Animal Cruelty

Animal-welfare officers have removed 21 dogs from an illegal breeding operation in Northeast Philadelphia and charged two people with cruelty, the Pennsylvania SPCA announced Friday. The SPCA said its officers removed the dogs Thursday from a rowhouse on the 4300 block of Benner Street in Wissinoming. Charged with 42 counts of animal cruelty were Kristie Mitchell, 34, and Daniel Carlin, 27, the SPCA said. Mitchell pleaded no contest to animal cruelty in 2009 and guilty to animal cruelty in 2010, court records show.

Have New Jersey's nanny-staters finally run out of ways to overregulate the lives of people? The question has to be asked now that at least one state legislator has moved on to other mammals. Assemblywoman Grace Spencer (D., Essex) has introduced the nation's toughest seat-belt law - for dogs. With nothing even close to it in another state, Spencer's bill threatens to catapult New Jersey into the vanguard of canine micro-legislation. And given all the pictures of them smoking and playing poker, one wonders if vice laws for dogs are far behind.

It's a common sight, and not just in the dog days of summer: the pooch with its head stuck out of a car window, ears flapping in the wind. But those free-spirited rides could be history if a controversial new bill gains traction among New Jersey lawmakers. The measure would require motorists to harness non-crated pets - or face a $20 ticket and a possible charge of animal cruelty that carries a civil penalty of up to $1,000. The proposal has drawn both support and ridicule.

MILLVILLE, Pa. - Two brothers accused in one of the worst cases of animal hoarding in Pennsylvania history have pleaded guilty to animal cruelty less than a month after 185 Chihuahuas were seized from their home. Thomas and Albert Ambrosia of Benton, about 30 miles west of Wilkes-Barre, pleaded guilty this week to two counts each of cruelty and a dog-law violation, according to Columbia County court records. Thomas Ambrosia, 59, said it was difficult for them to enter a plea because they "treated the dogs like our boys and girls.

A 25-year-old restaurant owner in Philadelphia's Logan section has been charged with animal cruelty after authorities said he swung four kittens by their tails. The Pennsylvania SPCA's Humane Law Enforcement Department said it arrested Yu Zhen Chen on Thursday at the Red Star restaurant on the 4900 block of Old York Road. SPCA officials said police alerted them of a man seen on surveillance video mistreating cats in an alleyway. Police said they had been monitoring the video while investigating another crime.

The Pennsylvania SPCA is launching an initiative to stop animal cruelty, spurred by a recent spate of violence against dogs and cats in the Philadelphia area. At a rally Thursday night, PSPCA chief executive Jerry Buckley said the agency hoped to raise $100,000 to hire a full-time education coordinator and offer more programs for schools, community groups, camps, and after-school activities. The rally was held in front of the agency's building on East Erie Avenue. About 150 animal lovers attended "Justice for Chloe and Hercules," named for two pit-bull mixes who were set on fire in recent weeks.

The Pennsylvania SPCA is launching a new initiative to stop animal cruelty, spurred by a recent spate of violence against dogs and cats in the Philadelphia area. At a rally Thursday night, PSPCA chief executive Jerry Buckley said the agency hoped to raise $100,000 to hire a full-time education coordinator and offer more programs for schools, community groups, camps and after-school activities. The rally was held in front of the agency's building on East Erie Avenue in North Philadelphia.

Jerry Buckley, former vice president of public affairs at Campbell's Soup, was named the CEO of the Pennsylvania SPCA after 16 years with the Camden-based company.   During his tenure, Buckley also served as chairman of the Campbell Soup Foundation, the company's 37-year-old community-enrichment organization, which has worked to address hunger and childhood obesity, among other issues.   SPCA officials cited Buckley's communications background as one of his strongest attributes, along with his experience in business and philanthropy.

HERCULES was barely a dog anymore, confined and forgotten in a Gloucester County basement like a box of dusty, old toys. Meanwhile, upstairs, Roxanne Notaro's chocolate Labrador, "Little," had food, warmth and love. Officials with the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals say it's a miracle that Hercules, an American bulldog, is alive after cops found him locked in a small crate and covered in feces, urine and fleas in the basement of Notaro's home on Vassar Road in Wenonah last week.