How could what was once an established, well-known animal shelter located on a main thoroughfare in the suburbs secretly become home to 19 dead dogs and a pile of feces-filled garbage bags estimated at 5 to 10 tons?
These are among the disturbing and difficult questions that beg for answers.
The focal point of the legal case is Diane Eldrup, the Deer Park shelter operator who was arrested Dec. 17 and is charged with 32 counts of animal cruelty.
But as Lake County law enforcement officials prepare their case against her, local and state officials also must investigate how Muddy Paws slipped through the cracks of society on a horrific slide to become what one prosecutor called a "death camp for dogs."
The sad truth appears to be that state enforcement stopped short of what was needed to protect these animals and local oversight was nonexistent.
Shelters, such as Muddy Paws, are licensed by the state department of agriculture. Officials say problems similar to those found last month date to 2009, but the case was withdrawn last May when Muddy Paws claimed to be closed. Deer Park officials dropped their pursuit of a business registration when told a similar story.
No final inspection was done by either agency, and no confirmation was made that the shelter was really closed. That's not enough for a facility facing violations with lives at stake.
Neither Lake County nor Deer Park was required to regulate the shelter. But wouldn't a local agency working in conjunction with the state be able to react quicker to identify such problems and force corrections?
Instead, this enterprise was able to fly beneath the radar. The first outward hint of trouble surfaced only when Eldrup's estranged husband went to the shelter -- where his ex-wife and 8-year-old son lived -- to retrieve some belongings. He saw the dead dogs and called police.
Just a year earlier, Muddy Paws was working with two other shelter groups to collect food for local pantries to help struggling families. People drove up and dropped off bags of dog food for a good cause during the weeklong drive.
Its problems were also unknown to a Chicago-area pet magazine that included Muddy Paws on a resource list of animal shelters and rescue groups in its January 2011 edition.
And, it's not like Muddy Paws is hidden away on some rural road. It is on Rand Road, where it is passed by thousands of motorists each day.
Only now are we learning a different story of what was happening there.
Changes are needed to ensure this doesn't happen again.
(Daily Herald - Jan 4, 2011)
Earlier:
- Illinois: 18 dead dogs found at Deer Park rescue called Muddy Paws; owner Diane Eldrup arrested
- Illinois: Most of the 17 dead dogs found at Muddy Paws Dog Rescue were found inside living area of house, says attorney
- Illinois: Diane Eldrup, owner of Muddy Paws Dog Rescue, faces 32 counts of animal cruelty
- Illinois: Investigators searching for more dead animals at Diane Eldrup's Muddy Paws Dog Rescue facility
- Illinois: What Diane Eldrup's husband Kurt Eldrup saw inside Muddy Paws Dog Rescue concentration camp
