A Quarryville-area kennel owner accused of having seven dogs with untreated dental problems was found not guilty of cruelty-to-animal charges Wednesday.

Loretta Wilson, owner of Jenloren Kennel on Dry Wells Road, had been given seven citations based on allegations of the dogs' untreated dental issues.

But after listening to two hours of testimony, District Judge Isaac Stoltzfus found Wilson not guilty on all counts.

Defense attorney Michael Winters successfully argued that Wilson had taken steps to get the dogs treated and there was no evidence she had been cruel or negligent in her care of the animals, which she obtained last January.

Assistant District Attorney Christine Wilson argued that the kennel owner (also named Wilson, but no relation) did not want to spend the money to have a veterinarian treat the dogs.

Dr. Willard Stoltzfus (who is no relation to the district judge) testified that he had been to the kennel in January on routine matters and didn't "notice any dogs in distress."

In early April, Stoltzfus said, Wilson called him saying she thought some of the dogs had problems with their teeth.

Stoltzfus said he checked the dogs, agreed that they had problems and scheduled a day that month to treat the animals.

But when the day drew near, Stoltzfus said, he had to reschedule the appointment for mid-May.

Before Stoltzfus could return, however, Keith Mohler, a Humane League police officer, obtained a search warrant and went to the kennel.

Mohler said he seized five of Wilson's dogs and recommended that she have about 27 others checked by a veterinarian.

Under cross-examination, Mohler said Wilson called him a few days later to say she had the other dogs treated by a veterinarian, as he had advised.

Dr. Bryan Langlois, staff veterinarian for the Humane League, treated the five dogs taken from the kennel. All five had dental disease, Langlois said, which would have taken at least six months to reach the level of severity. The dogs, he added, are all doing well now.

The search warrant was based on a complaint by Shari Perkins, a veterinary assistant who had gone to the kennel April 29. Perkins said Wilson asked her to look at the dogs' teeth to see if they could be treated by cleaning.

"They were in extremely poor condition," Perkins said of the dogs' teeth, noting that seven of the dogs had rotted teeth and foul breath.

Wilson told her "she couldn't afford" to get them veterinary care, Perkins testified.

Perkins said when she expressed tremendous concern over one chocolate-colored male poodle whose teeth and lower jaw were out of line, Wilson gave him to her.

Wilson also gave Perkins another poodle, a black and white female with dental problems, after saying she no longer wanted her for breeding, Perkins said.

As she left the kennel that day, Perkins said she immediately called her veterinarian and scheduled an appointment for the next day. She also filed a complaint with Humane League of Lancaster County.

Perkins' veterinarian, Dr. Christopher Hunsicker, testified that both dogs had severe dental disease and ear infections.

Hunsicker testified that it would have taken "months" for the dogs' problems to reach such a severe level.

Winters asked Hunsicker to look at his records and read a final note about the chocolate-brown male poodle, named "Lincoln."

"He escaped from the Perkins yard and was killed by a neighbor's dog," Hunsicker read.

The news was apparently a shock to Wilson and her daughter, who gasped and cried at the doctor's testimony.

Wilson, when she was called to the witness stand, denied ever saying that she did not have the money or would not spend it on veterinary care.

"I may have said it was expensive, but I never said I didn't have the money," Wilson said.

"It's expensive, but it wasn't that I wouldn't have it done. I'd work something out."

Winters said he will ask that the Humane League return the five dogs to Wilson as soon as possible.

jkelley@lnpnews.com