85 Rare 'Singing Dogs' Seized as Kennel Is Shut
Updated: 5 hours 17 minutes ago
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David Lohr Contributor
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(Nov. 24) -- Authorities in Pennsylvania say they have shut down an illegal dog kennel that housed dozens of the world's rarest breed -- New Guinea singing dogs.
The owner is accused of failing to license or vaccinate the dogs against rabies.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture launched an investigation into the case late last month after receiving an anonymous tip. The tip led investigators to a house west of Harrisburg in Metal Township. There, investigators discovered 85 New Guinea singing dogs being kept in dozens of outdoor pens.
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This photo from the Facebook page of New Guinea Singing Dog International shows two dogs that were rescued from a Pennsylvania man's home. Owner Randy Hammond had accumulated 85 dogs over 15 years.
Property owner Randy Hammond, 58, reportedly told investigators that he bought two of the dogs at an Ohio flea market in the mid-1990s and another pair a few years later. Those four dogs had multiplied over the past 15 years, eventually resulting in the dozens of offspring at Hammond's kennel.
Hammond did not immediately return calls for comment from AOL News today. In a recent interview with WHTM News, he admitted that he probably had too many of the dogs.
"Yeah, I was probably out of control," Hammond said. "I was getting up there."
He now faces fines of up to $1,100 for a number of violations, officials said.
"Mr. Hammond did not have a kennel license, he did not have his dogs licensed individually, and -- probably the most serious -- they were not vaccinated against rabies," Jessie Smith, a dog law enforcement official with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, told WHTM.
Smith said that New Guinea singing dogs are an extremely rare breed, with fewer than 100 licensed dogs in captivity in the United States.
According to the New Guinea Singing Dog Conservation Society, the dogs are a relative of the Australian dingo. They average 17 inches tall and weigh about 25 pounds. "Wide cheekbones, narrow muzzles, tulip-shaped ears that curve forward and triangular, obliquely set eyes give their faces a distinctive appearance," reads a description of the dogs on the organization's website.
"[The] singing is really a kind of howling, with a single note," veterinary behaviorist Dr. Nicholas Dodman explained in an episode of the Animal Planet series "Dogs 101."
"When there is a group of them together, they all sing in slightly different pitches, and the sound is almost like a barbershop chorus," Dodman said.
Because Hammond has been cooperating with the investigation and authorities do not believe he had any ill intentions, officials allowed him to keep 10 of the singing dogs. Most of the others have already been removed from the property and neutered.
"These dogs have been inbred from two original pairs of dogs, so our top goal is to get them spayed and neutered so they are not reproducing," Smith told WHTM.
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Members of the New Guinea Singing Dog Conservation Society and New Guinea Singing Dog International have been assisting officials in finding homes for the dogs, which could prove difficult, officials said.
Updated: 5 hours 17 minutes ago
Print Text Size
Print this page|EmailShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on DiggShare on Lifestream
AOL News
(Nov. 24) -- Authorities in Pennsylvania say they have shut down an illegal dog kennel that housed dozens of the world's rarest breed -- New Guinea singing dogs.
The owner is accused of failing to license or vaccinate the dogs against rabies.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture launched an investigation into the case late last month after receiving an anonymous tip. The tip led investigators to a house west of Harrisburg in Metal Township. There, investigators discovered 85 New Guinea singing dogs being kept in dozens of outdoor pens.
This photo from the Facebook page of New Guinea Singing Dog International shows two dogs that were rescued from a Pennsylvania man's home. Owner Randy Hammond had accumulated 85 dogs over 15 years.
Property owner Randy Hammond, 58, reportedly told investigators that he bought two of the dogs at an Ohio flea market in the mid-1990s and another pair a few years later. Those four dogs had multiplied over the past 15 years, eventually resulting in the dozens of offspring at Hammond's kennel.
Hammond did not immediately return calls for comment from AOL News today. In a recent interview with WHTM News, he admitted that he probably had too many of the dogs.
"Yeah, I was probably out of control," Hammond said. "I was getting up there."
He now faces fines of up to $1,100 for a number of violations, officials said.
"Mr. Hammond did not have a kennel license, he did not have his dogs licensed individually, and -- probably the most serious -- they were not vaccinated against rabies," Jessie Smith, a dog law enforcement official with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, told WHTM.
Smith said that New Guinea singing dogs are an extremely rare breed, with fewer than 100 licensed dogs in captivity in the United States.
According to the New Guinea Singing Dog Conservation Society, the dogs are a relative of the Australian dingo. They average 17 inches tall and weigh about 25 pounds. "Wide cheekbones, narrow muzzles, tulip-shaped ears that curve forward and triangular, obliquely set eyes give their faces a distinctive appearance," reads a description of the dogs on the organization's website.
"[The] singing is really a kind of howling, with a single note," veterinary behaviorist Dr. Nicholas Dodman explained in an episode of the Animal Planet series "Dogs 101."
"When there is a group of them together, they all sing in slightly different pitches, and the sound is almost like a barbershop chorus," Dodman said.
Because Hammond has been cooperating with the investigation and authorities do not believe he had any ill intentions, officials allowed him to keep 10 of the singing dogs. Most of the others have already been removed from the property and neutered.
"These dogs have been inbred from two original pairs of dogs, so our top goal is to get them spayed and neutered so they are not reproducing," Smith told WHTM.
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Members of the New Guinea Singing Dog Conservation Society and New Guinea Singing Dog International have been assisting officials in finding homes for the dogs, which could prove difficult, officials said.
