151 N. Bloomingdale Road, Bloomingdale, Il

Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse...........................................................

Village revokes Pet Rescue license

By Erin Sauder, esauder@mysuburbanlife.com
Suburban Life Publications
Posted Mar 24, 2010 @ 05:38 PM
Glendale Heights, IL —

After years of controversy surrounding a Bloomingdale pet shelter accused of animal cruelty, the Bloomingdale Village Board voted unanimously to revoke its license Monday night.
The move was met by applause by former Pet Rescue volunteers who attended the board meeting.
“I feel good that the animals are safe and get the chance they deserve,” said Kris Nesheim, who long has advocated for the shelter to be shut down. “That’s definitely a good thing.”
Monday night’s vote gives village staff the go-ahead to draft an ordinance to revoke the shelter’s license. It will come back to the Village Board for approval in April.
Before the vote was taken, several members of the audience pleaded with the village to close down the shelter.
Shelter manager Dana Deutsch of Grayslake-based Save-a-Pet said she was horrified by the condition of 11 cats which recently came to her shelter from Bloomingdale’s Pet Rescue.
“Every single one of them was extremely sick,” she said.
Deutsch praised the Village Board for considering the license revocation.
“For what you’re looking to do, I thank you,” she said.
Mary Huspen, a former Pet Rescue worker, said the facility was supposed to be a no-kill shelter.
“Instead it ended up being a facility for two hoarding individuals and a slow-kill shelter,” she said.
Huspen said most of the animals have been removed from the shelter.
“The place is pretty much emptied out. Please don’t let them replenish it again with more animals,” she said.
Pet Rescue Director Penny Horak of Winfield and Shelter President Dale Armon of Berkeley are facing charges of animal cruelty and violation of owners’ duties for allegedly mistreating many cats and dogs while operating the shelter at 151 N. Bloomingdale Road.
Both have pleaded not guilty.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture revoked the shelter’s license in December.
Joanne Grossman said she reported Pet Rescue to authorities about 15 years ago because of the deplorable conditions she saw while working there, including animals surrounded in filth and being kept in the attic in the summer despite temperatures above 90.
“This is not a humane shelter, and it’s certainly not saving the animals,” she said.
In January, a DuPage County judge ordered Horak and Armon to begin transferring the nearly 200 animals housed there immediately to other shelters.
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.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan also is suing Armon, accusing her of spending at least $70,000 of the nonprofit group’s funds for personal use since 2007.
The Bloomingdale Plan Commission recommended revoking the shelter’s license earlier this month after finding that Pet Rescue had become a safety hazard.
Testimony from the village prosecutor revealed the facility had a rodent infestation and that owners kept dead animals in the refrigerator. Exterior violations included a ceiling that had collapsed because of a leaky roof and leakage in the basement where animals were kept.
Another violation included other animals besides dogs and cats being kept on the premises, including birds and rabbits.
However, Pat Karolasz of Bartlett, a longtime volunteer and supporter of Pet Rescue, read a statement on behalf of Horak’s attorney, Rick Schoenfield, which said the Plan Commission improperly considered evidence.
“On the question of a health and safety violation, not a single professional testified there was a health violation,” she read. “Your police officers have been in the shelter, but none have reported a health or safety problem. Evidence did not establish a violation other than a technical violation of having a few animals that were not dogs or cats.”
She went on to read that “The village should not be acting on matters which the court has yet to decide.”
“Those who are going to be hurt by forcing the shelter out are homeless dogs and cats,” she said.
Copyright 2010 Carol Stream Press. Some rights reserved

Village of Bloomingdale March 22

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/photo_galleries/x673433342/Bloomingdale-Village-Board-Revokes-Pet-Rescue-License?photo=0

VOB Agenda for March 22, 2010

Findings – Pet Rescue/151 N. Bloomingdale Road/ Revocation of Special Use Permit

I move, based on the Findings of Fact and Recommendations of the Plan Commission, to
authorize the preparation of documentation to revoke the special use permit heretofore
granted under Ordinance 79-23 for the use of the property at 151 N. Bloomingdale Road
as and for an animal sanctuary and pet hostelry for dogs and cats; to repeal said
Ordinance 79-23; and thereby, requiring the relocation of the animals housed therein in
an expeditious, safe and humane manner, consistent with sound veterinary practices, to
another no-kill animal shelter facility all in accordance with the exhibits and testimony
presented, and subject to the exceptions and conditions as set forth in the Findings of Fact.

Pet Rescue license at stake Monday in Bloomingdale

By Elisabeth Mistretta Daily Herald Staff

The Bloomingdale village board Monday will consider whether to revoke the permit for Pet Rescue, the controversial no-kill animal shelter.
After listening to hours of public testimony at three monthly meetings this year, the village's plan commission already voted on March 2 to recommend revocation.
Village Administrator Dan Wennerholm said if Bloomingdale officials ultimately revoke the permit, that would mean the end of Pet Rescue's operations in the village. But, he added, Monday's meeting is just another step in the process and won't lead to any immediate change.
"There are no final decisions at this first board meeting," said Wennerholm. "If the board knows where it wants to go, it could direct the village attorney to prepare an ordinance that outlines those objectives. That ordinance would then come back at a future meeting."
Last year, the state revoked Pet Rescue's license after years of wrangling with the operators, Penny Horak and Dale Armon. The women are facing animal cruelty charges stemming from the operation of the shelter and are expected in DuPage County court April 2, for a hearing on pretrial motions.
Opponents of Pet Rescue have been urging the state and county to shut down the facility for years, claiming Armon and Horak are hoarding the animals and not properly caring for them.
Earlier this year, DuPage County Judge Ronald Sutter gave Pet Rescue operators permission to transfer nearly 200 animals being housed there to other Illinois shelters, although he did not specify a timeline.
"Before that they were not allowed to take in or let out any animals, since their assets were frozen and all they could do was take care of the animals," Wennerholm said.
DuPage County State's Attorney officials said nearly half the animals have already been transferred from the building at 151 N. Bloomingdale Road to other state-licensed shelters.
If Bloomingdale ultimately revokes Pet Rescue's license in a future meeting, Wennerholm said, it would "effectively mean they are done here."
"If an ordinance is passed, they would be given time to comply with respect to moving out," Wennerholm said. "But they would have to cease their operations within some given time frame."

No-Kill or Slow-kill

I adopted a cat from pet rescue over ten years ago. What an awful place it was! I wanted to take every animal out of there. My cat was sick when I got her, with an upper respiratory infection and huge fleas. She was sickly the entire time I owned her, but had a good life. She finally came down with renal disease and died of pneumonia at the age of 11 (I had her about 10 years.)

There were so many sick animals in that place when I was there. I heard it was a no-kill facility, which is why I went there. I hated every second I was there. There was a cat with a huge seeping wound, another cat that had recently had its leg amputated and an ugly welt. Cages of cats stacked in this room. And the owner said there was another room with over two hundred more cats in it. I couldn't go in there. I talked to my vet about the place and told everyone I knew that it needed to be shut down. I totally support you in your efforts to close this place down. If there is anything I can do, let me know.

Karen B.
Wheaton, IL

1992 ..... Shameful

(Some specifics have been omitted with respect to the responder)

I testified against Dale and Penny in Springfield a few years back. For that one I went when someone fighting against PR asked me to. I have the transcripts from the trial but everything was "off the record" and I have no proof of what was said. That was quite discouraging,
when I went to Springfield both Shelter Investigators showed me a 4 drawer high file cabinet FULL of complaints against PR, and that was in 1992! Of course I didn't get to open the drawers and look at them, but hey pulled the drawers out and they were full. In the trial part that was "off the record" Dale was caught using money for PR to pay for an Alaskan Cruise! She agreed to stop misusing the money and get new, better cages for the animals. It sure doesn't look like that happened! What happened with the Attorney that was trying to close PR a year or so ago? She was mentioned on Fox News? Did anything come from her attempt to regulate or close PR? Please keep me posted.
Thanks!
Melanie

Posting on Craigslist February 1, 2010

BLOOMINGDALE ANIMAL SHELTER WAIVES ADOPTION FEES (BLOOMINGDALE, ILL)http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/pet/1581039157.html
Date: 2010-02-01, 1:23PM CSTReply to: see below
BLOOMINGDALE SHELTER WAIVES ADOPTION FEES- Pet Rescue is located at: 151 North Bloomingdale Road Bloomingdale, IL 60108-1001 (630) 893-0030 We have 25 dogs and over 100 cats for free adoption. Open on Saturday's only from 12noon to 4pm. Applicants still need to apply and be approved.