Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Jim Martin | | Judge(s): | Donna Butler |
Puppy mill - 800 animals, 125 seized
Emmaus, PA (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Oct 1, 2008
County: Lehigh
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Derbe Eckhart
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Agents with the Pennsylvania SPCA entered a Lehigh County dog kennel shortly after 1:30 p.m. in what some believe could be the largest puppy mill raid ever in the state.
Agents were executing search warrants at the Almost Heaven Kennel in Emmaus, near Allentown, this afternoon after a two month undercover investigation reportedly showed inhumane treatment there.
The kennel specializes in breeding poodles and Labrador retrievers. In August, the business had 508 dogs at the property on Chestnut Street, state records show.
The owner of the kennel, Derbe Eckhart, has a long history of run ins with state and local authorities and has been convicted at least twice of animal cruelty.
"Early reports show that conditions are horrendous," said Howard Nelson, president of the Pennsylvania SPCA moments after agents entered the property.
Agents, he said, were reporting filthy living conditions and that they witnessed several dying puppies and dogs with bad skin conditions.
The SPCA says that there are around 125 sick dogs that are going to be seized from the puppy mill and that the owner, Derbe Eckhart, is facing around 1000 counts of cruelty.
65 dead animals were found in a freezer.
Case UpdatesThe Almost Heaven Kennel in Upper Milford Township was a dirty, dangerous place for dogs, pocked with protruding wires and rusted pipes, littered with feces and filled with debris and waste in the dogs' cages and bedding, according to citations issued by a state dog warden.
Warden Kristen Donmoyer on Wednesday filed nine citations for failure to maintain a clean and humane kennel against Almost Heaven owner Derbe Eckhart. The charges, filed with District Judge Donna Butler of Emmaus, stemmed from the Oct. 1 raid on Almost Heaven, 4202 Chestnut St., by state Dog Law Enforcement officers and the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Eckhart is scheduled for a hearing on the charges Oct. 17 at Butler's office, when he also will face charges of lack of veterinary care and unsanitary confinement filed by humane officers.
The citations drew a picture of a kennel that was poorly maintained. The dog warden said she found rusted pipes with jagged edges, protruding wires and a shed with insulation falling from the ceiling, holes in walls and ripped up flooring. A drainage trough was filled with feces, urine and debris. An indoor kennel was overwhelmed by a ''pungent odor'' of ammonia. Feces were found ''throughout all kennel sections'' and ''had not been removed daily,'' as required.
Citations also were issued for leaving bedding stained by urine and feces, and dog cages filled with hair, waste and debris. Additionally, Donmoyer cited Eckhart for failure to control flies, spiders and other pests or for permitting pests to thrive in the kennel.
Citations charged Eckhart for leaving the kennel with cracked concrete and wood and rust throughout the facility. Those charges suggest long-running maintenance problems at the kennel, which could be troublesome for the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. On Aug. 7, less than two months before the raid, two other wardens, a supervisor and the bureau supervisor issued a clean inspection report to Almost Heaven.
The state Department of Agriculture, which oversees the bureau, is investigating why wardens issued Almost Heaven clean bills of health for a year before the Aug. 7 inspection. | Source: The Morning Call - Oct 9, 2008
Update posted on Oct 9, 2008 - 10:11AM |
Some of the scores of dogs and cats seized from Derbe ''Skip'' Eckhart's Almost Heaven kennel are already up for adoption through the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Philadelphia, and many more are expected to be available after they receive medical treatment and behavioral rehabilitation.
But the fate of hundreds of other animals seized in Wednesday's raid at the Upper Milford compound -- including horses, pigs, swans, turkeys and more -- is unclear. Society Director Howard Nelson said the agreement struck by Eckhart's attorneys and the society contains a confidentiality clause which prohibits him from discussing the terms, including what becomes of the animals.
''We're happy with the deal, but as far as what the provisions are, we cannot release them,'' Nelson said.
Eckhart has a history of bouncing back after animal cruelty convictions and other legal run-ins, which may explain why the society consented to strike a deal and keep mum on the details.
That's not to say the terms will never emerge. Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin's office has to approve the deal and Martin said he has not yet seen it.
''Rest assured, if there is an agreement, it won't be sealed,'' Martin said.
One thing is certain: Eckhart is out of the kennel business. After the raid uncovered hundreds of animals housed in filth at the Chestnut Street compound -- many suffering skin diseases, respiratory ailments and malnutrition -- the state Department of Agriculture revoked his kennel license, putting an end to a long career marred by repeated convictions for animal cruelty.
The story is far from over, however. Still unexplained is how a kennel that passed state inspection on Aug. 7 could be found in such horrific condition just two months later.
While agriculture officials told state Rep. Douglas Reichley, R-Lehigh, that the conditions had apparently deteriorated dramatically in a couple of weeks, an affidavit filed by the SPCA shows investigators and confidential informants were buying sick and filthy dogs before and after the inspection.
Agriculture Department spokesman Chris Ryder said officials would not comment for now about the inspection. Susan West, director of the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, participated, as well as two dog wardens and a supervisor.
Ryder said that since the department is investigating the discrepancy between the clean inspection and the findings during the undercover action and the raid on Wednesday, officials would not comment further. | Source: The Morning Call - Oct 4, 2008
Update posted on Oct 5, 2008 - 9:07PM |
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