URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - Criminal charges have been filed against a Champaign couple who were hoarding dogs and mistreating them.
State's Attorney Julia Rietz filed misdemeanor charges on Friday for failure to provide humane care and treatment of animals. Mark Richards, 61, and Wendy Richards, 55 were charged, according to the News Gazette.
The Champaign County animal control officers seized 69 adult dogs and 19 puppies. The dogs were covered in fleas and their coats were matted in feces.
“We are treating this as an animal hoarding situation. We are concerned about the health and welfare of the dogs as well as the health and welfare of the people,” said Rietz.
The discovery of the 84 dogs began on Oct. 16 when an employee of the Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District who was working near the home heard “what sounded like a significant number of dogs and (noticed) a horrible smell when he approached,” Rietz said.
The worker contacted animal control and an employee with animal control went to the home the following day.
Rietz said the couple refused to let animal control in, so they had to take action to get a warrant , which was served on Oct. 22.
“The residence was full of feces and urine throughout. Some of the dogs were aggressive and bit the animal control officers,” Rietz said. “They had fleas, significant matting (of their coats), three were pregnant.”
Officers were on scene for three hours to get the dogs removed from the home.
They believed they had all of the dogs but when they returned on Nov. 1 to see if the home was habitable they found one more dog in poor health, a cat that couldn't be caught and two dead kittens in the basement. The dog was taken to animal control.
Ramseyer reported that the couple was making efforts to clean up the house and there were shovels in plain sight being used to remove the animal feces.
Rietz said on Nov. 6, the couple surrendered their rights to approximately 80 of the dogs.
Animal control was caring for the dogs until they could go to local shelters.
A court appearance is set for Dec. 16.
