Does Anyone Have a Rescued Doodle from "Almost Heaven Kennel?"

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

For those of you who don't know me or my doodle Blake here on DK, I rescued Blake in August 2007 from a Humane Society in PA. When I adopted him, he was 6 months old. He was ematiated (nearly 20 lbs. underweight for his size) and riddled with illness including a severe case of Sarcoptic Mange, Giardia, 3 different kinds of worms, horrible ear and eye infections and was plagued with severe diarrhea and intestinal issues...His paw pads were pink and perfect..Why?..Because in his 6 months of life he had never been out of a cage, never felt grass beneath his feet and was unable to walk when first rescued because he had never had the opportunity to do so outside of the confinement of his small cramped cage.....

BLAKE FIRST DAY HOME

I was told at the time that he one of close to 100 doodles pulled from an Amish puppy mill in Lancaster County PA and the shelter was reluctant to give me any more info than just that. A few months ago I was invited to volunteer to pull dogs from the mill that Blake supposedly came from. I did...It was an Amish farm in Lancaster but wasn't anywhere near as bad as I was initially led to believe and I was relieved .....

....but thanks to our Doodle Rescue Collective and our new alliances with with various shelters and rescue organizations, this particular Humane Society being one of them, I was able to obtain Blake's actual rescue information. This shelter was kind enough to tell me that in actuality Blake was one many doodles pulled from "Almost Heaven Kennels " in Pennsylvania in 2007..........I was shocked.....I am wondering if there are any other DK members who have doodles from "Almost Heaven" either through purchase or rescue?

If you adopted a doodle from any rescue organization with dogs from Pennsylvania or any ASPCA or Humane Society in the state of Pennsylvania between 2006 and 2009 and are uncertain of your doodles origins, a telltale sign besides illness issues at the time of adoption is a tattoo found on the belly, in one of the ears or on the inside of either leg of your doodle. The tattoo is a combination of letters and numbers and looks as if it was administered by hand....

This is Blake's tattoo

"Almost Heaven Kennels" made national headlines in 2008 when breeder Derbee Skip Eckert's Emmaus farm was raided and 800 animals, mostly dogs were seized from his property by the PSPCA....He is a dog breeder with animal cruelty charges that go back as far as the early 1990's.......He used to breed Boxers, Spaniels and Standard Poodles til his AKC licence was revoked for life in 2002....He then began breeding Labradoodles and Goldendoodles because they are not AKC recognized dogs and the demand and profits make the doodle breeding biz very lucrative.....A discussion link, News video footage of the 2008 raid and seizure are below complete with pictures of some "Almost Heaven" doodles .....

BLAKE NOW

I look forward to hearing your "Almost Heaven" adoption stories and experiences as well as updates on how your doodles are doing.

Thank you!

http://doodlerescuecollective.ning.com/group/doodlerescueinthenews/...

NEWS FOOTAGE OF "ALMOST HEAVEN" RAID
http://wfmz.img.cdn.entriq.net/htm/DayPortWFMZPlayer.html?limit=10&...

[2SCdoodles]

What a story! How lucky Blake is to have found his humans who love him! He is a gorgeous dog!

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

Thanks so much!....He actually picked me first....lol...regardless of how he looked at the time, I knew he was going to be a beautiful dog...

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

That's Pennsylvania for ya!...They altered their new HB 2525 puppy mill law so as to make it easier for "breeders" to comply with the new requirements and restrictions......

[Leslie and Halas]

Apparently Illinois is trying to pass a couple of laws to help dogs. 1. To make it more difficult for puppy mills, backyard breeders, etc. to get licensed. 2. To make it illegal to crop ears and dock tails. The AKC sent a memo to our obedience club asking people to OPPOSE these new laws. I can understand the AKC wanting it to remain legal to crop ears and dock tails. But their opposition to tougher licensing requirements really surprises me. Off-topic, but I thought about it when I read your comment above. Illinois is trying to prevent more puppy mills and irresponsible breeders, and the AKC is going to lobby against that.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The AKC gets money for registering the puppy mill dogs, and they have been known to "overlook" the accuracy of the paperwork. That's how the mills & BYB's sell the dogs to the pet stores, and the pet stores sell them to us..."AKC registered purebred poodle", etc. Imagine how much money the AKC makes from the mills. A top breeder registers maybe 1-2 dozen dogs a year...a mill registers 1-2 thousand. You do the math.

[Leslie and Halas]

Follow the money. Their explanation is different, of course, but it sounded pretty flimsy to me. I can forward you the memo if you haven't seen it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Apologies to Jac for this hijack of her post, but her heart is in this, too. I may not have seen this particular memo, Les, but I've seen enough like it. Disgusting...like everything else that exploits innocent animals to put $$$ in someone's pocket. There are no good guys here, except the people trying to pass the laws, and look at the front they're up against.

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

No problem!...It's not off topic at all!..Go for it....

[Adina P]

feel free to post it here

[Leslie and Halas]

Here it is. I don't know the exact text of the bills, but I'm sure they're not trying to eliminate responsible breeders. The AKC talks about setting unreasonable standards for commercial breeders who already meet current state and federal laws. From my limited knowledge on the subject, the current state and federal laws are pretty lame. Most responsible breeders are way above and beyond these standards already. I kind of ignored the whole thing, but now this discussion has me thinking about it again.

This was from the AKC Government Relations Department.

Dear Illinois AKC Delegates, Club Officers, Judges and Breeders,

We are writing you today to update you about two pieces of legislation that are being proposed in the Illinois Legislature. Although we are currently waiting on amendments for both bills, the draft amendments that we have seen do not adequately address our concerns, protect responsible breeders or preserve the rights of owners and veterinarians to make decisions regarding an animal’s health care. Attached please find sample letters for you to personalize on each of these bills. We will continue to update you as Legislative session continues

House Bill 198 and Senate Bill 53
These bills are supposedly an attempt to address “puppy mills” and irresponsible dog breeders in Illinois. However, these bills affect many small-scale hobby breeders and create unreasonable standards for commercial breeders who are in compliance with current state and federal laws. Their passage will not improve enforcement or the lives of animals in Illinois

The Illinois Department of Agriculture already has a licensing program in place which requires breeders with more than 5 intact females to be licensed. The ;puppy mills; that sparked the introduction of this bill was not licensed as current law required and it was being investigated by the Department of Agriculture.

Although draft amendments that have been circulating would allow the Department of Agriculture to administer the bill (current bill language establishes a new program in the Department of Financial and Professional Regulations), the provisions continue to be burdensome and will not improve animal welfare.

Enforcement of current laws is the most effective way to address animal care issues in Illinois.

Senate Bill 139
SB 139 seeks to severely limit the practices of tail docking and ear cropping in the state. Current Illinois statute allows ear cropping and tail docking done for any legitimate purpose. If SB 139 becomes law, ear cropping and tail docking would be considered "animal torture" under Illinois criminal law and would be allowed only for medical purposes. In effect, SB 139 seeks to fundamentally change many breeds’
characteristics by severely limiting the valid practices of cropping and docking.

The American Kennel Club recognizes that ear cropping, tail docking, and dewclaw removal, as described in certain breed standards, are acceptable practices integral to defining and preserving breed character and/or enhancing good health. Appropriate veterinary care should be provided. What You Can Do:

Call your representative in the Illinois General Assembly and the Illinois State Senate. Tell him or her that you are a constituent and ask him or her to oppose HB 198, SB 53 and SB 139

We have also attached sample letters for you to personalize. Due to the speed at which these items may move, we highly suggest sending your message in an email or by fax. To find out who represents you in the Illinois State Legislature visit this website:
http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/SelectSearchType.aspx?N...

[Adina P]

if any of you have time to find out HOW this bill makes it more difficult for breeders-- i.e. what new things will they be forced to do-- I would love to know about it

[Leslie and Halas]

I found the website with the text of the bills. I'll try to read through them tonight. Now we're really hi-j****** Jac's discussion, so maybe I'll start a new one when I find more info. These are Illinois laws, but I'm sure the AKC will oppose similar laws in other states.