Auditor General Eugene DePasquale from PA’s independently elected fiscal watchdog says the state is doing a poor job enforcing the new dog law that is supposed to protect buyers and ensure breeders maintain humane practices.
In an audit released this week, it stated lax leadership and ineffective program administration plagued the Dog Law Enforcement Office. The office appeared to be in disarray last year after no meetings were held for 15 months since Governor Tom Corbett took office in January 2011.
The audit makes it clear that the dog law enforcement office is not doing its job. I concur.
It seems we’re back to where we always are when it comes to dogs in puppy mills (commercial kennels). Despite our new law that was to erase the nasty title of PA being the puppy mill capital of the East , it appears it just isn’t so.
Have there been closures of some kennels? Yes, but this doesn’t take away from the facts that not only were presented in the audit but from sources who have seen up close and personal that puppy mills are thriving in PA. Many puppy mills have since gone underground since our dog law went into effect in 2008, according to my sources.
DePasquale said “sales weren’t properly tracked to determine which kennels should be licensed, guidelines weren’t promptly written for dog wardens and the office’s money was spent on other, unrelated Department of Agriculture employees.”
The audit began July 1st, 2008 and ended June 30, 2012.
The Dep’t of Agriculture’s response was one of disagreement. They say money wasn’t used improperly. It says it is addressing other concerns. “It says a reorganization process is resulting in cost savings and tightened adminstration. Part of the reorganization deals directly with Lynn Diehl.
Governor Corbett had hired Lynn Diehl as the new head of the Dog Law Enforcement Office with no prior experience in law enforcement or with animals. (The one criteria mentioned was her having a pet dog.) Her salary was $80,000. That’s a lot of money for someone who has no knowledge or experience to run a department overseeing puppy mills in PA. Many objected to her hiring. Diehl eventually lost that position last fall.
I attended the Dog Law Enforcment’s first board meeting in 15 months with Diehl in attendance last year and felt important issues were not being addressed despite Michael Pechert, who has since succeeded Diehl in her former position in the Dog Law Enforcement Office, stating PA does care about animals.
Do the audit results really come as a surprise to any animal advocate/activist in Pennsylvania? I’ve always maintained this office did not live up to what is supposed to be doing to protect dogs in PA despite having a new dog law that was enacted in 2008. It took 28 years to get a bill signed into law that was to essential protect dogs in puppy mills aka commercial kennels.
Now we have the proof the law is not working. What went wrong?
Instead of issuing citations to kennels that failed inspections, the Dept of Ag worked with the owners of the kennels. Officers weren’t prepared to enforce the health regulations. The report states there was lack of training and tools for kennel inspectors. Apparently guidelines for dog wardens weren’t written until October 2012! Guidelines should have been in place since our new law went into effect. This is a sad commentary on the Dog Law Enforcement Office.
Our new dog law was supposed to have helped dogs who live in puppy mills for the sole purpose of procreating puppies to sell in pet stores, online or at flea markets. Moms and dads live in squalor, filthy conditions despite our new law. Without enforcement, the law is of no use. It is the dogs who suffer.
Is PA still the puppy mill capital of the East? You tell me.
I knew it!
One of the biggest arenas we need to worry about is the internet. They have become savvy and use the internet to sell puppies. People are too stupid to realize they’re buying from puppy mills. I don’t mean to sound crass but it’s the truth. When you’ve been around this for a long time, it wears you down because you see no end in sight.
I get emails from large animal groups saying what they’re doing for puppy mills. It’s a joke. They want your money. Not much is being done in PA! Period! The audit has proved that!
What a shocker? NOT! PA is notorious for puppy mills and continues to be that way. Until you have people in position who truly care about the welfare of animals, dogs will continue to suffer and die because consumers want puppies from pet stores! Make it illegal to have a puppy mill. Problem solved!
Do I still think we are the puppy mill capital of the east. Of course, we are. Anyone who says differently is living in an imaginary world. Thousands of dogs are suffering right now at the hands of puppy mill owners. These poor dogs have no way out except for rescues or when the owners kill them. and don’t let this law fool you. They still kill them in a most horrid way!Rot in hell!
Pennsylvania is still the puppy mill capital of the East Coast. I never listened to “talking heads” telling us differently. The law is a joke. It has been ripped apart and downgraded and not even enforced. I think about all of the dogs suffering in the puppy mills in this heat wave. How many will die?
Someone needs to be held accountable for this to continue. I’m too mad to write anything more at the moment. Sorry.
Those of us who work closely with the puppy mills trying to save as many dogs as we can already knew this but no one listens. The law is a joke. It hasn’t changed much of anything let alone the deplorable conditions these dogs are forced to live their lives in. I’m tired of big corps coming in , saving some dogs and taking credit for everything so they can ask for more of YOUR money. Do you really think a CEO of one of these groups will get his hands dirty saving the dogs’ lives? Of course not! So much show and not enough substance. I’m angry that dogs continue to suffer despite the new law. Nothing ever changes. It’s up to the little man to make the difference not the big groups. This is not acceptable. It feels like it’s a joke to so many. They don’t see the suffering, the torture, the pain in the dogs. We do. It has to stop! No law is going to change it. They just proved it!
Dogs must be dying in the puppymills during this heat wave? How can they survive with no ventilation? do you really think most changed their ventilation systems? OF course not. If the law hasn’t been enforced, it means they weren’t enforcing that part of the law. You people in charge disgust me! YOu need to lose your jobs!
Thank you for doing the audit! The truth will set you free. I wish it would set the dogs free!
Pathetic. Five years into having a new law and it’s not enforced. And it wasn’t a good law to start. Geez, what has to be done to protect our animals in PA?
🙁
Any public official who knowingly allows puppy mills to flourish under the conditions they do should be ousted. This is animal cruelty and they’re letting it happen. They contributing to these animals suffering in the most despicable conditions. I think they should be charged with animal cruelty because not only are they allowing it to be, they’re not doing anything to stop it.
Thought PA had one of the toughest puppy mill laws in the country. What a joke.
Stop buying puppies from pet stores and the internet! Think where those puppies came from and where there parents live 24/7!!
Very troubling but no surprise here. The dogs keeping paying the ultimate price while those in charge do nothing to end the misery of these dogs. SHAME ON THEM!
It’s obvious that nothing has changed at all. Until people are educated enough to know the importance of either buying from a ****reputable*** breeder or shelter, then we will always have this problem. We need more people to be educated on the issue.
Reputable breeders are usually NEVER found online, especially if they offer to ship the puppy to you for cheap. I know some breeders have their own websites, but it’s very difficult to find a well-bred puppy on sites such as Puppyfind or Craigslist (there are exceptions for Craigslist if you are looking for an adult dog, however.)
A lot of people just don’t care, or they don’t know any better. As a community, we need to do something more.
We can’t trust the law to be enforced, since those in charge of enforcing it are very unreliable. Often if you even report animal cruelty, animal cruelty officers don’t want to bother doing anything about it. I have experience with this first hand, and I’ve also heard in the news about this happening, too. It’s a shame.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise.