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Kennel owner's license revoked following raid
By Amy Worden and Nancy Petersen
Inquirer Staff Writers
Jul 23, 2008
HARRISBURG - In an unusually swift move, the state Department of Agriculture yesterday revoked the license of a Chester County kennel owner following a raid last week that resulted in multiple counts of cruelty and the seizure of 23 dogs. Under a consent agreement, Cochranville kennel owner John S. Blank will have to reduce the size of his operation to fewer than 26 dogs - the number for which a kennel license is required - in 60 days.
Blank, 54, has 105 dogs on his property, according to a kennel inspection report filed Friday.
Department of Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff issued the revocation yesterday based on multiple maintenance and sanitation violations, a spokesman said.
Animal welfare advocates with decades of experience say they have never heard of the agency revoking a license so quickly.
"That's very unusual," said Bob Baker, an ASPCA investigator. "We wish the department would act this swiftly with all substandard kennels in Pennsylvania."
Chris Ryder, a department spokesman, said Blank willingly gave up his license, where other kennel owners have dragged out the revocation process with appeals.
"If he had refused, we would have had to fight him every step of the way," he said.
Dog wardens inspected Blank's facility, Limestone Kennel, on Friday and found feces, dirt and bugs in food and water bowls, broken wire flooring and gaps in the wire so wide that dogs' paws were falling through.
The inspection was ordered one day after agents with the Pennsylvania SPCA raided the kennel and seized 23 dogs, some of which were missing eyes as a result of untreated disease. Others were taken for abscesses from untreated bite wounds and splayed feet from standing on wire for years.
On July 3, Blank gave nine dogs with visible medical conditions to people from Main Line Animal Rescue, which alerted the PSPCA. The following week, a three-week-old puppy that later died from dehydration was illegally sold to an undercover agent.
Rep. Art Hershey (R., Chester), who praised the raid in a statement last week, said yesterday that he objected to the PSPCA's tactics and that it had acted inappropriately.
"They wouldn't identify themselves, and they convinced him [Blank] to sell a sick dog when he said it was sick and he didn't want to sell it," said Hershey, who was at Blank's farm yesterday morning. "And then when it died, that gave them the authority to come and nail him."
Howard Nelson, the PSPCA's chief executive officer, said Hershey's statement was "false and misleading."
"Our agent was undercover and that's totally legal," he said. "He gladly sold her a three-week-old puppy and told her it was seven weeks old."
Blank is facing three misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and 23 summary charges.
Baker said the license revocation doesn't excuse the fact that the wardens who gave Blank a passing inspection in January ignored animals in the kennel with serious medical conditions.
"We hope they follow through and discipline the wardens who allowed this facility to stay in business," he said. An agency spokesman said the matter is under investigation.
The agency also announced the launch tomorrow of a 24-hour hotline (1-877-DOG-TIP1) for the public to report problems in kennels.
Contact staff writer Amy Worden at 717-783-2584 or aworden@phillynews.com .
Copyright 2008
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