Woman admits to hoarding canines

PENNSYLVANIA -- A Gordonville woman has admitted to hoarding dogs at her home, including many that weren't licensed or vaccinated.

Barbara E. Dienner, 49, agreed to pay a $1,150 fine and will surrender all but five of her dogs, according to a court order.

She pleaded guilty to 37 counts in all, relating to dozens of dogs investigators found last year at her home in the 200 block of Queen Road.

Investigators said Dienner wasn't selling the dogs, but she was breeding them and considered them pets.

The number of dogs at the home qualified it as an illegal kennel, investigators said.

Dog-law officials charged Dienner after finding more than 30 dogs at her home. None of them had current rabies vaccinations, according to a criminal complaint. Seven of them didn't have licenses, the complaint says.

Dienner was to have a preliminary hearing on Friday, but opted instead to plead guilty to 37 counts.

"The sheer number of dogs in this house prevented Ms. Dienner from properly caring for them," Assistant District Attorney Christine Wilson said. "Due to her neglect and the conditions inside the home, the dogs needed to be removed for their protection."

Officials are expected to take all but five of the dogs in the near future. When asked in court on Friday, Dienner wasn't sure how many dogs she now has.

Members of Dienner's church congregation attended the hearing in support.

Dienner asked if there was any way she could still keep the dogs, court officials said. She also asked if she could have more time to sell the dogs or find them homes.

Wilson objected to those requests. She allowed Dienner to keep only five dogs - if they receive proper vaccinations and licenses.

A court order was issued that the dogs be removed from Dienner's home. The state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement will seize the animals.

Dienner was cited more than a dozen times last summer for animal cruelty and related offenses.
During one visit to the home, officers served Dienner with a cease-and-desist order, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

When the officers returned months later, Dienner hadn't obeyed the order, the affidavit shows.
Finally, in November, the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement filed misdemeanor charges for operating an illegal kennel.

(Lancaster Online - Feb 6, 2012)