murraysmom

Advocates Unite to Save PA Puppy Mill Law | Animal Law Coalition
Quote from "Animal Law Coalition" article dated Oct. 21, 2011:
(follow above link to read entire article)

"Under the 2008 Pennsylvania Dog Law, 3 P.S. § 459-211, a license for a commercial dog breeding kennel may be refused or revoked if "the person holding or applying for a license has a person who does or will play a role in the ownership of the kennel or caring for the dogs, and such other person would be refused a licenseif that person had been the applicant. A role shall include ownership of a financial interest in the kennel operation, caring for the dogs or participation in the management of the kennel".
To most of us this clearly means that a breeder facing suspension or revocation of a kennel license should not be able to put the business in a spouse or other relative's name and avoid shutdown of the breeding operations.
But to Michael Pechart, Pennsylvania Executive Deputy Agriculture Secretary , it means a breeder convicted of animal cruelty after years of receiving citations for violations of the dog law, can simply put his license in the name of his wife, for example, and the exploitive business of breeding dogs can continue unabated.
It happened recently. John Zimmerman owned and operated Silver Hill Kennel, a Class C commercial dog breeding kennel in Lancaster County. Pechart confirms that Zimmerman was recently convicted of animal cruelty in Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas. The dogs he breeds for profit suffer from severe trench mouth. This on top of years of inspections revealing violations of the dog law. Read them for yourself here.
Pechart indicated that "[b]ased upon this conviction, the Department revoked [Zimmerman's] license under § 211(a) of the dog Law". Pechart does not explain why Zimmerman has been allowed to operate for years in violation of the dog law.
Zimmerman appealed the conviction to the Superior Court which has the matter under submission. Zimmerman also appealed the license revocation. Pechart explained "that appeal was continued pending a final decision from the Superior Court", meaning the state will not bother to revoke or even suspend Zimmerman's license if the animal cruelty conviction is not upheld. It makes one wonder about the purpose of the dog law if first there must be a conviction for animal cruelty to stop the puppy miller.
Zimmerman has continued to operate his commercial breeding kennel under a supersedeas bond pending the appeal of his revocation.
Pechart explained, "We were recently contacted by Ms. Zimmerman's attorney, and she requested that Nancy Zimmerman be granted a kennel license. The attorney's proposal was that John Zimmerman... would go out of business and withdraw his license revocation appeal. Nancy Zimmerman would be granted a K Class Kennel license. Upon receiving that request, there was a discussion between our attorneys and the Office of Dog Law Enforcement to decide whether this was something PDA would even want to consider, with the then current condition of the dogs being the primary concern. The State Dog Law veterinarian and a member of the Kennel Compliance team, both of whom were familiar with the kennel, were consulted during this process, and they indicated that they did not believe the dogs were being mistreated or were in harm."
Except for that trench mouth that so severe as to warrant a criminal conviction for animal cruelty. And, there are all those dog law violations that include dogs kept in unsanitary conditions and too small enclosures, pools of wastewater in the kennel, ammonia in the kennel so bad it burned the dog warden's mouth and nose, dogs' feet falling through the illegal wire flooring, the failure to provide exercise, the matted hair, the grooming so poor that the dogs' nails are literally curling, and the list goes on. A disgusting puppy mill."

Wworm

glad u r trying to do something 'bout this, Murray.

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see what the Worm is up to: http://bassetworm.blogspot.com/

Boomer's Mom

Stupid puppy mills. Sickening reading about the Zimmermans. Just sickening.

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Boomer: Born 4/18/2010
Biscuit: Rescued 1/26/12, approx. 2 yo

Chez Basset: Come for the kibble, stay for the belly rubs.

CrazyDaisy

I recall seeing a Basset Hound Puppies sign posted last Spring up along Rt. 23. I can only assume that the conditions would have been less than favorable. People joke and say never buy a dog from the (717), yet there is still somehow a market there for these animals.

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