HARPS rescues animals from Hebron farm

By SARAH SUTSCHEK - ssutschek@nwherald.com

HARPS rescues animals from Hebron farm

HEBRON – Volunteers could hear cats mewing behind a door, but they couldn’t get in to give them food or water because it was locked.
Ten dogs, seemingly friendly, jumped at their cage doors in a foul-smelling room, wanting attention. A duck, a chicken and a peacock shared the same cage in a separate room. A goat was unable to stand.
After someone called to report the animals’ living conditions about a month ago, volunteers from the Hooved Animal Rescue and Protection Society have been going to Rothmore Farm on Route 173 in Hebron to care for more than 20 animals.
A hose had to be stretched from the house to provide water for the animals, including about 12 sheep, two horses, a large steer, and several donkeys. Their water had been frozen or become black and slushy with manure, said Ronda Ewing of HARPS.
On Tuesday, HARPS volunteers loaded up a trailer and an equine ambulance with many of the animals and brought them back to the organization’s Barrington Hills home base in hopes of finding them foster homes.
Their elderly owner, Dale Armon, relinquished them after HARPS’ founder, Donna Ewing, convinced her that she was not able to care for them properly.
Several years ago, McHenry County officials seized more than 70 animals from Armon after their conditions were deemed “deplorable.” But officials have an even longer history with her going back at least a decade, Illinois Department of Agriculture spokesman Jeff Squibb said.
“It’s not licensed as an animal shelter, so it’s not subject to the routine inspections,” Squibb said.
The only way they can go on site is if there’s evidence of wrongdoing, he said.
“We have been allowed on the premises in the recent past, and on those occasions, the animals were not in any immediate danger,” Squibb said.
The state has re-entered the picture by filing another lawsuit against Pet Rescue Inc., which Armon served as president, claiming financial mismanagement. The organization has a Bloomingdale shelter that recently lost its license as an animal shelter after a series of violations, Squibb said.
The latest lawsuit accuses Armon of spending more than $70,000 of Pet Rescue’s money, much of which allegedly was raised through claiming that it was a charitable organization despite failing to register as one.
Armon is accused of paying property taxes on personal property with Pet Rescue money, as well as personal expenses at numerous restaurants, hotels and gas stations mostly near the Hebron farm.
Attempts to reach Armon were unsuccessful Tuesday. She was not at the farm as the animals were removed. The phone number at the Bloomingdale pet rescue has been disconnected, and no local phone numbers for Armon are listed.
Ronda Ewing said she was unsure of where the animals taken to HARPS came from before they were in Armon’s custody.
“It’s not hard to come by animals in need of homes,” she said.
Donna Ewing said she told Armon that she would be able to have the animals back, should she prove that she would be able to care for them, including paying for food and vet bills.
The animals were just too much for Armon, who said she had another woman helping her, Donna Ewing said. All things considered, the animals were in good shape, she said.
But Armon is a collector, an animal hoarder, she said.
“This is where love goes awry,” she said.

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