Rufus & Company

Rufus was not closed down because of the state or anything of that matter. It was closed because the owners, Andrew Hunte, Steve Rook & Ryan Boyle, purchased the store from Maxie Biggs which was claiming bankruptcy and signed a contract with the state to keep the store ...open until the bankruptcy debt was paid off. Which is exactly what they did. I worked there for 2 1/2 yrs- I can honestly say that every single person in that store put their ENTIRE heart into that job & into those animals. In those 2+ yrs we didn't receive a single fine! NOT ONE. It was stated in all the paperwork that every person who purchased a puppy read over and signed that the puppies we're from "HUNTE" which we're "Brokers". Meaning that they buy puppies from commercial (USDA) kennels, send them to their pet stores (Rufus, etc) to place in their care and sell to the public. And if you know anything USDA standards are minimal. Adopt all you want, but those animals need homes and love just as much as any animal. Read More

in response to your post, you should know that the store wasn't shut down. it was actually very profitable. the only reason this store shut down was because after the owner bought it out from being bankrupt, he signed a contract stating he would keep the store open un...til everything was paid off. once it was, he closed up shop. had nothing to do with being shut down by anybody. they ran everything according to the standards set forth by the law, and no matter who came in to try and "close the store down", nothing ever happened. yes, most of the dogs probably came from mills, but they need to be saved as well. you claim that your dog was sick when you brought it home. would you ask the doctor to return a baby if it came home from the hospital sick? i didn't think so. so you're wrong. Read More

I was surprised and happy when I heard that rufus closed. I purchased my dog there in december. I am not a fan of pet store puppies. I know the puppy mill thing. My dog was 6 months old when I bought him. He could not be sold because he was a mixed breed . They sa...id he was a papillion maltese mix. However he kept growing . I hated seeing this poor thing in that cage for so long. I bought him and he has been the best dog . His breeder is from the midwest and I can't find her name on any decent breeder lists. So many dogs need homes ADOPT and save a life. Read More

I just found out today that Rufus & co. has closed it's store in the Paramus Park Mall. I am a frequent shopper at the mall, and as of last week they were open. They were having a 'clearance sale" last week, which made me very suspicious. My feelings were correct, becau...se I was at the mall today, and they were closed. There was not one trace of anything left in the store. I was never a big fan of pet stores and this has just solidified what I knew all along. I just hope that all the animals in their care will be taken care of somewhere and that they will find homes. Read More

Its clear to me we are both animal lovers and passionate in our views of they're care. I hope that these stores do take care of the dogs as they should and do consider finding a larger facility in which to keep them as I feel there are far more humane ways of selling dogs. Thank you for your response.

I was in no way saying that your nationality lessened your opinion. What I was trying to get across was that you are from another country and you may do things differently there. I did not say it is OK to keep dogs in a cage for a minimum of 2 weeks.. what I mean was th...at they are NOT there that long because thye are adopted/bought in a small period of time. I am sorry you took my entire review and response in the wrong way. Thats what happens I get over the computer. Read More