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January
22, 2006
Deby
Bowen didn't know what to do.
She was worried about her neighbors' dogs. The neighbors left them
outside all the time every day.
So Lucky and Chance, the friendly, medium-sized, mixed-breed litter
mates with short, dark coats, had nowhere to go in bad weather.
Although there was a small tool shed in the back yard, the door
was blocked. If it hailed, they huddled under the narrow eaves of
the house. When there was snow on the ground, the dogs slept in
it. Bowen also wondered if they were fed regularly — her neighbors
once asked for food because the dogs hadn't eaten in two days.
Wondering what to do, she called Joliet Township Animal Control
and told them what was going on next door. She even stopped by the
offices on McDonough Street with photos of the dogs curled up in
the snow. But Bowen didn't know that Joliet Township Animal Control's
main priority is to handle complaints about loose animals. She thought
the animal control officers would take care of dogs, but
she never saw anyone do anything.
Then Lucky and Chance had puppies. Although they were brother and
sister, they weren't neutered or spayed.
Things got worse. Near the end of last year, Bowen noticed that
Lucky was losing her hair and seemed sick. One day the dog settled
down in a spot and didn't stir, even when her name was called. Bowen
thought the dog was dying and asked her husband what to do.
"He said, 'Call the police,' and I did," she said.
A Joliet officer soon arrived. He was accompanied by a volunteer
investigator from the Illinois Department of Agriculture. They euthanized
Lucky and took the other three dogs away.
That was a dark day for the Bowens. Her children were terribly upset.
"Here
they are, watching the dog die through the fence. My daughter wrote
a poem about how she loved Lucky, and Lucky died. She was crying
— it was heart-wrenching," Bowen said.
Help available
Although Bowen didn't know it, there are employees and volunteers
working for the Illinois Department of Agriculture and other agencies
who could have helped her. The department routinely handles complaints
involving animal cruelty and neglect. There are seven humane care
investigators on staff, and a squad of volunteers who also check
complaints from the public.
The
volunteers typically are sponsored by local humane societies and
aren't paid for their work, spokesman Jeff Squibb said. They become
investigators after a period of training and testing by the state.
In many cases, when someone reports animal cruelty or abuse, they
investigate the allegations. Unlike the employees at Joliet Township
Animal Control, for example, they can remove an animal from a home.
"Every call of abuse we get, we do investigate," said
Dr. Mark Ernst, the state veterinarian who is based in Springfield.
The department probably fielded 1,000 complaints last year, he said.
Some people don't know it, but by law, pet owners have certain duties.
They must provide food and water, shelter and protection from the
weather and vet care to prevent suffering. The first violation of
this law is a Class B misdemeanor. Subsequent violations can be
Class 4 felonies.
"Every day that a violation continues (constitutes) a separate
offense," according to the act. After conviction, the court
can order someone to have a psychological or psychiatric evaluation
and treatment, according to the act.
"There are a number of things (that people report) — dogs
outside in bad weather, or an animal that is not fed or watered
properly, or maybe they have noticed a dog or a cat in a fenced-in
yard and no one is living there anymore," Ernst said.
The volunteer investigators assess the situation and can leave a
notice explaining to the owners that they are in violation of the
law. In many cases, a visit to the veterinarian's office is required
within a short period of time, perhaps 48 hours, Ernst said.
"Basically when they leave that notice, it says we have found
this to be going on — we need to have you to do this to get
into compliance," Ernst said.
The investigators make follow-up visits, he said.
"It
is not necessarily going out with the intent that we will impound
the animal. We are more interested to make sure they are cared for
humanely," Ernst said. "If we can educate an owner and
make them a better owner, I think that fulfills the goal."
Red flags
The Humane Society of the United States has a regional office in
Naperville. It also investigates complaints of abuse or neglect,
spokeswoman Jenny Brown said. She listed several things that could
indicate mistreatment of an animal:
•
A dog that constantly is tethered outside. "People without
fenced yards, they put their dogs out all the time on a tie or a
chain," Brown said. Letting a dog out on a chain for a brief
period is fine, but some live their entire lives that way, she said.
Dogs Deserve Better, an organization that can be found on the Internet
at www.dogsdeservebetter.com , backs the creation of laws to bar
the practice.
"As the days become years, many of these dogs sit, lie, eat
and defecate within the same 10-foot radius. Chained by the neck,
they exist without respect, love, exercise, social interaction and
sometimes even basic nourishment. They live as prisoners, yet long
to be pets," the group says.
Across the country, some communities have either banned tethering
or chaining or have included tethering or chaining provisions in
their animal protection ordinances. The city of Aurora is among
them, according to the Web site.
Chained dogs can become territorial, Brown said. That can be dangerous
to small children who might wander into their space.
"In
the period from October 2003 through January 2006, there were at
least 64 children killed or seriously injured by chained dogs across
the country," according to the Web site.
Dogs Deserve Better has a letter on its Web site that explains why
dogs shouldn't be tethered outside permanently. The group encourages
people to print out the letter and give it to a pet owner who needs
to read it. If contacted, the group also will mail the letter to
a pet owner. Other indicators of mistreatment include:
• A questionable appearance — if an animal seems thin,
underweight, filthy, listless or has terribly matted fur, that could
indicate abuse, Brown said.
• Constant barking, which could indicate a dog that is ignored
or forgotten.
"If they are chained out and forgotten about, that is neglectful,"
Brown said. "(But) here is what is tricky. There is no law
that says you have to interact with your animal."
• Animals that remain outside despite the weather. "On
an extremely cold or hot day, if the animal is overheated or seems
to be out in freezing weather for several hours, that is something
that a person should make a call about," Brown said.
• Too many animals at one address. That could indicate an owner
who has a difficult time caring for animals. Or an animal hoarder.
"They may have 50 or 100 animals," Brown said. "That
is usually indicative of something going in a way of neglect. One
person, how could they take care of that many animals?"
Animal Control response
After Deby Bowen called police about the dogs, Lucky was euthanized
and the others were removed from the property. In time, the male
dog and puppy came back to their owners, she said. They appeared
healthy, according to Joliet Township Animal Control. The female
puppy stayed at the facility.
Although
Bowen complained by telephone and in person to Animal Control about
the situation in her neighborhood, she never saw anyone investigate
it. That really frustrated her.
"I
felt they labeled me as a complainer and would not do anything,"
she said.
The Joliet Township Animal Control officers did not suggest that
she call the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the Humane Society
of the United States, the police or any other organization, she
said.
But
Andy Ivanicky, director of the facility, said that officers investigated
cruelty complaints at her neighbor's address in 2001, 2002 and 2004.
Animal Control's main priority is to handle animals running at large,
Ivanicky said.
"We have our hands full with the amount of calls that come
in," he said.
State humane investigators handle most cruelty complaints, but animal
control officers will intervene in emergencies, he said. Ivanicky
said cruelty complaints will be taken seriously for pure breeds
and mutts alike.
"All the animals are treated equally," he said.
Ivanicky said residents concerned about animal abuse should call
animal control first, and animal control will pass on the complaint
to state humane investigators.
"We basically respond to every call that comes through,"
he said.
Seeking what's best
Now that some of the dogs are back, Bowen remains concerned even
though the pets now can seek shelter in the once-blocked backyard
shed. She recently gave her neighbors several bales of straw to
be used as bedding inside the shed to keep the dogs warm. Although
the neighbors scattered some of it in the little building, they
spread most of it around the back yard. Now it's covered in snow.
Her
neighbors don't talk to her anymore, though they will speak occasionally
to her husband. It's a little unpleasant, but that doesn't matter
to Bowen. She wanted to right a wrong. And she only cared about
the welfare of the dogs, sweet, hapless animals who once had nowhere
to go in a deluge.
"I know I did the right thing," she said.
- Reporter Cindy Wojdyla Cain contributed to this story. Reporter
Stewart Warren can be reached at (815) 729-6068 or via e-mail at
swarren@scn1.com.
01/22/06
Copyright
2006 The Herald News
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