As I reported last week, over a dozen Ryman Setters turned up in the Bucks Country SPCA over the past few month. These dogs came from Decoverly Kennels.
Apparently, Decoverly ran into problems with Pennsylvania’s regulations for commercial dog kennels. This forced them to cut down on the number of dogs in their kennel.
Originally, I reported that the Bucks County SPCA was a kill shelter. This is not entirely correct. Last Friday I talked to Sarah Hart from the shelter and she clarified things for me.
While Bucks County SPCA does euthanize, it only does so when animals have serious health or temperament issues. Healthy dogs that interact well with adults and children are kept at the shelter until they’re adopted. They’re in no danger of being put down, regardless of how long it takes to find them a new owner.
According to Hart, Decoverly’s setters came to the Bucks County SPCA as part of Pennsylvania’s Safe Harbor program. This program allows commercial kennels to forfeit unwanted animals to a network of shelters throughout the state. These shelters find homes for these animals. They will only put down animals with health or temperament problems.
Hart also informed me that sixteen Decoverly setters were dropped off at the shelter. Two of those dogs — older females with severe medical issues — were euthanized after being evaluated by veterinarians. The remaining dogs were put up for adoption. As of today, two are still waiting for new homes.
