Lehigh kennel operator convicted of animal cruelty

ALLENTOWN - A commercial breeder charged with neglecting scores of dogs and cats was convicted yesterday of animal cruelty, capping a case that state officials have used to tout a crackdown on substandard kennels.

A Lehigh County jury convicted Derbe "Skip" Eckhart of two misdemeanor counts of cruelty - both for failing to maintain a sanitary kennel - after prosecutors alleged he permitted animals at Almost Heaven Kennel in Upper Milford Township to live in their own feces and urine. Eckhart was also convicted of operating the kennel in violation of a state order to shut down. He faces a maximum of five years in prison.

Eckhart was charged with cruelty after a 2008 raid by the Pennsylvania SPCA and the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. Eckhart's attorney, Jeff Conrad, accused animal welfare officials of twisting the truth about Almost Heaven's conditions to generate publicity, raise money, and help shut down a huge commercial kennel that it considered a puppy mill. - AP