Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH
share
email
print
font size
options
 
Wednesday, July 1, 2009

UPDATE:  Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Thomas Blair confirmed today that Sullivan County dog breeder Laura Antretter faces 76 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty connected to the dead and suffering dogs found at Autumnbriar kennel during two raids earlier this year. 

"It was one for every dog," said Blair. She also faces 30 counts of dog law violations related to operating an unlicensed kennel (Antretter's kennel license had been revoked) and the squalid conditions found in the kennel for a total of 106 counts.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement says Antretter was found guilty this week of two, not three, charges connected to kennel conditions from an earlier inspection.

A Sullivan County dog breeder who fled after authorities discovered the bodies of dead puppies and other animals and live animals housed in feces-filled crates is now facing 106 counts of animal cruelty and dog law violations.

Laura Antretter, also known as Lauren Wolfe, turned herself in on March 14 and spent four days in Wyoming County jail after failing to post $10,000 bail, according to court records. Antretter bred Jack Russells, as well as exotic Lurcher and Atlas hounds and was well known in terrier and hound breeding forums on the Internet.

Here are the conditions dog wardens and humane officers found when they executed a search warrant at Autumnbriar Kennel on Feb. 12, according to court documents obtained by The Rocket Courier of Wyalusing:

"Fecal matter and urine covered the floors on every level of the residence. Six dead dogs were found in the basement area along with a dead cat. The dogs were all in their crates, and the floor of the basement was completely covered in excreta.

"Surviving animals at the residence/kennel did not have food and water. The coats of the animals were covered with fecal matter and wet with urine and the dogs were so emaciated, the affidavit further states, that the skeletal structure was “easily observed, to include the ribs and hips.”

"There was a pigpen in the garage containing approximately two feet of dried fecal matter and a dead pig. The pig’s internal organs were missing or pulled apart.

"Twenty-seven living dogs were removed from the property on Feb. 12. The next day a second search warrant was executed at the property and more dead animals were removed, including eight dead Jack Russell Terriers, one dead goat, five dead Lurcher puppies, a dead adult Lurcher female dog and six dead hamsters.

Antretter, 43 of Dushore, was found guilty today of three dog law charges filed before the raid, including refusing an inspection and failure to keep the kennel in sanitary and humane condition. A hearing has not yet been scheduled on the 98 counts from the raid, which include 66 counts of animal cruelty and multiple counts of operating an unlicensed kennel, failure to keep a kennel in sanitary and humane condition.

Antretter's kennel license was revoked last July and her appeal was denied by the Department of Agriculture. Under Pennsylvania law she was able to keep 25 dogs without a license.

 

 

 

Posted by Amy Worden @ 10:08 PM  Permalink | 47 comments
Comments   
Posted 10:13 AM, 07/02/2009
Autumnbriar
Good Grief Lady do you ever do you own research? I am the breeder in Sullivan county and I love how all the SPCA, Humane Societies, Media and Dog Law Enforcement people only report one side of a story, DLE (Dog Law Enforcement) Was mad aware of a situation that occured at my home the first week of January which provoked them to come out (Jan 6) with a vet and do an inspection, they are not telling the media what happened in January, and they sure as poop didn't tell you they killed most of the Lurchers they took on the 12th.... no that would make them look bad.... Rescue my #$@!... they only wanted to help the "adoptable dogs" amazingly most of my poor negected dogs where adopted in DAYS, no dogs required vet care and any moron can worm a dog.... if they really had worms because amazingly along with NO PICTURES OF THE LIVE DOGS, they can claim anything they want. I am being cited for 49 animal cruelty for the perfectly healthy and adoptable live dogs 15 for the dogs that died, 6 homsters, 1 chicken and 1 goat. do the math, and why don't you come to court to hear the testamony yourself?? This was not a case of a "commercial kennel" I had hunting/working dogs. If you have any questions for me fell free to call me..... bu tthen again reporting the truth is probably against your AR way of thinking..... Lauren Autumnbriar Wolfe
Posted 10:28 AM, 07/02/2009
Bud Fox
Ps-Ps-Ps-Psycho!!
Posted 10:47 AM, 07/02/2009
Autumnbriar
Figures another BRILLANT comment by the idiots, oh and PS, it wasn't three convictions it was 2 , and the Judge told COLE WARMINSKY that in his way of thinking I could have been cited for every peice of poop!
Posted 11:11 AM, 07/02/2009
Professor Smart E. Pants, PhD.
Autumnbriar - I do have a question for you. You admit that you had dead animals, so my question is how did the animals die? If you can't manage to keep the animals alive then you have no business breeding them. Oh yeah, that's right. Breeding animals is your business. No regard for the animals in your "care" just as long as they bring in some cash for you. I get it, animals die, but there is no way that they should be left to rot in their cages. Besides what that says about you as a person, that is just plain gross.
Posted 11:18 AM, 07/02/2009
Macy
Laura, Miss Autumnbriar, that’s so like convicted animal abusers: blame your accusers. Too bad your poor neglected, starved and abandoned 21 dead dogs left to rot on your property aren’t here to testify against you. I hope you get the book thrown at you, and that you are forever banned from owning dogs.
Posted 11:24 AM, 07/02/2009
Professor Smart E. Pants, PhD.
I don't know about anyone else, but 30 dead animals on one's property sounds like an excessive amount of dead animals to me. Sounds like neglect to me.
Posted 11:36 AM, 07/02/2009
Professor Smart E. Pants, PhD.
I would love to know the justification for the recent deaths of 30 animals, but somehow I highly doubt I will get one.
Posted 12:22 PM, 07/02/2009
Autumnbriar
if you want testimony come to the trial, but I suspect your nothing more than keyboard activisted, who read this womans trash like it's gospel. Starved i think not.... see for yourself and do a little research, my kennel inspection even says the bedding in the crates was clean, and food too... do your HOMEWORK before you come at me, and stop going by these darn one sided articles!
Posted 01:28 PM, 07/02/2009
Macy
The PA kennel inspection reports are public record and yours are pretty appalling and refute your claims about clean bedding and food. And you also refused to allow the 8-08 inspection and were issued a citation for that. What were you hiding back then?
Posted 02:10 PM, 07/02/2009
scargosun
Autumnbriar: I agree with Macy. What were you hiding? People should only operate kennels/breeding facilities if they are open to inspection at anytime. If you are breaking the rules, you must deal with the consequences. Bottom line, if you couldn't stand to live the way you forced your animals to live, you should have cleaned up your act or surrendered them to the authorities.
Posted 02:50 PM, 07/02/2009
AJG
Even if there was food and clean crates, as you say there were, you still had 30 dead animals at your home! Disgusting.
Posted 04:57 PM, 07/02/2009
Autumnbriar
Sometimes things happen that put in motion a chain of events, this is one of those things , my situations was noted by Dog law in January of 09. I refused the kennel inspection not because I was hiding anything, but when your cited for DUST, COB WEBS, and Minimal yellow jacket nest, I felt the 8/08 inspection was uncalled for as I was not cited yet for the last inspection, they were apparently on their way to the court house to file and must have felt the need to stop in..... sorry but abuse of power is abuse of power. If you think the laws that PA is just for commercial kennels your wrong, I had hunting dogs..... and unlike a commercial breeding kennels, when you breed for a working dog you have a litter and keep them until you can see which pups have what your looking for. very common for a working kennel to have high numbers of adult & teenagers to ratio of pups, I was in the process of reducing the numbers due to health reasons when a catastrophe occurred, Dog law was called and they came out 4 days later (Jan 6 09) I told them several dogs where still not doing well and may have to be put down, they concurred.... and no issue was made of it, until Feb 12. Due to the issue in Jan, I was unable to stay at the house, and was staying at a friends home 3 miles away, except for the first 10 days after the situation happened I slept in my car and set up, to the best of my ability an area with high humidity and a higher than normal heat to help the dogs breath. I also put my oxygen machine in the bathroom which was 10 X 12 ft. Several dogs where taken to the vet and the call was made that only time will tell, the dogs where put on antibiotics. I was very lucky all the terriers did not die, or so i thought until Feb 12. I didn't think things could get worse. (part 1)
Posted 07:53 PM, 07/02/2009
Professor Smart E. Pants, PhD.
This is a statement that I find troubling and it is issued from Autumnbriar, "when you breed for a working dog you have a litter and keep them until you can see which pups have what your looking for." So what happens to the pups that don't have what you are looking for? This question isn't just for Autumnbriar, but for any other "backyard" breeder. If they aren't sellable because they have an undesirable characteristic not up to the standard of the breed, what happens to them?
Posted 08:00 PM, 07/02/2009
Professor Smart E. Pants, PhD.
I'm only asking this because I know someone who adopted a rescued rottweiler. He was tied to a fence and left to die because he possessed an undesirable characteristic, curly hair. It is a recessive trait and because of that gene he also has a lot of health problems; he's epileptic. He's so loving and sweet (a big teddy bear)and yes he has health problems, but a loving person with the financial means was willing to look past all that and is able to provide for him. He's happy and healthy now, and above all, loved.
Posted 08:46 PM, 07/02/2009
Professor Smart E. Pants, PhD.
Yeah, what Emmanuel Kant says, "He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." - I believe this was adopted from St. Francis of Assisi, "If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men." That means stop treating animals as a $$$$$$ making venture. They are not on this Earth just to make money for people. They are feeling (even my mom's rescued turtle settles down when my mom gives her sweet talk, love) and if someone doesn't believe that, believe this on a basic level, they feel pain. They feel hunger and thirst. They feel death. They are here on this Earth and we should be kind to all of them. We may be able to utilize their special skills (i.e. guide dogs for the blind or disabled), but never shall we be allowed to exploit them and to use them in a manner that treats them as just machines.
About Amy Worden
Amy Worden is a politics and government reporter for the Inquirer. In that capacity she has explored a range of animal issues from dog kennel law improvements and horse slaughter to the comeback of peregrine falcons and pigeon hunts. From hamsters to horses, animals have always been part of her life. Today Amy lives on an apple orchard near Gettysburg with her husband and a feline menagerie. A search is underway for the right “dawg” and they hope the barnyard will soon house endangered geese and other animals.