SPCA drops charges against Pets Plus
By GAIL FRANKLIN
NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
8/25/2006

LOCKPORT - Criminal charges against the owner of Pets Plus Reptiles and Exotics were dropped Thursday, and 87 animals seized last month will be returned to the store today under a settlement made with the Erie County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Both sides declared victory after City Judge William J. Watson accepted the terms of the agreement, which requires the store to keep a clean slate for the next six months and calls for the Niagara County SPCA to do quarterly inspections for the next three years.

"I do feel vindicated," said co-owner Fred Kick. "They came in with no cause, just to stir things up."

Kick's attorney, George V.C. Muscato, said the fact that the SPCA dropped the 36 misdemeanor counts of failing to provide adequate food and water for the animals proves that the allegations that have been made were false.

However, Erie County SPCA spokeswoman Gina Browning said the nonprofit is more concerned with the welfare of animals than in putting people in jail.

"Not only were we able to care for the animals and bring these animals back to health, but now there is a humane society that has the right to inspect four times a year for three years," Browning said. "Now, animals for the next three years can be safe. We see this as a victory."

Kick will pay the SPCA $1,350, which is half the cost the nonprofit has spent caring for the 185 animals it seized. The owner was ecstatic as he described the animals he will be getting back from the SPCA's Town of Tonawanda shelter.

"We're getting the lion's share," Kick said. "We're getting every snake, and most of the lizards. The SPCA is keeping the frogs and a couple lizards."

Muscato said when the SPCA raided the store, it took 185 animals that were worth $16,000, and the animals that are being returned are worth $15,500. Browning said the SPCA will keep 72 of the animals that are still sick, while 26 have died or been euthanized since the raid.

SPCA general counsel Becky Powell said she is confident the pet store will be properly inspected over the next three years because she has made arrangements with Niagara SPCA Executive Director Albert Chille.

"He'll send his staff and we'll give him the training and information he needs to do the inspections," Powell said. "Going forward, we'll have an informal working relationship."

When the state Department of Environmental Conservation responded to complaints about conditions at Pets Plus, the Erie County SPCA was called because the Niagara County SPCA said it didn't have staff trained to work with reptiles and amphibians.

Kick said a week before his arrest, his store was inspected by the Niagara County SPCA and nothing was cited.

Kick on Thursday encouraged anyone who doubts he has the ability to takes care of his animals to check for themselves. A sign in front of the business on West Avenue read "Thank you for all of your support."
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