Dog breeders' suit claims unfair enforcement in Lancaster County

A group representing hundreds of Pennsylvania dog breeders yesterday filed a federal lawsuit against the state Department of Agriculture, accusing it of unfairly targeting commercial kennels in Lancaster County for enforcement actions.

The organization, the Professional Dog Breeders Advisory Council, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, alleging a pattern of abuse that violates the equal-protection and due-process clauses of the Constitution.

Officials named in the suit included Department of Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolfe; Susan West, director of the department's Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement; and Kristin Donmoyer, a Pennsylvania Dog Law officer.

Agriculture Department spokesman Chris Ryder said, "We have not seen the lawsuit, and we have no comment at this time."

In a statement released yesterday by the American Canine Association, an organization that breeders use to register their dogs' pedigrees, owner Bob Yarnall said the abuse had been going on since 2006, when Gov. Rendell ordered the department to step up its enforcement operations. Legitimate businesses have been shut down as a result, he said.

"While there are rightful interests in enforcing regulations and the Pennsylvania Dog Law, creating SWAT teams of dog wardens and ignoring the deficiencies in kennel operations other than commercial kennels is fundamentally unfair and patently discriminatory," Yarnall said.

Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo declined to comment about the lawsuit, but he said the governor remained committed to the humane treatment of dogs and would continue to push for laws and action that protect them.

Last month in Philadelphia, with his golden retriever, Maggie, by his side, the governor forcefully called for passage of three laws now pending in the legislature that would improve kennel conditions and give more enforcement power to authorities to shut down so-called puppy mills.

Yarnall claimed that Department of Agriculture statistics show that in 2007 kennel operators in Lancaster County faced more inspections, and received more citations and warnings, than any others in the state.

Although Allegheny County has about the same number of kennels, he said, between Jan. 1, 2006, and May 31, 2008, 76 kennel citations were issued to Lancaster County operators, while operators in Allegheny County received none.

The suit also asks that kennel owners be allowed to videotape inspections of their properties.