A controversial pet store in downtown Raleigh has closed. A handwritten sign on a table could be seen from the window of Petopia, the puppy store that opened on Martin Street earlier this year.

Many shelters and rescues across the state are overrun with dogs. Many protesters said that Raleigh does not need a pet store selling puppies when shelters often have to euthanize healthy dogs ...

A petition has thousands of signatures accusing the store of being a puppy mill. The owner says she is an ethical breeder and considers herself a puppy “doula.” ...

Each cost thousands of dollars. Even before it opened, however, a petition, “Halt Petopia puppies from initiating a puppy mill in downtown Raleigh,” had collected over 15,000 signatures ...