While other prosecutors (including Attorney General Tom Corbett who successfully closed down the infamous CC Pets in 2009) fight the good fight and protect Pennsylvania's dogs, Craig Stedman has failed to close down one puppy mill in a county with the highest concentration of puppy mills anywhere in the world. How does Craig Stedman measure up against district attorneys in other counties... read more

Lancaster County DA Stedman refused to prosecute breeders on Oprah show. As the world watched as breeding dogs suffered and hoped that the guilty had been prosecuted - Stedman's office sits on evidence and does nothing. read more

Every week, we'll post a dog rescued from a puppy mill in Lancaster County; another dog abused or neglected by a breeder Craig Stedman will never prosecute.
"Gem" came to MLAR dripping blood with a high fever. Our vets discovered a mummified puppy inside her infected, deteriorating uterus. A commercial breeder performed a Caesarian on Gem and later told us "I guess I didn't get 'em all out." This is now illegal in Pennsylvania (one of our new dog laws), but who will enforce this law? Who will prosecute him? Not Craig Stedman, that's for sure.

Considering Lancaster County is often called the "Puppy Mill Capital of the East Coast," we need a DA willing to prosecute commercial breeders who abuse their dogs. What's the use of passing stronger laws to protect Pennsylvania's breeding dogs if one man (Craig Stedman) can single-handedly stop the dogs from getting the help they so desperately need.

The Bureau of Dog Law should also be citing for lack of veterinary care if they see a sick or injured dog during routine kennel inspections. They have refused to do this - no matter how serious the injuries or illness. The PSPCA and Main Line Animal Rescue would not have been forced to travel to Ohio, if the Bureau of Dog Law had cited the breeders for lack of veterinary care or called in local cruelty officers while the dogs were still in Lancaster County kennels prior to the Ohio auction.

If you would like to comment on this site or share your experiences, please email: NOMOREPUPPYMILLS@aol.com

Lancaster County DA Craig Stedman refused to prosecute breeders on Oprah show.

It has been almost two years since Oprah featured Lancaster County's puppy mills on her popular television show. Shortly after the broadcast, Main Line Animal Rescue met with agents from the PSPCA and together provided the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office with enough evidence to close many of those kennels down. The Lancaster County District Attorney sat on the evidence and did nothing to help the dogs in those facilities. People from around the world wanted the breeders on the show prosecuted. District Attorney Craig Stedman refused. Stedman had two years in which to prosecute breeders who broke their dogs jaws and allowed their "breeding stock" to suffer with serious infections causing blindness and cauliflower ears; dogs crippled with serious orthopedic problems; a dog dripping blood as her constant straining pushed bladder stones the size of doorknobs through the lining of her uterus. Stedman had two years in which to prosecute the commercial breeders who hurt these animals but he sat on the evidence and allowed these men to continue to hurt the thousands of dogs in their kennels.

 

This little dog was rescued as part of the Oprah investigation. The day she was rescued, we noticed that her jaw had been broken. All the evidence from that investigation (medical documentation, photographs, etc.) involving many of the dogs featured on the program was given to ADA Christie Wilson in the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office. Wilson and Stedman failed to prosecute the breeders responsible for hurting the dogs featured on Oprah, but this didn't stop Wilson from asking us to get her on the program. Embarrassed by the request, we never discussed Wilson with the show's producers.

 

 

This dog was rescued from another Lancaster County breeding facility, Sam King's Country Lane Kennel, in March of last year. Not only did the state dog wardens walk by this dog during routine inspections and failed to help him, once MLAR was able to negotiate his release, the Lancaster DA's office failed to prosecute King for abusing and neglecting this poor animal. Flies crawled in and out of the hole where his eye should have been.