An investigation into mistreatment of animals at an Augusta Mall pet store has resulted in citations against several of the store's employees, officials said Thursday.
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Randy Teasley, the director of Augusta Animal Services, said his department has issued citations for misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals against three employees of the former Petland store.
Mr. Teasley refused to disclose the names of the individuals cited. Names of people charged with a crime are public records under Georgia's Open Records Act.
He said that he did not want to jeopardize the investigation, and that he was told by a clerk at Richmond County Magistrate Court, whom he didn't name, that it was against the law for him to release the names.
Magistrate Court Judge William D. Jennings III said citations filed with the court are a matter of public record.
"What he (Mr. Teasley) does with paperwork in his own department is up to him or not," he said.
The charges are a result of an investigation launched after a former employee reported animal abuse to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office on Feb. 28.
Sarah Milroy reported that a store manager had taken some of the animals to a veterinarian but had not been giving them the prescribed medications.
She also told police that an employee put a dog suffering from seizures in a plastic bag and beat the animal against concrete until the dog died, a police report states. It is not known whether the three workers charged are still employed at the store.
Ms. Milroy's report started a process that now has the former Petland shop under investigation by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and resulted in its loss of franchise affiliation.
Pet dealers are required to be licensed by the Department of Agriculture under Georgia law.
Tommy Irvin, the commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, said the owner of the pet store, Larry Wendt, was sent a letter notifying him of a hearing before agriculture officials in Atlanta on Monday morning, requiring him to present a case for why the store's state license shouldn't be revoked.
Mr. Irvin said the store's state pet dealer license was granted jointly to the local store and Petland Inc., and said that because the company withdrew its franchise agreement, the store was in violation of its license.
He said an agriculture department official was sent to investigate the store Wednesday, and said officials found that animals at the store were being cared for properly.
In a prepared statement, the Chillicothe, Ohio-based company said it terminated the franchise agreement with the store operator at Augusta Mall on Monday and pulled the store's sign and operational support.
The statement indicated that the company had a no-tolerance policy for not complying with pet-care standards in its pet stores.
The store remained open for business Thursday. A woman who answered the telephone at the business identified herself as the wife of the owner and said that he was not in the store and that no one at the store was allowed to comment.
Ms. Milroy said that as an animal lover, she couldn't stand to see what went on at the store, and quit the business Feb. 26.
"This just topped it off," she said.
Ms. Milroy, who is moving to North Carolina this spring, said that she would like to become a veterinarian.
"It's against my morals. I couldn't work at that place knowing what's going on," she said.
Reach Jeremy Craig at (706) 823-3409
or jeremy.craig@augustachronicle.com.
