Support throughout the state and nation is growing for Gov. Ed Rendell's attempt to bring Pennsylvania's rules on commercial dog breeding into the 21st century and to crack down on what long has been the state's dirty little secret: puppy mill operations, concentrated mainly in neighboring Lancaster County.

Latest on the bandwagon, TV host Oprah Winfrey, who has featured the plight of dogs bred, raised and often discarded by unscrupulous breeders and sold to pet shops along the north Atlantic seaboard.

A spokesman for Winfrey said a recent program showing the results of investigations at some kennels in Lancaster County -- showing animals being mishandled, sick dogs, and mothers and litters crammed in small cages -- generated a massive e-mail response.

The governor has replaced the state's dog law advisory council that recommends rules to the Department of Agriculture, but proposed changes still face opposition from the Pennsylvania Dog Breeders Association and the American Kennel Club.

Initiatives overhauling the state's antiquated dog law are scheduled to be introduced in Harrisburg next week, granting officials responsible for monitoring kennel operations wider authority and requiring more humane conditions for breeders.

The changes are supported by the U.S. Humane Society and the SPCA, which intend to mobilize supporters statewide to ensure these legislative and regulatory changes to the dog-breeding industry, long overdue, are finally implemented.


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