Charges dropped against Ohio Amish dog breeder

8/6/2013
ASSOCIATED PRESS

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — The Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is angry that animal cruelty charges have been dropped against an Amish dog breeder.

The group had pushed for charges against Jonas Beachy after 52 dogs were removed from his central Ohio farm last fall. Many of them had dental disease, feces-smeared coats and paws mangled by wire mesh cages.

Circleville Law Director Gary Kenworthy dismissed the charges against Beachy on Monday because of problems securing the records of veterinarians scattered across Ohio who treated Beachy’s dogs.

The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/16pivzp ) reports that the 58-year-old Laurelville-area man agreed not to raise dogs for sale over the next year unless supervised by a veterinarian.

Beachy’s attorney, James Kingsley of Circleville, accused the animal activists of mounting a “crusade against Amish breeders.”