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.
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