Cats abandoned at groomer's store
Crest Hill, IL (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Dec 12, 2006
County: Will
Disposition: Not Charged
Abuser names unreleased
When the owner of a Crest Hill grooming shop closed her doors for good last month, she left behind a couple of clients. The shop, Symply Unique Pet Salon, 2209 Plainfield Road, closed in early December. Once the owner said she wasn't coming back, the building's landlord called the Humane Society of Plainfield to ask whether it wanted any of the equipment left behind.
Not a group to pass up a donation, the volunteer-run humane society said yes. Executive Director Meg Kremer accompanied the landlord to the shuttered shop Dec. 12.
Little did they know that, along with the equipment, two white cats were left in the locked-up shop.
"We opened the door to this groom shop and the stench actually brought tears to our eyes," Kremer said. "The conditions were abominable.
"So the next thing you know, we hear meowing. (The cats) were just panic-stricken. No food, no water, nothing."
Kremer brought the cats to the Animal Care Center of Plainfield, where the humane society is housed, for food and treatment. The volunteers there named the male and female cats Hugs and Kisses.
Upset about the cats being left behind, Kremer called Joliet Township Animal Control Director Andy Ivanicky to ask whether the department could cite the owner for neglect.
Ivanicky told The Herald News that considering the cats were taken care of and weren't starved when they were found, the department likely would not have the time or resources to track down the owner.
While the department mainly cites people for letting animals run at large, it may issue citations for neglect, Ivanicky said. Abuse cases are more often handled by investigators licensed by the state Department of Agriculture, then turned over to the state's attorney's office, he said.
"It's very difficult to track down the owner," Ivanicky said. "It's just case by case; it depends on the situation."
Others in the retail strip where the shop was located said they thought the groomer had been in business there about a year. A voice mail box for the grooming shop is full, and a call placed to a second number listed for the business did not go through. The former shop owner could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
"This is somebody who was supposedly in the animal-care industry," Kremer said. "We see all sorts of things running a humane society, but this kind of surprised me more."
Hugs and Kisses are ready for adoption. For more information, call the Plainfield Humane Society at (815) 436-2700 or visit www.plainfieldhumane.com. References
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