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Officials close Lehigh County kennel, seize 250 dogs

June 23, 2009, 8:33PM MT

Animal welfare officials, acting under a new law, moved in today and shut down a Lehigh County dog breeding kennel with a history of abuse and filthy conditions.

By Amy Worden, Inquirer Staff Writer, Philadelphia Inquirer
Agents of the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement and the Humane Society of the United States are removing 250 dogs from the Almost Heaven Kennel in Emmaus.

The noon-time seizure came after the Commonwealth Court rejected kennel owner Derbe Eckhart's emergency appeal of his license revocation.

"Our goal was to get the dogs out as quickly as possible," said Chris Ryder, spokesman for Department of Agriculture, the dog bureau's parent agency.

Such an operation would not have been possible without a dog protection law passed in October.
"We wouldn't be here today if not for the new dog law," said Ryder. "All the ambiguity under the old law is gone. It's clear that it's the end of line for him."

The seized dogs are to be taken to the Farm Show complex in Harrisburg, where they are to be evaluated before being put up for adoption.

Twenty-five dogs will remain at the kennel because no license is needed for less than 26 animals.

A raid last year by the Pennsylvania SPCA exposed horrendous conditions inside Almost Heaven, here as many as 800 animals were living in filthy, crowded cages and kennels.

Dogs, and other animals were crammed into a number of outbuildings and every room in a foul-smelling house where dead puppies were stashed in a refrigerator. The raid led to the revocation of the kennel license and animal cruelty charges that are still pending against Eckhart.

Clicl here for the original story.

Reprinted with the permission of Amy Worden, Inquirer Staff Writer, Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted by Sherry, PA Forums Moderator

Comments

Posted June 23, 2009, 10:1PM by AnimalFosterMom

Finally! This was LONG overdue! I hope they never give him another Kennel license.

Posted June 25, 2009, 9:21AM by themcd1998

Any updates on this story? Local news was saying they went back again last night and took more animals.

What about the 25 dogs they originally left behind to suffer?

Posted June 23, 2009, 9:52PM by justiceforanimals

In light of the above, I think it is important to share an action alert I received...SUPPORT H.B. 39...and i also think that it is very important to note that legitimate breeders have nothing to fear from this Bill. Some breeders would like to see this bill killed and allow 1,000s of dogs to suffer on a daily basis so that they don't have to suffer a little inconvenience.
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SUPPORT H.B.39

It takes an Amish farmer less than 5 minutes to "debark" one of his breeding dogs by hammering a steel rod down her throat - and breaking her jaw and shattering her back teeth. It takes 5 minutes for that same farmer/commercial breeder to cut off one of his dog's tail - in a filthy, dark barn without anesthesia. And it takes about the same amount of time for his thirteen year old son to tie the dog down and cut the puppies from her belly. Five minutes more to crop her ears using a pair of rusted hedge shears - the dog squirming and crying out in unbelievable pain.

So why is it taking Senator Stewart Greenleaf more than a week to decide that this is wrong? When we called his office last week to ask why his Committee is sitting on H.B. 39, we were told by his aide that Senator Greenleaf is "reviewing" the bill. What's to review? Everyone on Capital Hill knows about this bill. It is the companion bill to H.B. 2525 that passed into law last fall. When ask, repeatedly, if Senator Greenleaf would support H.B. 39, his aide would would commit. This is surprising to us considering Senator Greenleaf not only toured Pennsylvania's puppy mills with a reporter from the Inquirer in 1995, seeing firsthand the conditions these animals face, but he also coined the expression "Puppy Mill Capital of the East Coast" and expressed an urgent need for change. Well, Senator Greenleaf, here's your chance to bring about change and help these dogs!

H.B. 39 would make it illegal for anyone other than a licensed veterinarian to perform these procedures, or if it is already illegal for anyone but a licensed vet to perform the procedure, it will toughen the penalties. Please contact the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and ask them to vote the bill out of their committee so it can finally go to the floor of the Senate for a vote. The bill passed the House unanimously, and passed the Senate Agricultural Committee unanimously two weeks ago (thank you members of the Ag Committee!). This bill is a crucial step toward protecting the dogs of Pennsylvania. Please email (or call) the below legislators and ask them to to support H.B. 39 and move it to the Senate floor. Let your voices be heard!

Stewart Greenleaf sgreenleaf@pasen.gov 717-787-6599 or call 215-657-7700

Mary Jo White mwhite@pasen.gov

Joseph Scarnati jscarnati@pasen.gov

Patrick Browne pbrowne@pasen.gov

Jane Earl jearl@pasen.gov

John Gordner jgordner@pasen.gov

Jane Clare Orie jorie@pasen.gov

Jeffrey Piccola jpiccola@pasen.gov

John Rafferty jrafferty@pasen.gov (represents parts of Chester, Montgomery, Berks Counties)

Lisa Boscola boscola@pasenate.com

Jay Costa costa@pasenate.com

Wayne Fontana fontana@pasenate.com

Michael Stack stack@pasenate.com

Posted June 23, 2009, 10:10PM by AnimalFosterMom

Justice, you have totally got the right of this Bill. There are breeders out there who claim to be legitimate breeders, yet they are totally against this bill. I don't understand this or why they feel this way.