Eagle Pet Center Could Face Legal Action, Suggests Animal Investigation Group

Ed Dressen, the owner of Eagle Pet Center in Shakopee, may not be out of the woods yet. The Minnesota Federated Humane Societies is pursuing legal proceedings against Dressen and Eagle Pet Center.

“The federation has done it many times before,” said Tim Shields, who is with the organization. “It’s a proceeding prescribed by Minnesota statutes.” 

Minnesota Statute 343 is the animal cruelty statute under which the organization plans to proceed. Under the statutes, someone can make an application to a judge for a search warrant to seize animals, Shields explained.

An example of such a proceeding, he said, is if an agent finds a dog outside in the winter without adequate shelter and the owner refuses to do anything about it. The agent could then go to a judge, describe the dog’s living conditions and receive a search warrant to go to the property with a police officer to remove the animals.

“The agents can’t just take the dog – although people think they ought to be able to do so,” Shields said. 

In the case of the Eagle Pet Center, Shields said that the federation plans to ask a judge for a search warrant to go to the store with a county sheriff’s office to remove the animals. 

Dressen would then have 10 days within the date of the animal seizure to request a hearing. 

Said Shields, “The federation has had several state humane agents that have tried to work with him to clean the store up and keep the animals in a better environment and he’s just refused to do it. He’s refused to take those steps.”

He continued, “If he was just a pet store that sold fish tanks and pet supplies and didn’t have live animals then we wouldn’t be messing with it at all. We’re just concerned about how the animals and fish are being treated.”

Dressen said that he not heard about any legal action planned against his store, but he didn't think there was anything anyone could do.

"It's licensed by the state and the city," he said.

The online furor over the pet store has not abated. The Facebook group, “No more animals at Eagle Pet Center-Shakopee” has grown to over 6,200 likes. They are now circulating a petition on Change.org that has gathered over 2,000 signatures. 

The group also plans to appear at the August 7 Shakopee City Council Meeting, according to a message on its Facebook page:

We will be gathering at the city council meeting to show and share our concerns to try to encourage the members of city council along with the Mayor, to find a better way to protect animals in the future in Shakopee. This will be a positive and peaceful demonstration. We will not be inappropriate or disrespectful. Doing so will not accomplish anything. A thank you to Mayor Tabke for getting us on the agenda for this meeting!

Founder of the page, Tania Richter, has previously stated that she is not interested in attacking Dressen, but in making sure that the animals are in good conditions.

Note: The Minnesota Federated Humane Societies is not affiliated with the Minnesota Humane Society. The federation does not hold animals, Shields said, but conducts animal cruelty investigations alongside law enforcement throughout all of Minnesota.

More Patch coverage:

Eagle Pet Center in Shakopee at Center of Intense Public Fury

On  Eagle Pet Center, Shakopee Mayor Says City Cannot Take Action

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