Manager: Officers Who Closed Pet Store Came On Bad Day

INDIANAPOLIS -- A woman accused of keeping dogs in unsanitary conditions at a south Indianapolis pet store says the business was in atypical form when authorities closed it.

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Pet Store Manager Says Officers Came On Bad Day

Angela Cummings (pictured, left), of Clay County, faces 59 citations accusing her of neglecting dogs at Nut & Butt Puppys.

Her trial began Wednesday with the city making its main argument in the case. Cummings will present her defense Thursday.

Animal control officers confiscated 20 dogs and closed the store in December. The city revoked the store's license Jan. 10.

Investigators said several of the confiscated dogs were suffering from respiratory infections and other effects of living in unhealthy conditions. The dogs were taken from cages littered with animal waste, investigators said.

On Wednesday, Cummings told RTV6's Jack Rinehart -- who was at the store during the December confiscation -- that authorities came to her store "on a day when the cleaning crew didn't show up."

"You were there on a day when I was going to have to shut the door and clean it myself," Cummings said. "That is not the normal condition that people see when they come in my door."

Cummings also is accused of selling animals with health problems such as congenital defects, infections and respiratory problems.

Some customers told authorities that they spent $500 for a dog, and then spent two or three times that amount on veterinarian bills, Rinehart reported.

Officials said the store has generated more than 150 complaints -- the most ever against a pet shop in Marion County.

If convicted, Cummings would face fines of up to $150,000.

City officials have kept many of the dogs in foster care until the trial ends despite numerous inquiries about adopting the animals.