NECN INVESTIGATES: Woman Charged With Selling Sick Puppies Returns to Court

Susan Robson had her license suspended and was fined $5,000

The owner of a Massachusetts pet store was back in court Tuesday on an animal cruelty charge.

Prosecutors say Susan Robson - who owns Just Pups in Tyngsboro - left a sick puppy to die in her garage.

Robson made a brief appearance in Lowell District Court on Tuesday morning on that felony animal cruelty charge. She's accused of refusing to get proper medical care for a Yorkie that had been returned to her store after the new owners discovered it had a highly-contagious disease.

She would not speak with necn outside court Tuesday.

The 46-year-old pet shop owner, who is also a local realtor in Tyngsboro, was charged last month. 

State investigators say Robson sold a sick puppy to a Dracut couple. A veterinarian had said the Yorkie's virus was very treatable, but investigators say Robson never got him medical care and only took the puppy to the vet to dispose of its body.

When inspectors checked records for other puppies in her store, they found dozens of major violations, and they say she may have been forging health certificates for puppies saying they were healthy enough for sale when they had not been cleared by a vet.

Robson is also married to the town's animal control officer.

Tyngsboro's police chief tells necn that Dave Robson was put on paid administrative leave as police conducted an internal investigation.

Chief Richard Howe says Robson has been reinstated after they found no wrongdoing, but he will no longer be allowed to keep strays or lost pets in his home.

Howe says they are brokering a deal with a neighboring community to house any animals from Tyngsboro in a more appropriate setting like an animal shelter.

There's no word yet on how much that will cost the town. Dave Robson earns $40,000 a year in the on-call position.

As for Susan Robson, the state suspended her license for six months and fined her $5,000. She was ordered to sell any remaining puppies she had by the end of last month. The state tells us she was able to sell some, but the last two she surrendered to the Humane Society in Lowell.

She is due back in court April 28.

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