Actor Mickey Rourke has a bone to pick with the owners of a South Beach dog boutique he claims sold him a sick puppy that died from a virus.
But the Sin City star’s tough animal rights lecture — inside and outside the pet store — led its all-female staff to sic the cops on him last week.
He faces arrest for trespassing if he enters the store again, said the boutique’s owners, who have imposed a lifetime ban on the actor.
”We refunded his money on his credit card, but he never brought in a certificate of death from the vet,” said the co-owner of Hot Dogs (Puppies) Inc., Marysol Tobon, who said she will call the police if Rourke steps foot in her store again.
Rourke, an animal rights advocate who owns several Chihuahuas, bought the puppy for $1,100 just after Christmas for one of his friends, J.P. Parlavecchio, chef and owner of Fanucci’s Italian restaurant on Lincoln Road.
The puppy died Dec. 28.
”There is no excuse for abusive treatment of animals,” said Rourke, who credits the unconditional love from his little dogs, Loki and Fredo, for helping him get through the tough times in his life.
”They — this store — are leaving a trail of broken hearts,” he said.
Last February, a customer bought a puppy at Hot Dogs that was later diagnosed with the parvo virus, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture. It died because the owner could not afford medical treatment. The store was not found culpable.
”It angers us that a man who thinks he is still a celebrity would try to tarnish our good name and hard work,” Tobon said. “We go through great lengths to ensure our dogs are healthy. We have been investigated and have been cleared in all cases.”
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
If he is such an “animal rights advocate”, why is he buying a puppy at a pet store for $1,100?
If he wants a pure bred, he needs to go to a reputable breeder, a breed rescue group, or even a local shelter that usually has tons of pure bred dogs.
As far as Mickey buying a dog from Hot Dog Puppies instead of a breeder. Anyone can make a mistake , and he has now said he will never buy a dog from a store ever again, and will instead go to a shelter.
This store abuses animals, keeping them locked up in small cages often for days at a time. No airconditioning is provided as has been recorded both by Animal Services and Miami Beach Code Compliance and the one breathing hole in each cage is no bigger than 3 incehs in diameter. In the past they would even leave them in a small dark closet. We could hear them crying through the walls. It was sickening.
As my store is located right next door to them I get a lot of the people that have had probelms with dogs they purchased there, coming in to complain to us. These probelms include dying puppies and puppies that end up spending weeks if not months in ICU.
More information on this issue can be found at
dogblog.dogster .com/2007/01/18/mickey-rourke-accuses-florida-dog-boutique-owners-of-selling-him-sick-puppy/
Another good website to fight these kind of places is http://www.stoppuppymills.org maintained by the Humane Society.
Christine, what a shameful way to promote your petshop. I have purchased a dog from them in the past and have reccomended friends who also purchased puppies and we are all completely satisfied. The owner really showed that she genuinely loves animals and asked me a great deal of questions before buying the puppy. In other words, I AM A COMPLETELY SATISFIED CLIENT. You should save your cheap advertising and stop defaming your competition. Its classless..