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PA PUPPY MILL & RELATED COMPANION ANIMAL NEWS

05-12-08 --  Out of Control Kennel Cough at PACCA
By: Stu Bykofski, Philadelphia Daily News

Most of the dogs in the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association kennel are sick.

Despite three years of improvements in its operations and a steady rise in the number of animals spared from euthanasia, PACCA has failed to control kennel cough among dogs in its Feltonville shelter - and that has serious consequences for both volunteer rescue groups and potential adopters.

"Every dog I have pulled out of there is sick," says Jodi Specter, president of the local American Bulldog Rescue, who stopped taking PACCA dogs home for foster care "because they made my dogs sick."

Another rescue person, the Northeast's Rosemary DiStefano, says a pit bull "had a 105 fever when I took him. I went directly to the emergency room and it cost me $1,000 to treat for pneumonia."

It got to the point that, each time DiStefano went to PACCA to rescue a dog, "I went with doxycycline" - a medicine for kennel cough - "and started treating them right away," she says.

A 2004 Daily News exposé revealed the PACCA operation then to be a "House of Horrors" for animals. Everything from staff indifference to animal cruelty was detailed, resulting in a City Council hearing, followed by a new board and new management. This four-part series is another deep look into PACCA, assessing its successes - and there have been some, since our 2004 report - and its failures.

As someone who has been immersed in animal issues for a decade, I know of no person, no organization, involved in animal welfare that won't be bad-mouthed by some other person who cares about animals. Sadly, animal welfare infighting makes Shia/Sunni warfare seem like a debutante party. (Because of bad blood between PACCA and the Pennsylvania SPCA, which I believe wants to regain the animal-control contract it surrendered in 2002, no one from PSPCA was interviewed for this series.)

Several rescuers suspect that PACCA puts up sick animals for adoption to stick someone else with the medical bills. Others believe animals are rushed out the door to avoid the "E-room," where lethal injections are given. Some critics - and supporters - say PACCA will do anything to keep up its "save" rate, which is at a historic high.

"Our commitment is to work toward saving the lives of all the animals who enter our facility," says PACCA Chief Executive Officer Tara Derby, 34. "We consider those lives to be precious."

PACCA takes in 30,000 animals a year, "the vast majority of whom have never seen a veterinarian before entering our facility," Derby says. The city facility can turn no animal away, not even sick ones.

Clearly, PACCA is saving more animal lives: Since 2005, the combined dog/cat "save" rate tripled from less than 20 percent to more than 60 percent today.

With that said, so many dogs in PACCA's shelter have kennel cough, an upper-respiratory infection or URI, that many rescuers call it the "PACCA flu."

Derby admits that close to half the shelter's dogs may have kennel cough when the shelter is not packed, a rate she says rises to 60 percent when the shelter is jammed and airborne transmission is difficult to stop.

A former PACCA manager estimates the average to be more like 80 to 85 percent.

DiStefano used to go to PACCA when called, usually to pick up "special needs" dogs, such as those sick or injured. She hasn't gone in more than six months.

Specter worked with PACCA since it opened in 2002, but rarely goes now. DiStefano and Specter agreed to be quoted. Other rescue people requested anonymity, fearing that they might be barred from the city-financed shelter at 111 West Hunting Park Ave.

The "PACCA flu" charges arise as the city's $2.9 million contract with the agency was to expire on June 30. Health Commissioner Dr. Donald F. Schwarz has offered a six-month extension, which PACCA is weighing. Meanwhile, Dana Spain-Smith, the combative president of PACCA's board of directors since December 2005, resigned in mid-April, replaced by Reed Smith attorney John Martini. Spain-Smith remains on the board.

All large-volume shelters have some kennel cough, but PACCA has too much - and no effective way to control it.

One reason: The design of the shelter, which was a warehouse before conversion. It remains too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

"The issue is to control [kennel cough] through isolation, vaccinations, facility design, air flow," says John Snyder, vice president for companion animals of the Humane Society of the United States.

PACCA has no isolation room for dogs. It has no space for one - and it would require a separate ventilation system, because URI is airborne.

Having sick dogs in the kennel is a double whammy. First, URI can turn into pneumonia, which can be deadly and is costly to treat. Second, it's bad business to allow people to unknowingly adopt a sick animal and then find themselves saddled with unexpected vet bills.

"We had to hospitalize about four [PACCA dogs] in the last couple of months," said Lorraine Schreiber, director of the Burlington County Animal Alliance. (Her name had been given to me by PACCA as a friend of the shelter.) Despite the sick dogs, Schreiber gives PACCA and its staff good grades for trying hard and for cooperation.

Derby says that when PACCA knows an animal is sick, the adopter is given medicine. But symptoms don't always show at the shelter, and there is not always medicine on hand. PACCA does allow adopters to return animals at no charge, but that's a bad "after the fact" remedy.

"We're having a much harder time this year with upper-respiratory infections," admits Dr. Michael Moyer, PACCA vice president, who teaches shelter medicine at Penn's renowned vet school. There's no budget for "diagnostic surveillance," so dogs are only spot-checked as they arrive, he says.

Even if sick dogs are caught on arrival, it doesn't help. PACCA turns away no animal and since there's no isolation room, the sick dogs go into the kennel to spread whatever they have. As bad as kennel cough and pneumonia are, the shelter lives in fear of parvovirus, an infection so serious it can require a kennel population to be put down.

A new facility would help, or a revamp of the existing one, but the city is not ready to spring for it, Mayor Nutter told me.

While calling PACCA an "important" city service, Nutter won't budge before getting a report on "what the best practices are in the industry, what do other cities do," and what local vets, medical and internal policy staff recommend, he says.

When will he request such a report?

He declined to say, other than: "It's an important issue so I'm going to work on it with a sense of urgency."

Meanwhile, too many dogs suffer with the "PACCA flu."

05-11-08 -- Fayette Officer Takes on Animal Cruelty
By:  Liz Zemba, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Elizabeth Davidson stalks killers.

Successful hunts are elusive and will never land murder convictions. But Davidson believes her work has life-saving potential.

"If they don't get caught, it will escalate," she said.

A humane police officer with the Fayette Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Davidson deals with an ever-growing file of cold cases.

In the past few months, she has not been able to solve three deaths, including one that might be the work of a serial killer.

They include:

--The shooting and disembowelment of a cat whose carcass was later hung from a street sign in Dunbar Township.

--The fatal bludgeoning of a dog that was dumped -- along with two others -- at an abandoned school in South Union.

--The hanging of a pet cat from an electrical conduit at a public housing complex in Brownsville.

Clues Gone Cold

Like all humane agents, Davidson is forced to investigate slayings where the clues have gone cold.

Humane agents work to solve cold-case animal killings in much the same manner as police investigating unsolved homicides -- but with fewer resources.

Investigative tools include necropsies, which are similar to autopsies, and veterinary forensics, which are akin to crime-scene techniques popularized by TV shows such as "CSI."

Both options are costly, limiting their usefulness, Davidson said.

In the Dunbar case, Davidson and fellow humane agent Jamie Speelman collected a pair of surgeon's gloves the perpetrator apparently discarded. The gloves were preserved for evidence, but they have yet to be tested for fingerprints or DNA.

They determined that the perpetrator likely stood on a vehicle to tie off the rope. They searched for tread marks, but found nothing definitive.

Davidson said the hanging was done between 8 and 10 a.m. along well-traveled Barron Road, meaning the perpetrator likely lives nearby, or studied the spot before acting.

The agents took photographs to document the care taken to display the kill.

The crime was "well planned," Davidson said. "This guy went to such lengths. You didn't just shoot the cat. You hung it up, disemboweled it, and tied its feet to make sure it wouldn't dangle."

If the case remains unsolved, Davidson fears the killer might one day move on to human victims.

"You could just see this person practicing on a cat, and saying, I got away with this, and then moving on to women or children or whatever his sickness might be," Davidson said. "I'm disturbed it was a cat now, and it might be people tomorrow."

Numerous studies have established a link between animal abuse in childhood and violent behavior toward humans, said Dr. Diane T. Marsh, a psychology professor at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. Often, it is considered a red flag indicator of the risk for violent behavior.

Another case under investigation in Fayette is that of three dead dogs found dumped -- along with the carcasses of numerous wild animals -- at an abandoned schoolhouse on Poplar Lane in South Union.

A necropsy was performed on the third dog because agents believe the killings are the work of the same person.

It is likely the dog was struck with a baseball bat or other blunt object. If the dog had been struck by a car, it would have sustained trauma to its nails and pads as it braced for impact.

"With any kind of cat or dogs, the nail beds are sliced to pieces," Davidson said. "This dog had nothing like that."

Working Against Time

Time works against humane agents when it comes to unsolved animal killings.

While police have unlimited time to press charges in homicides, humane agents have two years to identify and prosecute perpetrators before the statute of limitations runs out, said Ron Smith, a humane agent with the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society in Allegheny County.

Smith recalled a particularly gruesome case in Lawrenceville in which agents could not identify a suspect before the time limit expired. A dog was found beheaded in its own backyard.

"We canvassed the neighborhood. We got the media involved and we posted reward signs throughout the neighborhood," Smith said. "There was a lot of publicity surrounding that case, but we never got enough information to make an arrest."

Often, the most powerful tool available for solving cases is a monetary reward, said Dale Bartlett, deputy manager for animal cruelty issues with the Humane Society of the United States.

That's why the national agency has put up $2,500 toward information leading to the identification and prosecution of whoever hanged the cat in another unsolved case in Fayette County, Bartlett said.

Queenie, a long-haired black cat, recently had given birth to four kittens. She was the pet of a 9-year-old girl.

Queenie slipped unnoticed out of her South Hills Terrace apartment in Brownsville, only to be discovered hanged to death from a conduit near a second-story window.

Blood and fur discovered on the side of the building indicated the cat was alive when it was hanged, and may have struggled for some time before succumbing.

"A lot of times, these criminals don't have a lot of friends who wouldn't turn them in for $2,500," Bartlett said. "Another problem, because these are dangerous people, people are afraid to come forward because if the perpetrator knows who told on them, they fear retribution. One way to ease their discomfort is to put a couple thousand dollars in front of them."

Rewards don't always work. In Westmoreland County, a $2,000 reward leading to the identification and prosecution of whoever beat, starved and shot to death two English setters produced no leads.

"It was very, very disheartening," said Lynn Sphon, of Action for Animals, a Derry agency that investigated the January incident. "It's just very, very sad that we'll never know what happened to those dogs."

Davidson hopes the Fayette investigations result in prosecutions. She wants justice not only for the animals, but also psychological help for the perpetrators -- especially in the Dunbar case.

"There was so much hate in it," Davidson said. "I want them caught, so they can get the help they need now.


05-08-08 --  Puppy Mill Legislation Press Conference

On Wednesday, May 14 at 10:30AM, Governor Rendell's office will be hosting a press conference at the Capitol to announce newly released legislation that will put an end to many of the conditions that encourage ongoing animal cruelty, abuse and neglect in Pennsylvania's large scale commercial breeding kennels.
 
This important press conference presents a unique opportunity for advocates to gather and impress upon our elected representatives how committed we are about seeking relief for the breeder dogs by way of the legislative process. 


To read the Bill click HERE
 
We hope you'll take the time to come to Harrisburg on May 14 and demonstrate to Pennsylvania officials the need for passing legislation that will alleviate much of the suffering endured by breeder dogs forced to live their lives in commercial breeding kennels.
 


05-08-08 -- 15 Fish Hooks Surround Dog's Neck
Border Collie Underwent Surgery to Remove Hooks
By: WPXI & Pittsburgh.com

BULLSKIN TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A cruel collar forced a dog to undergo surgery. The mixed breed border collie was found wearing a collar full of fishhooks; and one of the hooks created a hole in the dog's neck.

Humane officers at the SPCA in North Union told Channel 11 this was an unusual case of animal cruelty and they have no idea who is responsible or why someone would do something so terrible.

The dog is recovering from surgery to remove a fish hook from his neck -- one of 15 that someone had attached to the inside of his collar.
 
SPCA Humane Officer Elizabeth Davidson said a resident found the dog wandering along Englishman Hill Road in Bullskin Township.

“When we found the collar it was extremely tight on the dog,” Davidson said.
 
No one knows for sure how just how long the dog, which rescuers named Hooks, had been walking around with the collar full of fish hooks. But humane officers want to get to the bottom of this and soon.

“Very sad story, but if anyone has information on owner of dog or knows how dog may have ended up in that condition,” Davidson said to let animal officials know.
 
Hooks is on antibiotics to prevent an infection.

Humane officers said that if the dog had not gotten treatment when he did, he probably would have died within a few days.


05-07-08 --  Lancaster DA Out to Teach Kennel Owners Lesson
Offers Free Seminars in Dog-Law Compliance
By:  Susan Lindt, Lancaster Intelligencer Journal

Two hundred forty-four commercial kennel owners got the invite. Now it's up to them to take the offer.

In a new initiative designed to improve compliance with state kennel regulations, the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office is holding two free educational seminars to help kennel operators understand how to stay out of trouble with the law.

"We're putting them on notice that we're coming," District Attorney Craig W. Stedman said. "We know who you are. We're telling you what the laws are for free. Either they're going to take advantage of it or they aren't. And the next time we knock on your door to talk about a puppy, it could be with a search warrant in our hands."

The seminars will include overviews of kennel regulations; how to treat animals humanely; when animals should be examined by a veterinarian; and how to keep kennels, food and water dispensers clean — an area for which kennels are often cited for noncompliance.

Stedman's office notified 244 county kennel operators of the seminars by certified letter.

The seminars are scheduled for June 5 at Ephrata's Eicher Arts Center in Grater Park and June 6 at Solanco High School Auditorium in Quarryville. Both will begin at 7 p.m.

Stedman said he devised the seminars as a means to encourage understanding and compliance of state kennel regulations so that prosecution is a last resort for his office.

"These seminars are a unique opportunity for kennel owners to get person-to-person answers to their questions so they can be in compliance," Stedman said. "To me, it's worth a commitment to try, because everybody wins if we have compliance without prosecution — and the dogs win, too."

The seminars will be presented by a slate of officials, including Assistant District Attorney Christine Wilson, who prosecutes county animal abuse and kennel violation cases; Dr. Bryan Langlois, a veterinarian for Humane League of Lancaster County who has testified in animal abuse cases; Elaine Skypala, chief operations officer for the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; and dog wardens Diane Buhl and Rickee Miller of the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement.

Stedman also asked two area legislators to host the seminars: State Rep. Gordon Denlinger will introduce speakers at the Ephrata seminar, and state Rep. Bryan Cutler will introduce speakers at the Quarryville seminar.

Stedman's initiative comes after Gov. Ed Rendell infused more manpower into the bureau for enforcement of laws regulating the state's commercial kennels. That additional manpower resulted in six kennel license revocations in 2006 and 21 revocations in 2007. Nine of the kennels were in Lancaster County.

Wilson began prosecuting county animal abuse cases at least three years ago. Since then, a more coordinated system for prosecuting kennel regulation violations and animal-abuse incidents has resulted in several high-profile cases, bringing attention to Rendell's crackdown on the county's unscrupulous breeders.

On top of that, television talk-show host Oprah Winfrey featured Lancaster County's puppy mills on her syndicated program last month, resulting in a nationwide outcry.

Jessie L. Smith, special deputy secretary for the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, said all that attention has put breeders on notice.

"The seminars are a good idea. The bureau has increased enforcement, so people are more concerned about how to comply with regulations because there are more consequences now if they don't comply," Smith said.

Denlinger and Cutler said they will use the seminars to get feedback from breeders about proposed changes to state dog laws, which are expected to be introduced next week. The changes, which have been in the works for more than a year, have been hotly opposed by breeders, who say they are too stringent and impractical for compliance.

"Anytime you talk about changing the law, you have to get all the parties at the table," Cutler said. "This is a good opportunity to do that. It's educational, but a side benefit will be to gather information."

Denlinger said he also supports educating breeders so they can avoid prosecution. And he said Stedman's office has taken a "reasonable" approach in recent efforts to prosecute irresponsible breeders.

"Prosecution under current law is appropriate in some cases. The fact that some individuals have been prosecuted indicates the current law does work to some degree," Denlinger said. "But there is always concern that citizens can be railroaded because of emotions related to an issue. My goal is to make sure citizens receive justice in every case."


05-07-08  --  PA Women Charged with Animal Cruelty
By:  Valley Independent/Pittsburghlive.com

Two area women have been charged with animal cruelty.  They are:  Rona Smartt, 44, of 35 Sampson St., Belle Vernon, and Ashley Marie Argirakis, 23, of Charleroi.

The charges against Smartt follow an investigation into the woman's home, which was characterized by Southwestern Regional Police Chief John Hartman as "absolutely deplorable."

As a result, Children and Youth Services authorities took into custody teens aged 14, 16 and 17.

Four dogs were confiscated by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Hartman said.

Police investigated after someone in the house released some of the animals on two constables as they tried to serve a bench warrant last month on Jason Kyle.

The warrant had been issued by Washington County Judge Paul Pozonsky after Kyle failed to appear for a preliminary hearing on charges of theft, criminal trespassing and burglary, Hartman said.

When a family member permitted police into the house April 17, they found the scarcely-furnished home had clothes scattered on the floor, in places with dog waste on them.

Hartman said the dogs had urinated all over the home and he found dog feces throughout the home, including on the wall of one room.

He said a 17-year-old boy was walking barefoot among the animal waste while trying to sweep the house.

Hartman said an alleged crack pipe and other drug paraphernalia were found in the home.

Police also recovered a decorative dagger and other knives and small swords, teh chief said.

The teens told police they were living in the house for just two weeks.

The police investigation is continuing, according to Hartman.

Argirakis was charged after she allegedly left a 3-month-old pit bull unattended on the back porch of a Belle Vernon residence while nobody was home.

Police said the dog was found at the Wood Street home of Nicole Holmes, who was charged with child endangerment earlier this year after sending her children to Marion Elementary School with head lice.

The dog was without food, water or appropriate cover, police said.


05-06-08  -- Officer Kills Pittsburgh Man After Police Dog Shot, Killed
By:  Associated Press

MOUNT OLIVER, Pa. - Pittsburgh police say a 19-year-old man was shot and killed by an officer after the man shot a police dog.

Chief Nate Harper says the officers asked the man to remove his hands from under his clothing. Harper says they then noticed a gun and sent the police dog. Harper says the man fired at the dog, fatally wounding it.

The dog's handler returned fire, hitting the man in the head and killing him.

It happened Tuesday evening just outside the city line in Mount Oliver.

Harper says the officer is on paid administrative leave while Allegheny County police and the district attorney investigate.

Harper says early indications are the officers acted appropriately


05-06-08 -- Oprah to Push PA Puppy Mill Legislation
By: Amy Worden, Philadelphia Inquirer

Talk about a lobbyist with clout.
 
Oprah Winfrey - the woman with the power to send authors to the top of the New York Times best-seller list - is planning to appeal to viewers tomorrow to back a crackdown on puppy mills in Pennsylvania.
 
Winfrey is expected to read excerpts from a letter Gov. Rendell sent to her last month seeking support for legislation to overhaul the state's dog law, according to participants in a Monday conference call with producers of The Oprah Show.
 
A spokesman for the show declined through e-mail to comment on the program for the live show.
 
Tomorrow's show follows an investigation by the show highlighting abuses in Lancaster County commercial kennels. The video showed sick dogs, dogs crammed into small cages, and dogs being mishandled by owners.
 
It generated one of the largest e-mail responses in the show's history, a spokesman said.
 
Two years ago, Rendell vowed to improve conditions in Pennsylvania's commercial breeding kennels. He wrote Winfrey after the show aired seeking help to counter "strong opponents in the breeding industry."

Rendell's office is aware of Winfrey's plans. "The governor, being the best known dog lover in the state, is appreciative of Oprah's efforts to support this legislation," said Rendell's press secretary Chuck Ardo.

Two bills -- one that will overhaul the 1982 dog law and the other that will amend the animal-cruelty law -- are expected to be introduced at a news conference at the Capitol next Wednesday.

Targeted are the hundreds of kennels that sell or transfer more than 60 dogs a year, many of them to pet shops in the Northeast.

Among the proposed changes to the dog law: increased cage sizes, the elimination of wire-floored cages, the addition of outdoor runs, requirements for temperature controls and annual veterinarian exams.

The bill also would give dog wardens greater authority to revoke licenses of problem kennels and monitor them to ensure they do not continue to operate. The bills come after criticism of regulatory changes Rendell had earlier proposed.

Under the proposed cruelty law, fines and penalties would be increased and anyone except a licensed veterinarian would be forbidden from performing cesarean sections or removing dog's vocal cords.

Officials with the Pennsylvania Dog Breeders Association, which represents 300 commercial kennels, could not be reached for comment. The group has said in the past it supports better enforcement of existing laws and that modifications to kennels would be too costly for its members.

The nation's two largest animal welfare groups, the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, are mobilizing tens of thousands of Pennsylvania members to back the legislation.

"Oprah spotlighted the abuses that are occurring in the state that desperately need a legislative remedy to stop the mistreatment of dogs," said HSUS president Wayne Pacelle.

The show has taken on other hot-button issues. In 1996, a show on mad cow disease triggered a drop in beef consumption and prices fell to a 10 year low.

Ed Sayres, president of the ASPCA, said the dog legislation is a reasonable compromise that ensures a basic standard of living for breeding dogs that must spend their lives in kennels.

"This is not an animal rights agenda," he said. "This is basic welfare for animals kept under these conditions."

The Sporting Dog Defense Coalition, whose members include representatives from 55 sporting dog groups and the American Kennel Club, the nation's largest breed registry, have not yet taken positions on the legislation.

AKC spokeswoman Daisy Okas said the group is concerned about the emphasis on "engineering standards rather than performance standards," in kennel inspections.

Rob Sexton, vice president for government affairs for the Columbus, Ohio, based Sporting Dog Defense Coalition, said the language on fines and penalties is vague.

"Our people need to know what carries the sledgehammer," he said, "and what carries the slap on the wrist."

Read the proposed legislation: Click HERE


05-06-08 -- Coonhounds Shot After Wandering Onto Neighbor's Property
By:  WTAE-TV4, Pittsburgh, PA

CHARTIERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Three coonhounds were shot Monday night in Chartiers Township, Washington County by a homeowner along Plum Run Road who didn’t want them on his property, authorities said.

The dog owners were training them when the dogs went onto an adjoining property by accident. Police said that the owner of that property shot the dogs, killing one and injuring two.
 
The two injured dogs are being treated by a local vet. Their conditions are not known at this time.
 
Charges against the alleged shooter are pending, police said.


05-06-08 -- Puppy Mill Legislation Gets Nod
By:  Bucks County Courier Times

A proposal to strengthen Pennsylvania’s Puppy Lemon Law was voted out of committee Tuesday in the state Senate. Senate Bill 536, authored by state Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf, R-12, now awaits consideration before the entire Senate.
 
The Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee approved the bill that augment’s Greenleaf’s 1997 Dog Purchaser Protection Act.  The law provides a course of action for those who have unknowingly purchased a sick or injured dog. With documentation from a licensed veterinarian and within set time limits, a consumer may seek reimbursement for the dog, and / or payment for any medical expenses.   
 
However, under the current law, consumers may seek reimbursement only if their dog suffers from a curable illness. Because many health problems, such as Hip Dysplasia, cannot be cured, but can be treated, the law would now provide for reimbursement for treatment of incurable conditions.
 
The amendment to the current law also would lengthen the time consumers and veterinarians have to prove that a purchased dog has an illness or congenital condition.
 
“Our pets are not mere possessions - they are cherished family members,” said Greenleaf in a press release.  “When they are ill, they are not only a financial burden, but an emotional one as well. By strengthening this existing law, we not only further protect the consumer, but we as well take another important step towards stopping puppy mills.”
 
Greenleaf’s district includes Upper Southampton, Warminster, Warrington and 14 municipalities in Montgomery County.

Read the Current Lemon Law:  Click HERE
Read the Proposed Lemon Law:  Click HERE


05-06-08 -- Tiger Ranch Operator to Stand Trial on Animal Abuse Charges
By: James McKinnon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The operator of the Tiger Ranch cat shelter today was ordered to stand trial on animal abuse charges stemming from a raid on her Frazer farm.

Linda Bruno, 45, is accused of keeping hundreds of cats at the sanctuary, many of them sick and dying.

District Judge Suzanne Blaschak made the ruling in the third day of a preliminary hearing held at the Allegheny County Courthouse because of public interest in the case.

About 50 people were in the courtroom for the hearing today.


05-04-08 -- Blind Pony Dragged to Death in Pennsylvania
Police Suspect ATV Riders Dragged Blind Pony, Killing It
WHP-CBS Harrisburg

WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa. (AP) - State police in Mercer County say they believe all-terrain vehicle riders are responsible for the dragging death of a 10-year-old blind pony.

Owner Tory Morgan found Kahlua's mangled body Wednesday afternoon in a pasture in Shenango Township.

Authorities say the animal's back legs were broken and large pieces of skin had been ripped away from its legs, chest and belly.

Police believe the animal had been roped and then dragged behind an ATV.

Authorities say four other horses had cuts and scratches, possibly from running through trees to escape their attackers.

Morgan says Kahlua was a friendly animal that carried children on its back.

Kahlua is a breed known as Pony of the Americas.

There is a $500 reward for information on the attack.


05-04-08 - 05-10-08 -- Be Kind to Animals Week
The American Humane Association

Established in 1915 by the American Humane Association, help celebrate this week of kindness by doing any or all of the following:

Speak out for animals. Get active in local animal welfare policies and legislation. Also, register with American Humane to receive timely Action Alerts about issues affecting animals. You’ll be able to make a difference for animals with just the click of your mouse.  Visit American Humane: Click HERE

Report animal abuse. While acts of violence against animals are tragic in their own right, they are also a red flag for other violent behavior, including domestic abuse and violent crime.

Appreciate wildlife. Create an inviting space in your yard and garden for butterflies, hummingbirds and other creatures.

Share kindness. Teach the people in your life, especially children, about the importance of being kind to animals.

Make a donation to your local animal shelter. A donation can be your time, money, or needed items like pet food or laundry detergent. Call them first and see what they need.

Adopt a pet from a shelter or rescue organization. Approximately 8 to 12 million animals enter our nation’s shelters every year, and more than half of these pets will have to be euthanized because of a lack of homes. Local shelters are the best place to find companion animals, even purebreds -- one out of every four dogs in a shelter is a purebred.

Help solve the tragedy of euthanasia of adoptable animals by not contributing to the problem. If you have pets, make sure they are spayed or neutered. Pets should be microchipped and should always wear a collar with an ID tag, so they can be reunited with you quickly if they are ever lost.

Be a responsible pet guardian. Keep a collar with an ID tag on your pet, in case he or she gets lost, and take your pet to the veterinarian every year for vaccinations and a health check.


05-03-08 -- New Companion Animal Legislation in Pennsylvania

Two new pieces of legislation pursuant to the care, health and welfare of breeder dogs in Pennsylania's commercial kennels have recently been released.

Addition to PA's Section 5511 of the Criminal Code:  Read it HERE

PA Dog Law Overhaul:  Read it HERE


04-29-08 -- PETA Plans to Run Edgy Ad in Lancaster
By: PETA Media Center

Lancaster, Pa. - An edgy new PETA ad showing a hooded Ku Klux Klan member making himself right at home at a meeting of the American Kennel Club (AKC)--a dog registry that accepts only purebreds--has been sent to all TV stations serving the Lancaster area. PETA plans to run the ad during the upcoming AKC dog show being held in Lancaster this week.

The 30-second spot begins as a Klansman walks into an AKC meeting and is told that he's in the wrong place. After he gets the meeting's speaker to concede that both groups believe in the "sanctity of pure bloodlines" and a "master race"--or "master pedigree"--he declares, "I'll fit right in here," and takes a seat. The ad concludes with the message "All dogs are created equal."





PETA condemns the AKC as irresponsible because it discriminates against mixed-breed dogs, promotes dog breeding, and spurs people to buy purebreds while animal shelters overflow with unwanted mixed-breed dogs who desperately need homes. A conservative estimate indicates that one Lancaster-area animal shelter alone took in about 11,000 homeless animals during the past year, and more than half of them had to be euthanized.

"When it comes to contempt for 'mixed breeds' and a fetish for 'pure bloodlines,' there's not much difference between the KKK and the AKC," says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. "Not only does the AKC promote breeding as a 'sport,' it also opposes spay-and-neuter laws that would save the lives of hundreds of thousands of animals."


04-29-08 --  Tiger Ranch Stuns Vet; 'Never Saw Conditions Like This'
Hearing Continues For Linda Bruno On Cat Cruelty Charges
By:  WTAE-TV: The Pittsburgh Channel

PITTSBURGH -- A veterinarian talked in graphic detail at a preliminary hearing Tuesday about the many ill cats he saw during a raid of the Tiger Ranch. Now, Linda Bruno will head to trial for the charges against her.

Although the judge has already ruled there is enough evidence against Bruno to go to trial, the defense requested the prelim continue. The hearing will continue Tuesday, according to WTAE Channel 4 Action News reporter Marcie Cipriani.

Video: Tiger Ranch Hearing Update

"I never saw -- in 17 years of my practice -- conditions like this," Dr. Ravindra Murarka, of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, testified on Tuesday. "Most of the cats' noses were blocked. They couldn't even breathe. The mucal discharge was covering half of their faces. They couldn't open their eyes. They had ulcerations all through their mouths. They couldn't eat, couldn't drink."

Authorities said they found hundreds of sick and dead cats at Bruno's cat sanctuary in Frazer Township on March 13. Bruno is charged with 203 misdemeanor counts and 371 summary counts of cruelty to animals.

"Now that's no different than any hospice if we were dealing with people," said defense attorney Ron Valasek. "But we're dealing with cats. And people want to separate the animals from people. But we think we can convince a jury that people that people should have the right to do what they want with their animals. And they should also have the right not to kill things just because they have some kind of deformity."

Murarka was among the doctors who checked out the cats that were removed during the raid. Pictures of each animal were shown in the courtroom.

"While I was examining the cats, they were so infected, eyeballs were falling into my hands," Murarka said.

"They have to present their side," said Bruno. "And when it's my turn, look out Loretta. Because there's going to be a kaboom."

On Monday, prosecutors played audio and video recordings of officers telling Bruno that conditions on the ranch were filthy.

Allegheny County Sheriff's Detective Richard Manning described the building and properties on it as having "an odor I can't re-create in words."

Manning testified that the walls and floors were covered in animal waste and that it was hard for him to contain himself in order to do his job.

"I saw hundreds of cats in different buildings, running loose on the property, running loose in the buildings," Manning said. "The majority of the cats appeared to be lethargic. They looked in very bad shape. Most were sneezing. Some were disfigured, missing patches of fur, missing eyes."

Monday Video: Hearing Begins In Tiger Ranch Case

A PSPCA officer who was at the scene said most of the cats were "sickly." He went on to say the cats were "thin" and had an "oily" coat of fur.

The humane agent told the judge that records show that in 2008, more than 700 cats were brought to the ranch and only nine had been adopted.

Bruno, who pleaded not guilty, has never denied having sick cats on the property. She defended the conditions of her sanctuary, saying the conditions looked bad because it was a no-kill shelter and many cats are brought there to die peacefully.

"I'm just saying you're pulling them from a medical treatment building. That's like going to a hospital and saying why I'm at your hospital [is to] look at all these sick people. Not really. That's not fair," Bruno said Monday.

During the raid, more than 100 dead cats were found inside freezers, and many more were found in need of medical care elsewhere on the grounds, according to the SPCA.

Bruno said she kept the cats in the freezer because the cold ground prevented her from burying them.

"God says he never forsakes the righteous," Bruno said Monday. "I feel good, and I'm going to tell the truth and have faith in my God, and that's all I can do."

Undercover video that was shot at Tiger Ranch and obtained by Team 4 shows dead and apparently sick cats throughout the property.

Bruno said somebody planted the animals in specific locations and moved them from the medical treatment area to another part of the compound before the video was shot.

She said she is looking forward to telling her story.

"When it's our turn ... (attorney) Ron (Valasek) shall be able to show our side, and that's the beauty of the American justice system, and I'm looking forward to it," Bruno said Monday.

Bruno has said she simply cared for cats that no one else wanted.

"I'm blessed, humbled and honored by my supporters," Bruno said Monday. "We have an online petition with almost 500 signatures in support of our local humane office."

The hearing is taking two days because the list of charges is so long. It was moved to the Allegheny County Courthouse to accommodate nearly 100 spectators, witnesses and media.