My name is Joe Fenstermacher; I am a Township Supervisor in Honey Brook Township which has in the not too distant past had an infamous notoriety and does not have a good history as far as one dog kennel was concerned. It did make local and national news.

With that in mind I took particular interest in recent events concerning a grievance procedure between the SPCA and a well-respected Amish kennel in our Township. The Township does have a recently revised dog kennel ordinance. The Township also maintains a contract with the SPCA. As Supervisor I have worked with the DPW, the EPA, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and in every instance when a citation is issued a plan of correction is submitted for approval and then the proper corrections are made. This works well in being able to professionally resolve any and or all issues which need addressing. As I became further involved in this particular incident I found that the SPCA and state wardens did not appear to be working along any semblance of nor type of professional guidelines.

Levi Kaufman owns a kennel with approximately 35 animals. Mr. Kaufman was cited for one count of not having documents readily available, and two counts of animal cruelty. At first blush this appeared to indicate that Chester County SPCA was in fact doing an excellent job because of the past reputation that they have. That assumption unfortunately turned out to be very far from the truth. A hearing was held at the local district court office because the State and the SPCA decided to prosecute Mr. Kaufman on these three charges. I attended the hearing and asked the SPCA, before the hearing began, if they would please talk to me as I had a lot of questions after the trial was over. They said that they absolutely would speak with me. Unfortunately, after the trial and their failure to win the judge’s favor, they unceremoniously flat out refused any give and take discussion in any form with me.