Published: May 06, 2007 12:12 am            

Bust brings puppy-mill problem to light

MEYERSDALE — Known for riding in horse-drawn buggies and shunning modern conveniences, the Amish are gaining a darker reputation: Puppy-mill operators.

Five days after an Amish puppy mill was raided in southern Somerset County, authorities believe a problem generally associated with Lancaster County’s Pennsylvania Dutch country is moving closer to home.

“I would suspect there are plenty more Amish using dogs as cash crops,” Somerset County Humane Society Officer Elane Gower said.

“I’m sure they’re out there – I just haven’t found them yet.”

Gov. Ed Rendell is proposing toughened health and safety standards for Pennsylvania’s 2,400 licensed kennels. The legislation would require larger cages and 20 minutes of daily exercise for the dogs, and it would force operators to keep records of exercise, sanitation and feeding.

Opponents contend the plan would be costly and burdensome for law-abiding kennels.

“In the Amish community, so-called puppy mills are a big source of income,” said Andy McIlvain, manager for the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Wellsboro, Tioga County.

“Part of their culture is selling lots of products, and generally the Amish look at animals as another resource to sell.

“It’s easy to get into, and it doesn’t take a lot to set up a kennel.”

Pennsylvania is reputedly the puppy-mill capital of the United States, experts said, particularly among the Amish in Lancaster County.

“The tragedy is with females who live their lives in cages, and their value is measured in how many puppies they can breed,” Gower said. “When they can’t breed anymore, they’re excess dogs.”

In Cambria and Somerset counties, the problem often is irresponsible backyard breeders, said D Black, executive director of the Humane Society of Cambria County.

“Their are two kinds of bad breeders – the clueless, basically the backyard breeder – and the careless, who don’t care about anything but profit,” Black said. “To me, that’s what constitutes a puppy mill – if they’re just cranking out dogs.”

Last Tuesday, Gower and state dog law Warden Dennis Wetzel seized 17 dogs from a farm near Pocahontas.

The suspect, Bennie Hostetler, 41, of Salisbury, told Gower he sold the puppies for $150 each to a man who takes them to a pet store in eastern Pennsylvania, where they often sell for $500 or more.

Hostetler has agreed never to breed dogs again, and he is being allowed to keep an adult male dog on the condition that he has it neutered. Cited for not having licenses or rabies vaccinations for the dogs, Hostetler could face up to $300 in fines for each citation.

The dogs, including beagles, Jack Russell terriers, pugs and pub-beagle mixes known as “puggles,” were kept in wire cages in a dark barn.

They were placed for adoption at the humane society, starting Saturday.

Gower said puppy mills such as Hostetler’s often sell to pet shops.

“No good breeder would ever dream of selling puppies to a pet store,” she said. “They want to know that the puppies are going to good homes. Good breeders care where their animals go.

“I’ve had pet stores approach me and say, ‘How can I find quality puppies?’ I say, ‘You’re not going to.’ ”

Gower suggests anyone interested in purchasing a puppy do so through a reputable breeder, where they can see the mother and father and how the puppies have been raised.

Petco, which has a store in Richland Township, does not sell puppies or kittens, although it often does have dogs and cats available for adoption, corporate spokesman Don Cowan said.

“We try to encourage people to go to local shelters to adopt them,” Cowan said in a telephone interview from company headquarters in San Diego.

Last year, a former state trooper and another Somerset man each pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with wholesaling puppies without a license and falsifying health certificates.

David Holtzman and Timothy Schliesser sold and transported puppies by air, without a license, and used falsified papers from a fictitious veterinarian, federal attorneys said.

Authorities said the pair were doing businesses under the names Laurel Ridge Bulldogs, T&D Quality Puppies and T&D Quality Pupps. They allegedly collected $6,250 for the dogs.

“Especially in our area, I see more breeders of multiple litters who are not really connected to the Amish, but are nonetheless puppy mills,” Black said, adding the problem is not as widespread as it is in eastern Pennsylvania.

        

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