SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Two more dogs have died, making it a total of four that have expired since a group of puppies that were exposed to the parvovirus were removed from a Sacramento pet store the day before Thanksgiving.

The rest of the puppies do appear to be recovering. Some of the puppies are clearly starting to feel a little spunky, playing with one another in the quarantine area of the Sacramento County Animal Shelter. But the room houses only 26 of the nearly 140 animals taken in last week.

"At least one-third have tested positive, and every day there's at least one or two more," said Sacramento County Animal Control spokeswoman Eileen Matson.

Animal control officers descended on The Puppy Store on Auburn Boulevard Wednesday night after receiving several customer complaints.

The store was empty but unlocked Monday with a message on the door, saying it will be closed until next Monday. A carpenter said that the owner is taking advantage of the down time to do some remodeling and does plan to reopen.

That's a disappointment to the owner of the pizza place next door, who says the pet store has been driving away business ever since it opened earlier this year.

"All the customers, they just come and ask, 'What's this smell?' And I have to explain to every customer, 'the smell just comes from next door,'" said New York Pizza owner Victor Sanchuk.

The animal shelter is sharing the responsibility of caring for the puppies with the SPCA and some rescue groups. But the county is trying to cover the cost.

This is the third major pet store parvo outbreak in the last few months. But despite the high cost, the county says it is committed to saving as many puppies as possible.

"We never want to try to just put them down. Our job is to do these kinds of cruelty cases, and we try our utmost to complete that job," Matson said.

KCRA did try to get a hold of the owner of The Puppy Store but was unsuccessful. Animal Control officers say they'll know in about 10 days if the puppies are out of the woods. Then they plan to start adopting them out.

For donation information to the shelter, click here. Or you can call (916) 368-7387.