South Holland Dogs |
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Please click on the button to donate for South Holland Rescue animals. Click on the link below to see a slideshow of the South Holland dogs
Owner of seized dogs is indicted - 75 counts issued in South Holland case Chicago Tribune (IL) - Thursday , August 9, 2007
Kevin Taylor, 29, of the 15900 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, was charged with 37 counts of felony dogfighting, 37 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and one count of felony possession of a controlled substance, according to the indictment. Each charge carries a possible penalty of 1 to 3 years in prison. The new charges, returned by a Cook County grand jury Tuesday, were announced at what was scheduled to be a preliminary hearing before Cook County Judge Camille E. Willis in Markham on the initial charges lodged against Taylor last month. Members of Taylor's family declined to comment, but his attorney, Chester Slaughter, said he was not surprised. "I certainly expected they were going to indict him -- this is a high-profile case," Slaughter said after the hearing. "I knew they didn't want to give me another opportunity to cross-examine their witnesses [during a preliminary hearing], so they went to the grand jury." Still, Slaughter, who had not seen a copy of the indictment, appeared taken aback when told the number of counts. "Sounds like what you call overkill," he said. "You start out with 39 misdemeanors and get to 75 felonies?" Last month, Cook County sheriff's police raided Taylor's home and a small barn on his property, recovering 36 pit bull-type dogs and one Caucasian Ovcharka, a large dog bred to guard livestock. Authorities said most of the dogs were housed without water or food in plastic kennels stacked in a dark, sweltering, unventilated barn. Many dogs were covered in feces and urine, and a number bore scars and unhealed wounds typically found on fighting dogs, authorities said. Investigators alleged that when they searched Taylor's home, they found medicines they believe were used to treat wounded dogs and steroids for increasing their strength and stamina. Also recovered were three treadmills, which authorities said are commonly used to train fighting dogs. On July 14, Taylor was charged with two felony counts, one for dogfighting and the other for drug possession, and 39 misdemeanor counts related to dogfighting and animal cruelty, authorities said. Also, Taylor is involved in a civil case against him in which prosecutors are trying to persuade Willis to force Taylor to forfeit ownership of the animals. The dogs are being cared for at several public and private shelters. Both sides have rested their cases in the civil hearing and were scheduled to deliver closing arguments Monday, after which Willis may render her decision. "We're on the side of the right, so we expect her to rule for us," Slaughter said. Taylor, being held on $100,000 bail, was scheduled for arraignment Aug. 28 in the Markham courthouse. Slaughter questioned the validity of the search warrant authorizing the raid, saying it contains inaccurate information. Investigators "have got a bogus search warrant," he said. "Their description of where the animals were kept is completely off base." Slaughter said that he has received only a handful of photos taken at the scene and they do not show evidence of injuries or maltreatment of the dogs. ---------- mwalberg@tribune.com
Mercy And FYI- I named my girl (hole in ear) Mercy. Did you know she has virtually NO teeth? I took her to the vet yesterday to see if he could do something about her nails- they were growing into her pads. When I called to make the appt they asked how old she was and I realized I had no idea. I pulled over and went to check her teeth, only to find out she doesn't have any. She has a few nubs where her front teeth should be but the rest are gone. And not filed down or broken- just gone. I watched her eat breakfast this morning and she has a hell of a time getting food into her mouth. It was really heart wrenching.
However, I don't think she's going to be the major project everyone expected. I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with her last night. But once I got hom I got Mercy all cleaned up. She didn't care for the tub but didn't put up much of a fight. Then she and my male Pit (who hates EVERYONE) caught sight of each other thru the fence. Both started wagging their tails furiously. My guy actually went up to the fence and started licking at her! I almost passed out. Then she started to rub herself up and down the fence like an elephant. She seemed THRILLED at the prospect of being around another dog. Long story short, I tossed a couple of my other fosters in crates and let Mercy upstairs to see them. She was overjoyed. She ran from crate to crate wagging her tail and rubbing herself up and down the cages. Then she would remember I was watching and would stop, as if thinking, "Oops! I was almost having fun and being happy. My bad." But I let her make the rounds for about an hour last night and then took her outside. I have about a half an acre privacy fenced and she ran laps around the yard, sniffing everything. Once she seemed thoroughly exhausted I took her inside, put a dog bed in a crate, and stuck her in. She immediately laid down and went to sleep. Didn't make a peep all night and no messes in the crate. I let her out this morning and she immediately went to the bathroom so she may have at least an inkling of what "Outside" is for. Then I fed her which, like I said, was just pitiful. But she seemed to be a lot more interested in getting attention from me today. She was actually seeking some affection this morning. She actually climbed up into my lap for about a minute. But then a squirre l caught her attention and she abandoned me :) It broke my heart to have to kennel her and go to work :( Sorry, I'm babbling again. But long story short, I have really high hopes for her. In just 24 hours I can see a definite improvement in her.
Last thing, I took a quick video of her with a couple of the other girls last night. It's not great but you'll get the idea. I will get more pics tomorrow and send them over.
Look at that tail go! And please excuse the mess and pink carpet- we just moved in a few months ago and are still trying to remodel :) Thanks so much for everything!
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Sincerely, Stephannie CPR Fund www.cprfund.com http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/saturday/chi-pitbull_15_bothsep15,0,3118340.story. |
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Sabrina ADOPTED    http://www.lakeshoreanimalshelter.org/ AJ  http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/mycause4paws.html Konerko  http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/mycause4paws.html Coco Channel ADOPTED   |
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