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Kennels Forced To Seek Exemptions

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 27, 2008

DADE CITY - On a recent Wednesday, Mark and Carol Bleich stood before the county Planning Commission trying to hold on to their dog-breeding business.

The Bleiches were seeking a special exception to their agricultural zoning that would let them continue to breed Chihuahuas, Pomeranians and other lapdogs on their 5-acre property along Prospect Road.

Like nearly a dozen kennel operators during the past several months, the Bleiches were forced to renegotiate their arrangement with the county after commissioners eliminated group licenses - a system that let dog breeders register dozens of dogs under a single permit.

The 30-year-old system was originally set up to register hunting dogs, said Dan Johnson, assistant county administrator for public services. Lately, however, the licenses have become common among breeders and puppy mills, allowing them to raise large numbers of dogs without the expense of registering each one.

Subsidizing the breeding to new dogs made little sense considering the thousands of dollars the county already spends to sterilize or euthanize thousands of pets every year, Johnson said.

The rule change has forced the Bleiches to spend $20 or more a head to register more than 50 breeding dogs.

Pasco County has 50 businesses that offer kennel services. It's unclear how many of them will be affected by the rule change.

Planning commissioners gave the Bleiches the exception they sought, despite opposition from a neighbor. But they also limited the couple to 50 animals and demanded they install sewage treatment on their property that conforms to state regulations. That could mean building installing a septic tank for animal waste - something the Bleiches say is unfair.

"All the sudden, we're the only ones that have to build a septic tank," Mark Bleich said in an interview after the planning commission meeting. "We're the only ones that have to put a limit on our dogs."

The Bleiches used to sell puppies for up to $600 a piece. That price has sunk recently to about $400, cutting into the couple's profits. The sale of the puppies helps finance treatments of the chronic lung disease Carol has suffered for more than a decade, Mark Bleich said.

The breeding business began two years ago as an outgrowth of the Bleiches' habit of taking in strays, Mark Bleich said. In total, the couple cares for 94 dogs and cats on their property. They also own goats and chickens.

"My wife has always been in love with animals," Mark Bleich said after the meeting.

Mark Bleich is convinced that caring for the dogs has helped his wife outlive the 10-year window doctors gave her after her diagnosis with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

"She is forced to get up and care for those animals," Mark Bleich said.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com.

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