Neighbors Reported Animal Abuse For Ten Years Before Authorities Acted. By Then, Three Dogs Were Dead and Eleven More Were Starved

An animal abuser in South Elgin, Illinois is finally being charged with animal abuse after authorities found three dead dogs in her home and eleven more dogs on the brink of starving to death. The abuser's name is Emily Chesterfield and her neighbors had been calling the police and animal control on her since at least 2011, alleging dead and neglected animals on her property. So why didn't police actually do anything until 2020?

Sign the petition to demand an internal review of why officers did nothing to protect animals and fire any officer who failed to protect the animals. 

When officials finally searched the home, it was because a deputy saw a dead dog inside a trash bag on the front porch. This person cared so little for her animals that when they died, she just left them to rot in a trash bag outside. When officials entered the home, they found two more dead dogs among eleven more dogs, alive but starving and showing signs of terrible neglect. All of them had been going to the bathroom inside the house and officials had to use shovels to get through the piles of excrement. 

But this abuse was not news to officials. In fact, reporters learned that neighbors had made complaints to both animal control and local police. They also learned that authorities did visit this nightmare home 20 times before. The most they ever did was cite her for violating "owner duties" and "failure to register." But clearly this woman should have had all her animals taken years ago, been charged with abuse and not been allowed to have animals ever again.