Giant Relief
NEW SEWICKLEY TWP, Beaver County — A large breed dog rescue operation just outside of Zelienople will be able to continue to operate there thanks to a New Year's Eve court ruling.
Richard and Noreen Kohl have operated Gentle Ben's Giant Breed Rescue out of their two-story home on Hartzell School Road for the past 12 years.
A Beaver County Court judge on Dec. 31 ruled in favor of the Kohls, deciding the rescue did not meet the definition of a commercial kennel because there is no separate structure where the dogs are kept and fed.
All of the dogs live within the Kohls home before the animals are placed in new homes.
“We were just so elated. It was like a big weight was lifted,” said Richard Kohl of when he and his wife, Noreen, learned of the decision. “Hopefully, this will put this (issue) to rest.”
The case was an appeal of a New Sewickley Township zoning hearing board ruling that Gentle Ben's was a commercial kennel and thus illegal in the residentially zoned neighborhood.
The case has been pending since September 2012, when the Kohls' neighbor Barbara Layton complained of noise and safety issues. That resulted in the zoning hearing board's taking up the case.
“We think this opinion is significant for a few reasons,” said Matthew Monsour, the Pittsburgh-based attorney representing the Kohls.
“First, it allows the Kohls to continue to operate Gentle Ben's and to rescue large-breed dogs from certain euthanasia. Second, it saves the dogs the Kohls currently care for — the Kohls will no longer be forced to give them up. Third, it affirms the right of nonprofit entities to operate in non-commercial areas,” Monsour said.
This is especially important for private individuals doing good deeds from their homes, he added.“They often do not have large enough operating budgets to afford a separate location in business districts,” said Monsour.“The court's opinion supports their right to use their land for these beneficial and not-for-profit purposes,” Monsour added.The couple has lived on the property for the past 24 years and operated the rescue there for the past 12 years. They spend more than $10,000 a year out of their own pockets to maintain the rescue in addition to the donations they receive in money and dog food.The family currently has 24 dogs including Newfoundlands, Great Danes, Great Pyrenees, Saint Bernards and mastiffs.Kohl said they have gotten their dogs from shelters that do not have the space to house large-breed dogs long term, from families that surrender the dog usually because of declining health, or they get strays.
