Most citations dismissed against Canton kennel owners
CANONSBURG – The bulk of three dozen citations were dismissed Wednesday against the owners of a Canton Township kennel and their pet adoption organization.
District Judge David Mark in Canonsburg agreed to the arrangement Kent and Sherry Knight reached with state dog law enforcement officers for them to each plead guilty to two citations.
The couple and Pet Search received identical citations for such issues as poor ventilation, having spaces for dogs that were too small, keeping unlicensed dogs and failure to display a kennel license. All 12 of the citations against their group, Pet Search, were dismissed after the violations had been corrected, Kent Knight said.
The 36 citations followed an August inspection when the kennel was strained to the limits after taking in 10 German shorthaired pointers that had been seized from an alleged puppy mill in Washington County.
He said there would not have been any problems had the inspection happened a day later at their kennel on Pointview Drive after eight of those dogs had been placed in foster homes.
A dog law enforcement officer told Mark the state wanted the minimum fine of $100 for each of the four citations with guilty pleas to allow the couple to invest in their kennel.