Puppy mill - 49 dogs seized
Peotone, IL (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Mar 1, 2008
County: Will
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Nikima Wright
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
A tip from someone suspecting an illegal dog fighting operation in rural Peotone Township led police to the discovery of a "puppy mill" operating out of an unheated garage.
Upwards of 49 dogs, some of which were malnourished and dehydrated, were recovered from a garage reeking of urine and covered with dried dog feces, said Will County Sheriff's Spokesman Pat Barry.
Authorities said in another week, at least a dozen could have died.
The dogs, which ranged in age from 3 months to a few years, were found in cages stacked four high. Some were said to have fur matted so badly they couldn't move. Others had open sores.
The dogs are being cared for by the Peoples Animal Welfare Society (P.A.W.S.) in Tinley Park. Two had to receive veterinary care.
Will County sheriff's police assisted in the raid conducted at 10047 W. Offner Road at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Other police units included the Cook County Sheriff's Special Operations Unit and the officers of the State Animal Abuse Task Force.
Barry said Nikima Wright, 35, the home's owner, gave police permission to enter the garage to investigate. Barry said Wright, who was not arrested, later gave permission for police to remove the dogs and take them to animal care facilities elsewhere.
According to WLS Channel 7 in Chicago, Wright sold the dogs for $600 to $700 each. She delivered the dogs to her customers, never allowing them to visit her in Peotone.
Wright, who didn't have a license to operate a puppy mill, could face up to 49 counts of animal cruelty.
The anonymous tip came Feb. 20 on the 24-hour hotline of the South Suburban Humane Society in Chicago Heights.
The shelter has its own animal abuse investigation team, but its executive director, Emily Gruszka, said since the call first came in describing a dog fighting ring, they immediately turned information over to Cook County investigators.
Gruszka said that given the conditions of the Peotone puppy mill, she believes it had been operating for "a long time."
"Puppy mills are very, very common," said Gruszka, whose shelter takes in 6,000 animals a year. "I really believe a lot of people who go and buy puppies don't know the situation they were raised in."
Gruszka said her shelter's tip line is "constantly full with calls of suspected abuse and neglect. Ever since the Michael Vick case, we've had a lot more tips on dog fighting."
Vick, a star National Football League quarterback, is currently serving time in federal prison for animal cruelty after a dog fighting ring was discovered on his Virginia property last year.
The dogs rescued Saturday include Maltese, Yorkies, Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, poodles, pugs and mixed breeds. Volunteers donated their time Sunday to help bathe and groom them.
P.A.W.S. shelter officials noted on their Web site that "it will be awhile until the dogs are available for adoption as they must gain weight" and be neutered or spayed.
Those interested in adopting a dog are asked to e-mail the shelter to get updates on their progress. Photographs of the dogs can be found at Case UpdatesA Peotone woman won't get her 49 dogs back. Will County Circuit Judge Robert Lorz ruled Wednesday Nikima Wright had willingly given the animals to PAWS, a Tinley Park animal shelter, after they were seized March 1 by sheriff's police.
"I don't believe, based on the testimony here (in court), there has been any coercion," the judge said, ending the Joliet hearing.
The main witness during Wednesday's hearing was sheriff's police officer Larry Draus, who specializes in animal abuse cases. He said officers went to Wright's property, 10047 W. Offner Road, Peotone, after a tip was phoned in to a Chicago Heights shelter that dogfighting was occurring on Wright's property.
Draus told the judge Wright invited the officers into her house, but another officer soon reported hearing barking coming from a small building nearby. When they investigated, they found dog cages stacked four and five high with small dogs crammed into them - in some cages there were so many dogs the animals couldn't stand, Draus said.
He told the judge Wright couldn't produce any vaccination records and admitted the dogs had "gotten away from her." She signed paperwork releasing the dogs, and they were taken to PAWS, Draus said.
But on March 6, Wright's lawyer went to court to get the dogs back, saying PAWS had wrongfully obtained them.
Wright was the first witness Wednesday, defending her care of the dogs and showing Lorz receipts for dog toys and food. She said the dogs needed grooming but denied they were mistreated.
Despite the case, Wright recently obtained a state license to run a kennel.
She also was charged Tuesday with 14 misdemeanor counts of failing to provide humane care for the dogs. A state official said that if Wright were convicted of those charges, the state would revoke her kennel license.
For now, the dogs will remain at PAWS, Egan said, but the shelter hopes to begin adoptions soon. PAWS has logged more than 1,000 applications from people who want to adopt the animals. For updates on the dogs and other pets who need homes, go to www.pawstinleypark.org. | Source: The Southtown Star - April 17, 2008
Update posted on Apr 17, 2008 - 10:15PM |
The woman accused of running a puppy mill in Peotone where police said they rescued 50 feces-and-urine-covered dogs a month ago was issued her kennel operator's license Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Agriculture confirmed the agency granted Nikima Wright the license that allows her to sell dogs after she paid a $25 fee, filled out a multipage application and satisfied prerequisites.
"She has met all of the requirements under the Animal Welfare Act for licensing," spokeswoman Paris Ervin said.
The decision came after Wright fulfilled stipulations to install an exhaust fan and sink and improve plumbing in the waiting-room sized facility behind her home that housed the dogs, said Colleen O'Keefe, division manager for food safety and animal protection.
"It is what it is. We have to do what the law says," said O'Keefe, who gave the final OK for the license. "I'm sure it's going to cause a lot of commotion, but it's a matter of innocent until proven guilty. There's no charges filed. There's no conviction."
Wright signed the dogs - ranging from 3 months to 7 years old - over March 1 to Cook County sheriff's police, who turned them over to the PAWS animal shelter in Tinley Park. Many of the dogs were toy or designer breeds and allegedly were crowded up to seven in a cage, stacked up to four cages high.
"They were in terrible shape. They were emaciated. They were covered in feces and urine. They didn't belong there," said Cook County investigator Larry Draus, who was on the scene.
The license surprised the Will County state's attorney's office, where an ongoing investigation into Wright's treatment of the dogs was nearing an end.
"We were somewhat surprised by the decision," Will County spokesman Charles Pelkie said. "We were expecting to wrap up the investigation this week."
Any charges that could have been filed as a result of the investigation are on hold. Because Wright did not have a license before March, she could face misdemeanor charges for operating a kennel without a license if there is proof she sold dogs.
"We have to understand the basis of why they made that decision before we take the next step," Pelkie said.
An Illinois Department of Agriculture investigator went to the facility a few days after the incident, O'Keefe said. The department received Wright's license application March 12 and scheduled an initial inspection March 18, and Wright passed a final inspection Monday.
"It wasn't borderline by any means. It met all the requirements well," O'Keefe said. "I can't project what it was a month ago, and in all honesty, I haven't seen any pictures. We had no investigators there. We had no knowledge of this at all (when it was happening)."
The last time the department was in touch with Wright was in July of 2005, when a complaint came in against her, O'Keefe said. At that point, however, Wright didn't have enough dogs to require a license and "the dogs that we saw were fine."
Wright's attorney, Anderson J. Ward, tells a different story. Ward claims Wright had been working with the department to improve the facility and actually had a visit from someone from the department just a few days before the incident. He disputes reports the dogs were mistreated.
"The dogs were in fine shape," Ward said. "These people are just misinformed. They're basing that on what they read or heard and not actually seen."
Cherie Travis, an animal law professor at DePaul and Northwestern universities, said she was disappointed to learn Wright was granted a license.
"It concerns me that the Department of Agriculture is so ready to issue licenses," said Travis, who also consults for Ruby Wilson, a volunteer humane investigator with PAWS. "My personal belief is this a business for (Wright). She's looking to get a breeding license because I'm guessing she makes a lot of money on these dogs.
Ward had estimated the 49 dogs - one was returned to its owner, who turned out to be Wright's sister - are worth $21,300. A hearing requesting the dogs be returned to Wright is scheduled April 16, but Ward is "optimistic that it was to be resolved before that date." | Source: Southtown Star - April 2, 2008
Update posted on Apr 2, 2008 - 2:34PM |
The sister of the owner of an alleged Peotone Township puppy mill was allowed to take home one of the dogs on Friday.
According to the Southtown Star, Mica Davis was allowed to obtain the 6-year-old bichon frise named Lance after the dog's electronic identification chip showed she was his owner.
According to the Star, officials with the People's Animal Welfare Society (P.A.W.S.) shelter in Tinley Park contacted Davis about the dog earlier this week. They did not know her relationship with Nikima Wright, who owns the alleged puppy mill, until Friday, according to the newspaper.
The turning over of Lance came after a judge delayed plans to allow the P.A.W.S. to make 49 of the seized dogs available for adoption, the Star said.
A multicounty team of police investigators discovered the alleged puppy mill at 10047 W. Offner Road on March 1. The operation run by Wright, 35, was doing business as Phoebee's Puppies.
At least 49 dogs, some of which were malnourished and dehydrated, were rescued from a garage, police said.
The dogs ranged in age from 3 months to a few years.
Fifteen puppies found inside the home were left with Wright because they were too young for safe transport.
Wright, who didn't have a license to operate a commercial puppy operation, could face up to 49 counts of animal cruelty.
Wright filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking return of the seized dogs, according to the Star. | Source: The Daily Journal - March 9, 2008
Update posted on Mar 9, 2008 - 12:30PM |
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