Pennsylvania State Department of Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff today thanked more than 50 volunteers who donated time and resources this week to help care for 216 dogs that were seized from a kennel facility in the state.

The raid permanently closed the Almost Heaven Kennels in Emmaus, Lehigh County using the recently improved Dog Law.

Wolff said the volunteers–representing the Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team (SART) and County Animal Response Teams (CART)–proved incredibly valuable in quickly removing the dogs from an unsafe and unhealthy situation so they can begin their course to a better life.

“With the commitment of these dedicated volunteers, our staff was able to execute the raid and seize the dogs to provide better lives for these animals moving forward,” said Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff. “This is just one example of the way these animal teams help animals in distress. Their work is vital no matter what the emergency situation.”

Wolff also recognized the Pennsylvania State Police for help in securing the Almost Heaven Kennel during the Tuesday, June 23 raid, and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency for activating the CART teams and volunteers.

The CART and SART volunteers worked with the Agriculture Department and the Humane Society of the United States to care for the dogs that were temporarily housed in the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg.

Several CART and SART volunteers assisted in the raid and many more were at the Farm Show Complex preparing for the arrival of the dogs by assembling and setting up the rows of crates. As the dogs arrived, the volunteers unloaded them and tended to them by providing food and water, and cleaning their cages.

“These volunteers selflessly put their own lives and jobs on hold to help rescue and care for animals,” said Dr. Nanette Hanshaw, a Department of Agriculture veterinarian and board member for SART.

SART is a partnership of federal and state governmental, corporate and private entities to support the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery of all animal species for any type of emergency or disaster. To help on the local level, the group enlists CARTs, appointing a county coordinator to lead the county volunteer teams.

CART team members from Carbon, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Perry and Schuylkill counties were on hand to assist as veterinarians inspected the dogs. Each dog received a check up prior to being offered for adoption at shelters and rescues across the state.

People interested in adoption should visit the Humane Society’s Web site at www.hsus.org to find a shelter housing the dogs. Those interested in becoming a CART volunteer should visit www.pasart.us

Two days ago an afternoon raid by Pennsylvania state dog wardens today lead to the permanent closure of Almost Heaven Kennels.

Dog wardens and agents with the Humane Society of the United States removed approximately 250 dogs from the property owned by Derbe Eckhart. The dogs are now cared for at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg and examined by veterinarians prior to being offered for adoption at shelters and rescues across the state.

Wardens removed all but 25 dogs from the property — the maximum number allowed by law without a kennel license.

“Today’s raid closes Almost Heaven, and provides a new opportunity for better lives to the dogs we removed,” said Jessie Smith, the state’s special deputy secretary for dog law enforcement. “Mr. Eckhart will never again operate a dog kennel in Pennsylvania, and we will see that the dogs removed from the kennel today are cared for before they are offered for adoption.”

Smith thanked the Humane Society and the volunteers from across the state for helping to remove and care for the dogs.

The Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement refused Eckhart’s 2009 kennel license application after an October 2008 inspection and several subsequent inspections showed significant violations of the Dog Law. Eckhart appealed the bureau’s decision, but Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff upheld the refusal on May 5, 2009.

Eckhart failed to appeal the secretary’s decision within 30 days, effectively ending his bid to continue operating a kennel. Through his attorney, Eckhart sought to stop dog wardens from seizing his dogs by petitioning the Commonwealth Court. The court ruled in favor of the Department of Agriculture, allowing dog wardens to close the kennel today.

“The Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement is committed to fully enforcing Pennsylvania’s recently-improved Dog Law, and will take legal action, including permanent closure, against any kennel not meeting their responsibility to the health and safety of the dogs they keep,” said Smith.

Smith said the closing of Almost Heaven was evidence that the new Dog Law, Act 119 of 2008, signed by Governor Edward G. Rendell last October, is working as intended.

“Previous versions of the Dog Law allowed kennel owners to operate for extended periods of time even after having their kennel license revoked or refused,” said Smith. “The new law prohibits kennels in that situation from obtaining new dogs, breeding or boarding, so they cannot operate as usual during a lengthy appeal process.

“In addition, the new law is very specific about the appeal process, gives dog wardens clear authority to continue to inspect and to seize dogs when appeals are exhausted and allows a prior closure by the state to prevent issuance of a new license upon reapplication.”

Smith said the new law, and aggressive actions like the closure of Almost Heaven, are helping Pennsylvania shed its reputation as an epicenter for puppy mills, large-scale dog breeding operations where profits are placed above the welfare of the dogs they bred and sold.

“Pennsylvania law previously allowed dogs to be kept in cramped, stacked cages their entire lives with no opportunity for exercise and minimal care,” said Smith. “The new law allows us to ensure that even large breeding operations are housing dogs in a humane manner.”

In addition to making much needed enforcement improvements, Act 119 addresses the health and welfare needs of dogs housed in large commercial kennels by requiring these operations to meet new physical standards for cage size and flooring.

Among other protections for dogs, the new law doubles the minimum floor space for dogs, eliminates wire flooring, and requires exercise that is at least as good as unfettered access to an exercise area twice the size of the primary enclosure. The previous law did not require that dogs ever be taken out of cages, much less be provided access to exercise areas.

The law also requires veterinary examinations for each dog twice per year.

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