The Champaign County dog warden investigated the owners of the property for weeks, said Capt. Dave Rapp of the sheriff’s office. State agencies also have been involved in the investigation, he said.
No charges have been filed against the owners at this time, Rapp said.
Barely Used Pets and other groups — including the humane societies and shelters from Clark, Logan, Champaign and Montgomery counties — have taken in the dogs and puppies, Franks said.
The animals generally were in good health, but she said their living conditions were deplorable. The dogs had worms from living in the filth, she said, but appear to have no other major health issues.
“It was just a lot of feces and urination and just not clean conditions for the dogs,” Franks said.
The Champaign County dog warden has more than 20 dogs that the owner has asked to keep, she said. The agency will keep them until any possible legal proceedings are completed, Franks said, and it’s determined whether or not they can be returned. The rest of the pets were surrendered to other agencies and will be given to new homes.
The owner is believed to be a breeder who sold beagles, Franks said, and she and the authorities were alerted to the alleged conditions by people who had bought dogs from him.
More than 30 of the pets Barely Used Pets had from the seizure will be picked up by a rescue organization from Chicago today.
Many shelters who took the dogs over the weekend are adjusting to the flood of animals and any donations are welcome, Franks said.
Megan Tehan of Logan County heard about the dogs and showed up to Barely Used Pets on Monday with a car load of donated supplies.
“I said, ‘Hey Barely Used Pets helped save all these dogs, we should do something,’ … We went to Costco and Walmart and bought anything and everything we thought they could use,” Tehan said.
A hair salon in Columbus chipped in more than $300 to purchase food, toys and other necessities for the shelter, Tehan said.
The Animal Resource Center in Montgomery County has more than 50 of the rescued animals, Franks said, and many of them should be available for adoption by the weekend.
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