Even well-known breeders sell puppies with genetic problems. Kimbertal Kennels in Kimberton, Chester County, is a nationally known breeder whose customers include Phillies pitchers Curt Schilling and Danny Jackson. Kimbertal customers don't complain of parvo or distemper or of unclean kennels. While there are satisfied customers, there have been numerous complaints about genetic problems.
John LePere of Swedesboro, Gloucester County, paid $350 for a purebred rottweiler puppy from Kimbertal that was so wild LePere gave him away after six months. LePere said he later learned the dog's parents were brother and sister -- inbreeding that experts say leads to genetic problems. Kimbertal owner Robert G. Yarnall Jr. said the inbreeding was accidental.
No state or federal agency is charged with monitoring genetic problems. The state Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement has responsibility to ensure that dogs are raised in good conditions. Agriculture officials and legislators say the agency has done little to stop problems.
The reason, they say, is that the department has conflicting responsibilities: to help farmers economically, and to inspect kennels. The department's priority is to support the economic health of farmers -- which comes before protecting the health of dogs, inspectors say.
John LePere said he didn't know the reason for his rottweiler's wild behavior until he got a copy of Buster's family background.
The papers showed what LePere and his vet had suspected: Buster was the product of close inbreeding. His parents were brother and sister; his two grandparents produced both his father and mother; his great-grandparents included a female bred to her father and a male bred to his half sister. LePere bought the dog for $350 from Kimbertal Kennel, which assured him that the puppy was well-bred. "I could tell all along that he wasn't right,'' said LePere, who bought Buster on Feb. 17, 1990, and named him for James "Buster'' Douglas, the heavyweight conqueror of Mike Tyson.
The dog was skittish, LePere said, and would flare up with no provocation. LePere said he gave up on Buster at six months of age when the 110-pound rottweiler bit his father-in-law in the hand.
"The dog knew my father-in-law,'' LePere said. "He was leaving, and all of a sudden Buster growls at him and bites him on the hand. He just freaked out.''
LePere's vet, Mark F. Magazu, had suggested that inbreeding may be causing Buster's erratic behavior. For months, LePere pressed Kimbertal Kennels to send him the pedigree. LePere got it six months after he gave Buster to a shelter.
In an interview, Yarnall, Kimbertal's manager, said the inbreeding was "an accident.'' He said much of it occurred at Kimbertal before he became manager in 1984. Inbreeding used to be encouraged, he said, though it isn't considered good practice now. Kimbertal at first offered to exchange the dog for another. LePere refused because he believed Buster would be put to death. He said he also didn't want to have a similar experience with another Kimbertal dog.
"I've never seen an animal as hyper and wild as this one,'' LePere wrote in a complaint to the Tri-State Humane Associations. "I'm not seeking any compensation for my poor misjudgment of Kimbertal.''
The Pennsylvania SPCA lists Kimbertal as one of the state's top three sources of dog complaints. The agency compiles its data by asking vets statewide to identify their clients' most serious complaints. Those customers fill out and return complaint forms.
Kimbertal, which rejects such criticism, styles itself as the nation's largest kennel of show-quality Dobermans and rottweilers.
Yarnall, a leader among kennel owners, said he has sold dogs to 274 celebrities, from boxer Muhammad Ali to singer Chubby Checker. Yarnall said complaint files don't show the majority of customers who are happy. Among Kimbertal's satisfied clients is Phillies pitcher Curt Schilling, who bought Slugger, now a 185-pound rottweiler. "He's been completely healthy,'' Schilling said.
Channel 6 reporter Dann Cuellar said his family has two dogs from Kimbertal, and both are healthy.
Kimbertal's critics say that while the kennel is clean, it breeds many dogs with genetic problems that end up in shelters.
Sharon Schiele, president of Delaware Valley Doberman Pinscher Assistance, said at least 25 percent of dogs reaching the rescue group have been Kimbertal dogs or had Kimbertal bloodlines.
Barnes, of the Chester County SPCA, said of Kimbertal: "I see a lot of their animals with hip dysplasia, especially rottweilers.'' Kimbertal raises its dogs by placing pregnant females with families; they get to keep the dog after giving the kennel two litters.
Kimbertal starts to breed females at 18 months -- too young to detect genetic problems such as hip dysplasia, experts say.
Yarnall said he does preliminary X-rays, which he considers reliable. He also said the breeder arrangement with families helps socialize puppies because they are raised in a home instead of a kennel.
"Those who condemn us happen to be our competitors,'' he said. "They'd give their right eye to own this place.''
Philadephia Online -- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Page One -- Copyright Sunday, December 10, 1995
The Philadelphia Inquirer Page One
