Reposted Article from: The Morning Call October 9, 2008, By Tim Darragh

State charges note hellish conditions at kennel Filth: Animal waste pervasive, facilities in disrepair at Almost Heaven, citations claim.

By Tim Darragh Of The Morning Call October 9, 2008



A dog waits to be inspected by members of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of the Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) at Almost Heaven Kennel in Upper Milford on Wednesday, October 1, 2008. The PSPCA out of Philadelphia raided the kennel after complaints about the health of some of the animals. (RICH SCHULTZ/ SPECIAL TO TMC / October 9, 2008)

The Almost Heaven Kennel in Upper Milford Township was a dirty, dangerous place for dogs, pocked with protruding wires and rusted pipes, littered with feces and filled with debris and waste in the dogs' cages and bedding, according to citations issued by a state dog warden.

Warden Kristen Donmoyer on Wednesday filed nine citations for failure to maintain a clean and humane kennel against Almost Heaven owner Derbe Eckhart. The charges, filed with District Judge Donna Butler of Emmaus, stemmed from the Oct. 1 raid on Almost Heaven, 4202 Chestnut St., by state Dog Law Enforcement officers and the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Eckhart is scheduled for a hearing on the charges Oct. 17 at Butler's office, when he also will face charges of lack of veterinary care and unsanitary confinement filed by humane officers.

Eckhart did not return a telephone call to the kennel for comment.

The citations drew a picture of a kennel that was poorly maintained. The dog warden said she found rusted pipes with jagged edges, protruding wires and a shed with insulation falling from the ceiling, holes in walls and ripped up flooring. A drainage trough was filled with feces, urine and debris. An indoor kennel was overwhelmed by a ''pungent odor'' of ammonia. Feces were found ''throughout all kennel sections'' and ''had not been removed daily,'' as required.

Citations also were issued for leaving bedding stained by urine and feces, and dog cages filled with hair, waste and debris. Additionally, Donmoyer cited Eckhart for failure to control flies, spiders and other pests or for permitting pests to thrive in the kennel.

Citations charged Eckhart for leaving the kennel with cracked concrete and wood and rust throughout the facility. Those charges suggest long-running maintenance problems at the kennel, which could be troublesome for the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. On Aug. 7, less than two months before the raid, two other wardens, a supervisor and the bureau supervisor issued a clean inspection report to Almost Heaven.

The state Department of Agriculture, which oversees the bureau, is investigating why wardens issued Almost Heaven clean bills of health for a year before the Aug. 7 inspection.