Vet to accompany inspectors at animal shelter

By Dan Petrella, dpetrella@mysuburbanlife.com
Suburban Life Publications
Fri Dec 12, 2008, 09:26 AM CST

Bloomingdale, IL -
The owners of a controversial Bloomingdale animal shelter agreed in court Wednesday to allow a DuPage County veterinarian to accompany state agriculture officials on routine inspections of the facility.
Pet Rescue, 151 N. Bloomingdale Road, and two of its officials each have been charged with multiple misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and violation of owners’ duties for allegedly mistreating about a dozen cats and dogs.
Timeline
Aug. 13 Penny Horak charged
Sept. 16 Horak pleads not guilty
Oct. 16 Department of Agriculture suspends license
Oct. 24 Dale Armon, Pet Rescue charged
Oct. 29 DuPage judge bars removal of animals involved in charges
Nov. 6 Administrative law judge reinstates license
Nov. 24 Armon, Pet Rescue plead not guilty
Wednesday Shelter agrees to vet inspections

Prosecutors originally indicated they would ask Associate Judge Ronald Sutter to allow unannounced inspections of the shelter at Wednesday’s hearing, but reached an agreement with defense attorneys beforehand.
“This just ensures compliance with the laws and that the animals are getting appropriate care,” assistant state’s attorney Mandy Meindl said. “The vet is there to alert the inspectors if any of the animals are sick.”
Under the agreement, a veterinarian from DuPage County Animal Care & Control will be allowed to accompany officials from the Illinois Department of Agriculture on inspections as often as once a week.
Sutter scheduled the trial for all three defendants for March 23.
Rick Schoenfield is representing shelter director Penny Horak, 69, of Winfield. President Dale Armon, 74, of Berkeley and the corporation each have hired separate attorneys.
Schoenfield said all the animals at the shelter are receiving proper care, so allowing a veterinarian to accompany inspectors is not a problem.
“We don’t mind it,” he said. “The Department of Agriculture inspects Pet Rescue on a regular basis and doesn’t find problems with the animal care.”
Schoenfield is asking for more specific information about the charges against his client and said he plans to file a motion to have some or all of them dismissed.
The department suspended the shelter’s license in October after it was cited for a fourth violation of state animal-care laws. The license was reinstated last month pending a hearing before an administrative law judge in Springfield.
Jeff Squibb, a spokesman for the Department of Agriculture, said officials are allowed to inspect shelter facilities at any time during regular business hours.
At a court hearing last month, Meindl said Pet Rescue has skirted inspections in the past by changing its business hours so that inspectors essentially have to make an appointment to gain access to the facility.
The village of Bloomingdale meanwhile has yet to schedule a hearing to determine the future of the shelter’s special-use zoning permit. Village President Robert Iden has said he wants to see the shelter shut down.
For 30 years, former Pet Rescue volunteers have been trying to close the shelter because of what they say are poor conditions for the animals kept there. About a dozen former volunteers attended Wednesday’s hearing.