Andrea Rosebrock 
See 7/26/08 Update
Scenic Chester County, PA, was the scene of one of the latest puppy mills raids as agents from the Pennsylvania SPCA descended on John Blank’s Limestone Kennels. The Amish man is facing animal cruelty charges for running the puppy mill on his Cochranville farm, authorities said.
Three and a half hours after the raid began, 21 summary counts of neglect and lack of veterinary care had been filed against Blank.
“All were crowded in cages, their nails were curled under, and two had embedded collars,” PSPCA program officer Elaine Skypala said. Some had conjunctivitis, an inflammation of the eye; others had untreated abscesses, Skypala added.
“Two were missing their eyes,” Bill Smith, founder of Main Line Animal Rescue in Chester Springs said. “They had big gaping holes with flies in them. One of the dogs had his eye hanging out. Two were missing ears.” Teeth on one dog, a Shiba Inu, were so bad that he couldn’t close his mouth, Smith said. Smith took the dogs to the PSPCA for medical evaluation.
There were over 100 dogs on the 73 acre farm situated on Route 10. From the roads, there were no signs of the horrors that were hidden away, you saw immaculately tended fields and beautiful gardens. Twenty one of the dogs had to be removed immediately amid concerns that they could have died if not rescued.
“When we walked in, it was eerie because … even though there was probably 300 dogs in this facility, you couldn’t hear anybody barking because all the adults had been debarked,” said Elaine Skypala, of the SPCA.
“They have nails that have been completely grown almost into the pads of their paws, and it was interesting to see them walk when we tried to put them on solid ground for the first time. Most of them weren’t even able to walk,”
Yesterday’s raid had its origins two weeks ago with a small ad in a Lancaster newspaper for free breeder dogs that caught the attention of Bill Smith, founder of Main Line Animal Rescue in Chester Springs.
Smith went to the farm, but Blank wasn’t home. Volunteers visited the farm over the next two days and ended up with nine dogs, all in deplorable condition, Smith said.
A week later, undercover investigator Ashley Mutch went to the farm and purchased a sickly puppy that Blank had said was 7 weeks old. The puppy, which was determined to be just 3 weeks old, died within 24 hours, she said. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
“Little by little, we’re coming back. This is just the beginning of one of our undercover agents going out to these mills, and we’re going to find more and more that we can shut down,” Skypala said as she promised more crackdowns.
An inspection in January found no violations, although he has been cited in the past for maintenance and overcrowding. Cruelty and neglect charges are expected to be filed.
Read Limestone Kennel Inspection Reports:
2006
2007
2008
Chester County Puppy Mill Raid
Keep up the great work….save the dogs!! Great job!!
The Amish are not as nice as they like to put….. they are bible people so why not act it ….it would be a great life if they do as they say in the bible but look how they treat their animals… My Grandpa always said you can tell how a man is by the way he treats his aniamls…. How true that is !!! I’d rather have 30 dogs in my home clean , loved and feed then some or most people….
Thank goodness..more are safe..I do not understand the Amish..Do they have their own version of the bible or what??The one I read said..For the love of money is the root of all evil: Which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith,and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Timothy 6:10 Did they miss that part?
@Kerry – Kerry, excellent!! This is something I have always wondered myself. I was under the impression that the Amish were ‘religious’ people but there is no way I can understand who truly religious people would condone such treatment of any living, breathing creature that God put on this earth.
One of the saddest things about this that I saw in a news report is that when he was being arrested and the dogs and puppies were being taken away, he was crying about the puppies, “don’t take my puppies, don’t take my puppies!” Some of the people thought maybe he actually did care about them until he said that he didn’t want them taken because they were already all sold. OMG! And at an average price of $1300 each too! Yeah, I bet he was crying!
Make no mistake! The Amish are one the cruelest people in the nation to animals. I wish every one of their barns (where they hide the puppy mills) would be raided and these horrible monsters exposed for what they really are. Animal abuse, child abuse, abuse to women. Oh yeah, these are big bad morons!