More than a dozen dogs rescued from Cass County
SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. (WLFI) – A total of 14 dogs have a new lease on life after they are rescued from a Cass County residence.
A Galveston man was recently cited after the bodies of more than two dozen dogs were found this spring. He surrendered the remaining dogs Tuesday.
Volunteers said 17 dogs were found on 74-year-old Ronald Brown’s property. Three were taken by family friends and 14 were rescued.
One by one, 14 bluetick coonhounds piled out of crates and shuffled into Illiana Boarding and Grooming in the Chicago suburb of South Holland.
The dogs belonged to Brown. He has been cited for littering after 25 dead dogs were found in rural Cass County in April.
Co-founder of Houndsong Rescue, Darrin Lee, said they were recently contacted by Brown’s daughter. They were in Cass County Tuesday to pick up the remaining dogs.
“People brought crates. They donated on our youcaring page, they brought bowls and food. As soon as we had all that together, we scheduled a time to come down and get the dogs off the property – get them safe,” said Lee.
Lee said, in general, the dogs were in pretty good shape. They didn’t have any open sores, they all had water and shelter.
“We have definitely, without a doubt, seen worse conditions. Some of the dogs were even heavy,” said Lee.
Rescue groups from the Chicago area are all helping with the dogs, along with others from as far away as Colorado and Canada. Lee said the goal is to get them into foster homes.
“Two, three, four, five, at a time – we’ll take them out of here, and send them on to foster homes for house breaking, training, medical if they need it,” said Lee.
Lee said rescuing these dogs wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the community.
“That’s what this work is about. This work is about moving forward and saving the dogs that we can when we can,” said Lee.
Ronald Brown was cited with three infractions for littering. He faces up to a $1,000 fine for each count. His attorney said that Brown has ongoing health issues.
For more information on the dogs, click here.