Pa. begins 'puppy mill' crackdown

HARRISBURG - Animal-cruelty charges were filed this week after a large Lancaster County kennel was raided by humane agents who seized 23 malnourished and diseased dogs in what officials describe as the first major effort to crack down on the state's "puppy mill" industry.

Agents executed a search warrant at Long Lane Kennel in Narvon on Dec. 21, removing starving dogs - some with advanced skin diseases and respiratory infections - after, they said, the kennel failed to correct repeated violations of state regulations.

Officials delayed releasing information until charges had been filed against the kennel owner, Joseph Blank, in a Lancaster County court.

"Our veterinarian examined more than 100 dogs and determined that 23 of them had serious enough medical conditions that they should be removed," said Joan Brown, director of the Humane League of Lancaster County.

The Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement has filed an additional eight misdemeanor charges for violations involving kennel conditions, said Jessie Smith, special deputy secretary for dog law enforcement in the state Department of Agriculture.

The dogs seized included pugs, yorkies, dachshunds and boxers - both adults and puppies.

Blank relinquished ownership of the dogs to the Humane League, Brown said. One sick puppy did not survive, she said.

Blank, who was cited for dog-law violations in March, holds a kennel license that allows him to house more than 250 dogs at a time. According to a 2005 inspection document, he reported selling 364 dogs in the previous year. Smith said the bureau had begun the process of revoking Blank's license.

The Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement allegedly found evidence of animal cruelty during a routine inspection in December and reported it to county humane agents who enforce cruelty complaints.

Attempts to reach Blank were unsuccessful.

Animal-welfare experts said the raid represents a turnaround for the dog-law bureau, which is charged with enforcing kennel standards and, until recently, was viewed as soft on kennel operators.

"We think this is a significant case that sends a message to breeders that the bureau of dog law is taking its job seriously and that people will be charged if they don't clean up their facilities," said Bob Baker, an investigator with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Baker's group said it documented crowded and unsanitary conditions at the kennel in the spring of 2006 as part of its investigation into the state's puppy mills.

A video shows puppies that are unable to walk because their paws fall through the wire mesh bottoms of the cages.

With 250 kennels - a third of them housing more than 250 dogs - Lancaster is the epicenter of Pennsylvania's "puppy mill" industry. These commercial kennels breed and sell thousands of puppies to pet shops and individuals each year.

Animal-welfare experts say conditions in puppy mills are often horrific, with breeding dogs crammed into tiny wire cages stacked on top of each other.

Gov. Rendell, who vowed to address the puppy-mill problem, last year appointed the new dog-law advisory board and hired Smith, a former prosecutor with the Attorney General's Office, to oversee the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement.

As part of the effort, the bureau is proposing stricter regulations - including larger cages and mandatory exercise - on all 2,440 licensed kennels statewide.

Some smaller breeders say they will be unfairly harmed by the stricter regulations.

They say the raid is evidence that the existing dog laws are sufficient.

"The system works when they actually do the job," said Nina Schaefer, president of the Pennsylvania Federation of Dog Clubs.

Smith met with prosecutors in the Attorney General's Office yesterday to discuss ongoing allegations of fraud involving CC Pets L.L.C. of Peach Bottom. The kennel, formerly known as Puppy Love, has been the subject of investigations and lawsuits for at least 20 years.

Last year the Attorney General's Office entered into an agreement with the kennel's owners, Raymond and Joyce Stoltzfus, to settle a lawsuit alleging that they sold sick or diseased dogs to 171 customers in seven states. They were required to pay a $75,000 fine and provide purchasers with a health certificate showing that a veterinary examination took place 15 days before purchase.

But the Attorney General's Office has received at least four complaints in recent months that puppies purchased from the Stoltzfuses had died within 24 hours of diseases. As a result, some consumers and animal-welfare experts allege the couple is in violation of that agreement.

Smith said the Attorney General's Office, which is in charge of enforcing the so-called "puppy lemon law" allowing consumers to be reimbursed for sick dogs, is seeking to show a pattern of violations.

"The question is, are people buying puppies that are dying of parvo and that, given the volume of sales, is there enough of a pattern to act on?" she said.