Post-Dispatch
05/13/2005
The Department of Agriculture is caring for 206 animals living at the Pampered Pets store in Alton Square mall while the shop's ownership is resolved in court.
Management at Alton Square mall learned this week just how messy a business breakdown can be when pets are the merchandise.
Matthew and Jessica Buckingham, the owners of the Pampered Pets store on the mall's second floor, defaulted on a loan and abandoned the store, said Jeff Squibb, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Agriculture. The agency regulates such businesses.
The Buckinghams stopped paying employees, Squibb said. The employees stopped coming to work. And meanwhile, the store's 206 animals continued to answer nature's call.
When the store did not open for business on Thursday, mall officials notified Alton authorities.
"We arrived and found horrible conditions," said James Greer, Alton assistant chief of animal control. "When animals are unattended like that, even for a short time, things get filthy fast."
Greer said the stench of animal waste was overpowering. Pet food littered the floor in the back room. Maggots infested containers of rodent feed.
On Friday, the Buckinghams were sued in Madison County Circuit Court by the store's previous owner, Ovella Lange, of Lincoln County.
Lange sold the business to the Buckinghams in January for $61,000. She alleges that the couple stopped making payments in March.
Squibb said the Department of Agriculture has reached an agreement with Lange to care for the animals until ownership of them is resolved in court.
Among the store's stock were several cats and dogs; dozens of mice and hamsters; 14 hedgehogs; several reptiles; and 84 fresh water and 15 sea water tanks containing a wide variety of fish.
Greer said all but two of the animals appeared to be in good health. They also appeared to have been well-fed.
"One snake, (and) possibly another animal, were showing signs of some type of disease," Greer said. "But in the last few weeks we had started to get complaints from people who had purchased animals from Pampered Pets that seemed in poor health."
Greer said one man filed a formal complaint after he said he spent $1,500 on veterinarian bills for a puppy he had purchased at the store.
The Buckinghams did not return telephone calls for comment on Friday.
Les Morris, spokesman for the Simon Property Group in Indianapolis, which owns Alton Square, said mall management had also been unable to reach the owners since officials became aware of the problem on Thursday.
"I get a lot of incident reports, usually dealing with crime and the like," Morris said. "But this one was really horrendous."