By C.J. Lovelace For The Shippenburg News-Chronicle
An illegal Franklin County kennel has been shut down after authorities received information on the Pennsylvania Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement tip line last month.
After investigating, authorities learned that Randy A. Hammond had been hoarding 68 rare New Guinea Singing Dogs, which are some of the rarest in the world, says Nicole Bucher, acting press secretary for the Department of Agriculture.
“And for 68 of them to be found in Pennsylvania, that’s pretty huge,†she said.
State wardens entered the Willow Hill property in Fannett Township on Oct. 13 and served Hammond with a cease-and-desist order.
Hammond, who has been “wonderfully cooperative,†according to Bucher, will keep 10 of the animals while the other 58 have been seized and are currently being turned over to two different rescue organizations.
“It was just a hoarding situation, one of those things where he thought he could handle it,†said Bucher. “He started out with four dogs and it just got out of hand because they were not neutered or spayed.â€
The 10 animals Hammond is allowed to keep must be spayed and neutered, Bucher said. Anyone who has 25 or fewer dogs is not required to possess a state kennel license.
I hope those dogs go to experts in the field, because they are not pets as we imagine dogs to be. They are very feral acting as a breed. I also hope they aren’t all spayed and neutered, because they are on their way to becoming endangered in their homeland. This is more like having a rare wild animal than a dog as we know it.