Kennel overseers start work The new Pa. Canine Health Board has 45 days to forge temporary guidelines for the industry.

HARRISBURG — The clock began ticking yesterday for a new state board to set standards for temperature, ventilation and lighting in hundreds of commercial dog kennels.

Under the dog law signed by Gov. Rendell last month, the newly formed nine-member Canine Health Board must craft temporary guidelines for large kennels within 45 days.

The board will provide detailed language to address extreme temperatures, poor ventilation, high ammonia levels, and bad lighting - environmental issues that were difficult, if not impossible, to enforce under the old law.

The new law, widely regarded as the strictest in the country, requires breeders who sell more than 60 dogs a year and those who sell dogs to pet stores - about 650 kennel owners statewide - to comply with a range of new standards by October.

Among the new requirements: larger cage sizes, the elimination of cage stacking, outdoor exercise, and semiannual veterinarian care.

The bill's passage was threatened last month when breeders, veterinarians, and animal-welfare advocates could not agree on environmental issues.

The health board - made up of veterinarians appointed by Rendell, Republican and Democratic legislative leaders, the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association, and the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical School - was proposed as a last-minute compromise to ensure passage in the Senate.

"Our charge is to fill in the gaps and complete the legislative package," Board Chairwoman Jennifer Muller of Philadelphia said after the panel's first meeting yesterday.

The board also will consider appeals by breeders for exemptions to the exercise and flooring requirements. The law bans wire flooring, but allows various forms of slatted or slanted flooring to allow drainage.

Elvin Martin, a dog breeder who operates Martin's Double E Kennel near Lewisburg, said he would be able to meet all the requirements except exercise.

"I spent $150,000 on a new building and put everything indoors," said Martin, who state records show kept 461 dogs in his kennel in September. "Outdoors is going to be a problem."

Martin said the local zoning board would likely not approve outdoor runs because of noise, and that he would have to seek exemption with some kind of inside exercise program.

Rendell's appointments included Muller and Karen Overall of Glen Mills, a research associate in neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School.

He also appointed Bryan Langlois, medical director for the Humane League of Lancaster County, which treats many sick and injured dogs seized from commercial kennels.

The other board appointments are: Colin Harvey of the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical School, Ramsi P. Chaudhari, John Simms, Amy Hinton, Larry R. Bason, and Patricia Thomson.

Contact staff writer Amy Worden 717-783-2584 or aworden@phillynews.com.