Woman kept dog, puppies inside sweltering truck: Police

ILLINOIS --A Joliet woman who left a malnourished, sore-ridden pit bull and four puppies to swelter inside a broken-down truck was arrested on animal cruelty charges Wednesday, police said.

Police discovered the situation when called to a 344 Pine St. home at about 5 p.m. and found Jolene Sander, 31, of 323 S. Joliet St., in a dispute with another woman, Cmdr. Al Roechner said. As Sander was preparing to leave, the woman asked her what she planned to do about her dogs, he said.

That's when officers learned Sander was keeping a female dog and its four puppies inside a closed truck next to the property, Roechner said.

Not only was the temperature in excess of 100 degrees inside the vehicle, he said, the mother dog had a rope around her neck that had left sores on her neck and body, was covered in feces and appeared malnourished. The puppies were just two weeks old, he said.

All of the animals were confiscated by Joliet Township Animal Control, which is trying to find people to adopt them, Roechner said.

Sander was arrested on five counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and released on a recognizance bond.

(The Times Weekly - July 25, 2014)