Controversial puppy seller Furry Babies closes Rockford location

Furry Babies, a controversial pet store known for selling puppies at the CherryVale Mall, has closed.

According to mall shoppers, everything in the store was cleared out as of Friday, Jan. 5.

"Everything except the lingering odor of puppy perfume," said Rockford resident Kathy Mehalko, who has organized protests against Furry Babies and other stores that sell dogs.

A employee confirmed Friday that the store is reopening in Richmond, Virginia. Furry Babies locations in Aurora and Lombard are still open.

All three stores have come under fire in recent years, after being cited by the Illinois Department of Agriculture for allegedly operating without the proper licensing.

The state alleged the stores were violating the Illinois Animal Welfare Act, which stipulates that a pet shop operator's license is required for a retail store to sell dogs to the public. The law also states that dogs that are sold at stores must be obtained from an animal control facility or shelter.

Furry Babies, according to the state, only holds a dog dealer's license, which allows them to sell dogs — just not in retail stores.

Furry Babies President Ana Soskic said the store did nothing wrong, telling the Register Star in 2022 that they were in compliance and planned to continue doing business as they always have.

"There is nothing in the dog dealer statute that states you cannot sell dogs," Soskic said. "There are 33 licensed dog dealers in the state, all which sell at retail to the public, and none of them received a notice like the one we did.

"Furthermore, the department not only issued us the (dog dealers) license after inspection but renewed our license just a month ago for all three locations. We do not have a pet shop operator license because that is not the license required for our business model."

According to the Furry Babies website, the company obtains the dogs sold in their stores from 19 different breeders in various cities and states.

Regardless, Mehalko, who fosters dogs for several organizations, believes pet stores are generally the last place to buy a dog because retailers often obtain animals from high-volume breeding operations.

"Go to a shelter or a rescue and adopt a homeless pup instead," Mehalko said. "And if you are wanting a purebred puppy, go to a responsible breeder. The only way to win the fight to close puppy stores is to stop buying puppies from them."

Jim Hagerty covers business, growth and development and other general news topics for the Rockford Register Star. Email him at jhagerty@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Pet store Furry Babies closes at Rockford's CherryVale Mall