Over the summer, in a town just west of Chicago, a
heartbreaking mystery began to unfold.
54 tiny dogs, all some form of a Maltese mix, were found completely abandoned at a local dog park.The pups had been left to fend for themselves, many of them neglected and in need of medical attention.
It is gut wrenching to think about how these dogs must have been waiting for their owners to come back for them…but they never did. Sign the petition for justice for these poor pups!Reports described the dogs as "soaking wet" when they were found and recovered. Who knows what might have happened if they hadn't been rescued when they were?
Trapped in the confines of a dog park with no reliable food, water, or source of care…exposure or sickness could have easily taken some of these pups' lives. Thankfully, they were all taken to rescues in the area where they received the love and care they so desperately needed, and the chance at happy lives in adoptive homes.
But once the dozens of dogs were safe, the mystery remained --
where were the people responsible for this crime?It took months, but the two abandoners were finally identified. Their home was searched, and
even more animals were found in cruel neglect. The home where these animals were being kept was in such
horrific conditions, it was "deemed uninhabitable."
Between the two of them, the suspects now face almost 100 counts of animal cruelty -- a devastating number when you think about the animal victims.
The trauma of neglect will stay with these dogs for the rest of their lives, even as they are rehabilitated and rehomed. The extent of the pain cannot be taken lightly.
We must urge the proper course of action to ensure that these two people are never able to inflict this kind of pain and suffering on any animals ever again. The type and amount of dogs rescued points heavily towards unethical breeding practices, like those in puppy mills.
If this is the case, these perpetrators are likely willing to abuse, neglect, and overbreed dogs for personal gain, so stopping them is of the utmost importance.
That is why we're asking that the Boone County Sheriff's Office investigate this theory fully, and ultimately recommend a lifetime ban on animal ownership for both of these people. Sign the petition if you agree!