Until, he said, Pennsylvania passed new regulations cracking down on dog breeders. The new regulations, Zeiset said, are so strict, “there’s just no way to have a kennel.”
And so the Labrador retrievers, basset hounds, Shih Tzus, miniature pinschers and other dogs he bred were given away “to whomever took them,” he said. And his parents “got nothing to do now.”
“We’re milking cows instead.”
Dozens of breeders are in the same boat. At least 52 kennels in Lancaster County have closed or announced that they will close by the end of the year, in part because Pennsylvania’s new dog laws make it tougher to do business.
There have been so many closures that animal rescue groups and some shelters are overwhelmed with dogs.
Yet while some animal activists see the closures as vindication, others say the state is still too lenient on breeders. “Over 100 kennels remain in Lancaster County alone,” said Barry Longenecker, a spokesman for PACK, Providence Against Cruel Kennels, which battled dog breeding operations in Providence Township. “There are still thousands of dogs in Lancaster County kennels being bred perpetually … and state health standards are still being opposed” by breeders and some in the Legislature.
Yet one member of the state Dog Law Advisory Board contends that “cracking the whip” even harder is likely to be counteproductive — and could even result in breeders euthanizing dogs they might otherwise turn over to rescue organizations.
Flood of dogs The more breeders who close their kennels, the busier Cindy Myers gets.
Since October, Myers’ Mount Gretna dog rescue organization, A Tail to Tell, has been inundated with dogs of all kinds.
“We went from getting maybe 30 dogs a month to getting 50 a week,” she said, virtually all of them animals surrendered by breeders getting out of the business. A Tail to Tell works as a sort of clearinghouse, placing some dogs with breed-specific rescue groups, others with whatever group will accept them. “Every rescue [group] we work with is filled to capacity and overflowing,” Myers said.
Many of the dogs will require months of expensive, time-consuming care. “These are not normal dogs, they’re puppy mill dogs,” she said. “They cower in corners, they’re unaccustomed to human touch,” and it takes a lot to get them socialized. Some, she said, “literally stay in foster care for years.”
She and others in the rescue business wonder how they’ll find permanent homes for so many dogs. “We’re all grasping for answers, but at this point we’re all so overwhelmed by all the dogs, we don’t have time to stop and think.”
In October, several local breeders, rather than turning their dogs over to rescue groups, shipped them west to Ohio for auction. About 287 were sold, 12 to Main Line Animal Rescue and the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The SPCA then filed cruelty charges against six breeders.
To entice breeders to surrender dogs to shelters, the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association and the Federal Humane Societies of Pennsylvania created a “Safe Harbor” program that allows kennels to relinquish unwanted dogs without fear of prosecution. The Humane League of Lancaster County received 22 dogs through the “Safe Harbor” program last week from a kennel in southern Lancaster County — cocker spaniels, Pomeranians, schipperkes, poodles, Shih Tzus and West Highland terriers.
Joan Brown, Humane League CEO and president, said the league hasn’t seen a huge influx of dogs since October, though it “seems as if we always have puppy mill dogs who are dumped, abandoned or deemed not saleable by breeders.”
Among other things, Pennsylvania’s new dog laws require breeders to increase cage sizes and provide an attached “run” so dogs can get exercise. Dogs must receive regular veterinary care and have access to water at all times. Cages can’t be stacked, and dogs can’t be kept on wire flooring. And any kennel housing 25 dogs during a year must be licensed and inspected.
Zeiset, of EZ Puppies, said the prohibition against wire flooring is especially tough for breeders. “There’s no way you can keep a dog dry on any kind of flooring where urine does not drain away, there’s just no way to keep them clean,” he said. “That would be a 24-7 job.”
Jessie Smith, special deputy secretary of the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, did not return several messages seeking comment for this article.
But last month she told the Sunday News that she believed the new dog laws were working, and that while there remained some issues to be ironed out, kennel dogs will be cleaner, safer and happier thanks to the regulations.
Others think more still needs to be done. “There is no vindication until all noncompliant kennels are closed permanently or unless, and until, they are totally in compliance” with the laws, said Helen Ebersole, president and co-founder of United Against Puppy Mills, which sponsors a big anti-puppy mill march here every summer.
She and others say the state has been too lenient with kennel owners, granting them more time to comply with the law. “During this time period, the unacceptable living conditions that the [dogs] must endure continue without relief,” she said.
Longenecker, of Providence Against Cruel Kennels, is particularly incensed that recommendations by the Pennsylvania Canine Health Board — which, among other things, would regulate temperature, air quality and lighting — have not yet been adopted.
“Those standards should be adopted as they are,” said Longenecker, “not sent back to committee to be watered down.”
The Pennsylvania Professional Dog Breeders Association has opposed the measures, arguing in an Oct. 26 letter to the board that the requirements are “unrealistic” and that “the costs associated with meeting these requirements will put the commercial breeding industry in Pennsylvania at an economic disadvantage with other states. The result will be the loss of Pennsylvania businesses and dogs will be coming from other states into Pennsylvania to meet the need.”
As the tug-of-war continues, some worry the dogs themselves may wind up the losers.
“I have had a rescue operation going for many years with many of these breeders — a ‘trust’ built up so that when they wanted to get rid of dogs, they would call me,” said Marlene Lippert, of Thompsontown, a member of the state’s Dog Law Advisory Board who has bred and rescued Boston terriers.
But she worries that activists like Main Line Animal Rescue — with its decision to buy the dogs at the Ohio auction and get charges pressed against the former owners — ultimately could result not in dogs being saved, but killed.
“Those large breeders completely recoil and will not call me or their dog warden to come get the dogs,” she wrote in an e-mail. “They will have the vet put them all to sleep … healthy, not old dogs in most cases.
“What a complete waste that will be.”
KENNELS CLOSED OR CLOSING Following are the Lancaster County kennels that have closed, or have informed the state that they will close. The dates of closings are included:
Allowed 51-100 dogs a year:
–Rocky View Kennel, John L. Stoltzfus, Oct. 8.
–S&S Kennel, Samuel S. Esh, Oct. 8.
–Meadow View Kennel, Menno and Ruth Miller, Oct. 9.
–Country Haven Kennels, Alvin Beiler, Oct. 9.
–Lamar M. Hoover Kennel, Lamar Hoover, date not listed.
–Eugene M. Brubaker Kennel, Eugene M. Brubaker, Dec. 31.
–Eli S. King Kennel, Eli S. King, Dec. 31.
–Conestoga Kennel, Paul Zimmerman, Nov. 13.
–Locust Lane, John Beiler, Dec. 31.
–Windy Pine Kennel, Leonard Newswanger, Dec. 31.
Allowed 101-150 dogs a year:
–Pequea Kennel, Jonas S. Beiler, Oct. 8.
–Stoney Pastures Puppy Haven, Steve M. Stoltzfus, Oct. 9.
–Chiques Rock Kennel, Henry U. Stoltzfus, Oct. 8.
–Kevin L. Nolt Kennel, Kevin L. Nolt, Dec. 31.
–Creekside Kennel, John B. King, Dec. 31.
–J. Omar Stoltzfus, J. Omar Stoltzfus, Oct. 9.
–Ivan Ray Weaver Kennel, Ivan Ray Weaver, Dec. 28.
–Noah and Edna Martin, Noah and Edna Martin, Nov. 20.
–Garden Spot Kennel, Allen M. Zimmerman, Dec. 20.
Allowed 151-250 dogs a year:
–Buck View Farm, Samuel B. Zook, Oct. 8.
–Meadow Brook Kennel, Annie S. and Jonathan S. Esh, Dec. 31.
–John Mark Lapp Kennel, John Mark Lapp, Dec. 31.
–Belmont Ridge Kennels, Joseph K. Fisher, Oct. 26.
–S&M Happy Kennel, Stephen S. Stoltzfus, Oct. 9.
–Elmer S. Fisher Kennel, Elmer S. Fisher, Dec. 31.
–Wilmer’s Kennel, Wilmer Stoltzfus, Dec. 31.
–Glen and Janice Snyder Kennel, Glenn and Janice Snyder, Dec. 31.
–Kauffman’s Kennel, Bennie E. Kauffman, Dec. 31.
–P-E Kennel, Paul D. Zeiset, Dec. 31.
Allowed 251-500 dogs a year:
–EZ Puppies, Edwin and Anna H. Zeiset, Oct. 9.
–Willow Vale Kennel, Rebecca L. Horning, Oct. 26.
–Sun Shine Kennel, David M. Zimmerman, Dec. 31.
–Creek View Kennel, Mary Horst, Oct. 31.
–James S. Zimmerman Kennel, James S. Zimmerman, Dec. 31.
–Hilltop Kennel, Verna Mae King, Dec. 15.
–Country Boy Kennel, Jonas J. Esch, Dec. 15.
–Twin Maple Farm, John E. Esh, Dec. 31.
–Hidden Acres Kennel, Irvin Horst, Dec. 31.
–M&M Kennel, Marlin Wenger, mid-May.
–Marvin W. Zimmerman Kennel, Marvin W. Zimmerman, Nov. 12.
–Rocky Ridge Kennel, John Stoltzfus, Dec. 31.
–Pine Hill Kennel, Daniel Stoltzfus, Dec. 31.
–David S. Zimmerman, David S. Zimmerman, Dec. 31.
–Mountain Side Kennel, Edwin Shirk, Nov. 24.
–Gold Kennels, Aquilla and Leah Blank, Dec. 31.
–Horseshoe Kennel, Elam K. Beiler, Dec. 31.
Allowed 501 or more dogs a year:
–Napierville Kennel, Nathan L. and Anna Martin, mid-end of December.
–Amos Stoltzfus Kennel, Amos S. Stoltzfus, Dec. 31.
–John S. Fisher Kennel, John S. Fisher, Dec. 31.
–Myer Kennels Inc., Nathan Myer, Dec. 31.
–Levi Stoltzfus Kennel, Levi S. Stoltzfus, Dec. 31.
