Derbe “Skip” Eckhart Back in Jail – Now Facing 71 Animal Cruelty Charges

Derbe “Skip” Eckhart
photo courstesy of Harry Fisher

Derbe “Skip” Eckhart, a serial animal abuser, turned himself in to Lehigh County Central Booking on Thursday, July 19th, 2018.       The 50-old-Lehigh County man was arrested earlier this month and put in jail after he was unable to post bail which was orginally set at $75,000.      He was released on July 9th after making a partial payment.

With the new felony charges stemming from the June 5th raid on his Hidden Hill Farm Kennel, New Tripoli, Lehigh County,  Eckhart is now facing 71 charges of animal cruelty.   He had been facing 62 charges previously.

His bail has been set at $140,000  by District Judge Tom Creighton.     Hopefully this amount will prevent him from posting bail.

Eckhart’s charges are mainly summary offenses for animal neglect.   He’s also facing misdemeanor charges for having more dogs than allowed at the same kennel.     The felony charges are for aggravated animal cruelty torture. 

Eckhart has been abusing and neglecting animals for three decades beginning in 1989 when he opened his first kennel.    He’s been in trouble with the law numerous times and repeated charged with animal neglect and abuse among other offenses.    It was in 2008 when a surprise inspection ended with the removal of over 200 animals at his Almost Heaven Kennel.    Eckhart was eventually sentenced to a six to twenty-three months in prison.

He was released nine and a half months into his sentence but “Skip” wanted to be released earlier than that.      Eckhart didn’t feel he should’ve gone to jail at all.   He said he learned his lesson when his animals were taken and his livelihood ended.     He appears to have no shame or repentance for his crimes against animals.

There are currently six cases of animal cruelty pending against the serial animal abuser.    A total of 71 charges have been filed against Eckhart involving animals in his care.    He was charged on July 11th with three felony counts of animal cruelty.

The raid on Hidden Hill Farm on June 5th resulted in the felony charges.

The June raid resulted in seizing a sick and malnourished Doberman female who was nursing newborn puppies.     When the SPCA arrived, one of the puppies was already deceased and another one died later that June day.    The mother was in need of medical attention because she was dehydrated, had parasites, suffered from anemia and was emaciated.     There were also two toy poodle puppies who were underweight and lived in a very small wire crate who were removed.     Animal officers also found seven rabbits who had untreated wounds.

Officers found a severely  underweight German Shepherd who was  suffering from parasites, anemia and dehydration.

Eckhart also had eight kittens who were suffering form upper respiratory infection, also parasites, dehydration.   In addition, an adult cat who was found who had ear mites/infection was taken by the SPCA from the Hillside Hill Farm.

The serial animal abuser had been served cease and desist orders for his dog kennels at the Hidden Hill property on June 5th and was given the same orders for his Upper Milford property on June 19th.

The repeat offender clearly can’t stay away from animals and chooses to ignore the law.     He was told he was only allowed several animals which included having his own personal pets.    But, he just is unable to stop his behavior and shows a total disregard for court orders or the law over the last three decades.

Hopefully the $140,000 bail amount will prevent Mr. Eckhart from leaving jail.    It’s time for Eckhart to pay for what he’s done to animals.     He doesn’t care about an animal’s well-being.

A few people have said recently that he’s a hoarder and jail is not an appropriate choice of action.     Hoarders are scared their animals will be killed when they’re removed from their homes.    Eckhart said he would  kill his animals in 2008 before he would allow any animals to be taken from him.     That’s why a surprise inspection was done and resulted in the hundreds of animals being removed.    No regard for their lives.

Here’s hoping Derbe “Skip” Eckhart will finally receive some serious jail time for his actions but I won’t hold my breath.     Pennsylvania’s animal cruelty laws were strengthened last year with the passing of Libre’s Law which makes a few offenses felonies.   However,  the laws are still a long way from being strong enough against animal abusers.

Tina Evangelista-Eppenstein is a television talk show host, speaker, writer, and an unabashed animal advocate.   Her love for animals and quest for the hard truth is what drives her passion for all things animals.    She hosts the television show, “A Close Up Look at Animal Welfare Issues.”   She adores her tripawd, Brody, who was a formerly abused pup who lost his leg because of cruelty inflicted upon him.    If you’d like Tina to talk to your group or have a story, please email her at tevangelistaepp@yahoo.com.     Like https:www.facebook.com/ACloseUpLookatAnimalWelfareIssues and be sure to check out AnimalWelfareIssues.com.