Vikki Novelle, who started the petition, insists Linton Pets Store on Bath Road purchases dogs from unsafe puppy farms, where bitches and their pups suffer physically and emotionally because they are separated five weeks after birth and the animals are overbred.

But the store owner, who wishes to remain anonymous as she has been allegedly threatened by people backing the petition, is adamant that she maintains safe standards and adheres to all of the conditions of the stores puppy selling licence.

She states that the dogs are bought from licensed breeders and each puppy is assessed by a veterinarian before it is sold.

The council has carried out unannounced inspections of the store over the last few years and says it is confident that the owners are complying with the conditions of the licence.

Ms Novelle said: "Whether farms in the UK or abroad, I don’t believe that any responsible breeder would give stock to a shop.

"It concerns me to think where the puppies come from, their ancestry, potential health problems of the puppies, as well as their parents, the conditions the breeding dogs are kept in to provide the stock and what happens to pups that don’t get sold.

“With the local petition I want Linton not to be issued with a licence to sell puppies. Full stop.”

The pet shop owner, who took over in the summer of 2012, insists that she only buys puppies from responsible breeders and ensures that each puppy is healthy before it is sold.

The store is licensed to sell up to 15 puppies at a time and each time a dog is bought from the store, the customer is given a written contract and a health card which is signed by a vet.

Some pedigree dogs at Lintons are imported from the owner's native Malta and when they are sold the owner says she issues the customer with the pet's passport and a pet travel scheme document.