But the worst call she ever had to work — last summer in Urbana, where a pit bull puppy was stuffed in a 300-degree oven and left to die — was her breaking point.
Enough was enough, she told herself. Time to find a new job.
"Sometimes, you get to a point where it's just really hard to handle these calls anymore," said Carr, now the evidence technician at the Urbana police department.
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| "Charlie," a retired performance horse, came to Hooves of Hope near Potomac last year weighing about 650 pounds after he was seized by Vermilion County Animal Control officials from a Rossville-area couple who now face animal cruelty charges in court. Now, over 1,000 pounds and doing well, Charlie is used by Mary Remole (pictured) and her husband, Stan Remole, in their mentoring program for kids. Mary Remole, with Charlie in Potomac Wednesday March 23, 2016. Photo by: Rick Danzl/The News-Gazette |
And it's not just the cases that end with necropsies. Those calls that lead to the seizure of neglected or mistreated animals can be just as "disheartening," as she puts it.
Urbana, where the city's animal control position is vacant after Carr's departure, has seized 31 animals since the start of 2014.
Elsewhere during that same period, according to statistics obtained by The News-Gazette via open records requests:
— Champaign County animal control responded to 60 calls but none resulted in the impoundment of animals. (The Champaign County Humane Society also has a state-licensed investigator of its own, who responded to more than 50 calls just last year. Those rarely end with a seizure, said Executive Director Mary Tiefenbrunn).
— In the village of Mahomet, which has its own officer, there have been two seizure cases in two-plus years, involving three dogs that were neglected.
— In Piatt County, where a part-time officer covers only unincorporated areas, seizures are rare. In the only recent case — involving multiple animals living in unacceptable conditions — a fire department and a church stepped in to help.
— And then there's Vermilion County, by far the area leader in animal seizures — 55 in 2014, 86 in 2015 and already 16 in 2016.
Danville: Poverty a factor
Since August, full-time Gibson City veterinarian Susan Norris has been spending every Wednesday at Vermilion County's animal shelter. From what she's seen, "there's an amazing amount of neglect that goes on in Vermilion County compared to other counties."
Two major factors, she said, are poverty and a lack of understanding about the importance of getting dogs and cats spayed or neutered.
"It seems as though almost every animal that comes in (to the shelter) is not spayed or neutered," said Norris, adding there's a large population of animals in the county that are unsterile and breeding, and the sheer numbers lead to situations of neglect. "And I really think that particular factor is key to the problem. If we had more animals spayed and neutered and owners taking responsibility, this would not be at the level we see."
To combat the problem, the county recently started a low-cost spay and neuter program, said animal control Director Paige Brown. It's already booked solid through September.
But that's just a start. Last year, the shelter took in about 3,000 animals, a combination of strays picked up, those surrendered by owners and ones seized.
Norris said 50 percent of the shelter's intake is from the city of Danville, where more than 30 percent of residents live below the federal poverty level, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Most people mean well, Brown said, but they just can't keep up with the costs of ownership — not just spaying or neutering but keeping up with shots and other vet care.
Vermilion: Neglect rampant
There are also some, she said, who have cruel intentions or other motives, like breeding animals for profit.
In 2014, Vermilion County animal control seized 14 pit bull puppies, two adult pit bulls and two dachshunds, all in poor condition, from one residence at a total cost to the shelter of $11,000. Those dogs were being bred for profit, Brown said.
Another high-profile neglect case — in rural Rossville — ended with the department seizing several horses, a donkey, ducks, doves, chickens and other animals from the owners, who say they will fight the case in court. From that same farm earlier this year, the department seized more horses, including one that had died.
Between boarding, feeding and other miscellaneous expenses, seizures from that one farm have cost Vermilion County $64,000 — and counting.
One of the horses taken is recovering well, according to Mary Remole, who along with husband Stan operates Hooves of Hope near Potomac, a mentoring program for local kids. When underfed Charlie came to them last year, he weighed 650 pounds. These days, he's back to a healthy 1,000-plus.
There have been other cases in the county in which police busted a methamphetamine lab and dogs present had to be seized.
There are many reasons the department may seize animals, but in most cases, Norris said, they're rescuing them before they get calls like one that happened in the last two months, involving the discovery of multiple recently deceased dogs and skeletons of others.
All basically starved to death, Norris said.
Douglas: Troubling trend
Douglas County doesn't have anywhere near the number of neglect cases that Vermilion does. But in recent years, animal control officer Chad Daugherty said, there's been a slight increase in calls for abuse and neglect that panned out.
His department averages 150 calls a year. Most are unfounded, but already this year, the department has seized seven animals, more than the previous two years combined.
In January, construction workers at an abandoned house found a kitten locked in a pet carrier under a pile of garbage and a dog locked in a room. The kitten was dead, but the underweight dog was rehabbed and eventually adopted. Daugherty said an arrest warrant was issued for the owner.
And in February, five dogs of various breeds and a puppy were seized from a Villa Grove residence. Four of the dogs were "grossly underweight," and a Chihuahua had a broken jaw and a pit bull had serious dental issues.
And Daugherty is still dealing with cases from last year, including one involving a man who was charged with beating a kitten that was seized. A German Shepherd wasn't as lucky — a concerned neighbor took the severely underweight two-year-old dog to the vet, but it had to be euthanized, Daugherty said. The case against that owner is pending.
And in 2014, Douglas animal control seized a Labrador retriever suspected of being beaten by its owner. The dog recovered and was eventually adopted.
Champaign: Help available
As the weather heats up, Champaign County's animal control director says, most of the calls she fields are for dogs left alone in vehicles or outside with no water.
But like anyone in her line of work, Stephanie Joos has seen her share of heartache up close.
The worst call she ever acted on involved a hoarder living with several cats in a condemned house that hadn't had running water for five years. Animal feces were everywhere, Joos said, and she and others had to wear hazmat-type suits and respirators just to enter.
"It was truly one of the grossest places I had ever been," Joos said.
In December, there was a case near Broadlands involving a man with at least 18 dogs, 14 of them puppies. They were fed but were housed in less-than-ideal living conditions and breeding indiscriminately. Joos said finances were an issue for the owner, so with the assistance of the state Department of Agriculture, they convinced the man to relinquish the puppies to a shelter and get the dogs spayed and neutered.
Ultimately, Joos and area animal control officers say, they don't want to take any animals from their owners unless it's absolutely necessary for their welfare. Animal control departments are willing to work with owners, they say.
That includes free sterilization for cats in Vermilion County. On two recent Wednesdays at the county animal shelter, they were mobbed, sterilizing 55 to 60 cats. Norris said it's not the county's intention to take business away from local veterinarians, but there's a clear need, so the service will continue.
Anything to avoid one of those tragic calls that comes too late.
"We want people to know they can contact us if they need assistance," Norris said. "We want to help them before they have five more litters."
In the headlines
Among the alleged animal abuse cases in Champaign and Vermilion counties the past 10 months:
JAN. 29, rural Rossville
The case: For the second time in less than a year, Vermilion County authorities seize animals they allege were neglected by Jeffrey and Rhonda Powell. Taken are two horses, a miniature donkey and two pigs. A necropsy performed at the UI on a sixth animal, a horse found dead, determines it died from malnutrition.
Coming up: The Powells are due in court for a preliminary hearing on April 7. Both face felony charges of aggravated cruelty, as well as an additional misdemeanor for cruel treatment, stemming from the May seizure of nine horses, a donkey, a bull, 31 chickens, six ducks, nine dogs, two cats and two doves.
DEC. 4, Savoy
The case: Nathan Sitter, 24, is charged with felony animal torture after Champaign County sheriff's deputies say he killed his girlfriend's cat, Mocha, by trying to strangle and drown. Assistant State's Attorney Sarah Carlson says Sitter admitted to deputies that he "tied a string around the cat's neck and swung it around to see how the cat would react."
Resolution: Sitter pleaded guilty this month to a single count of animal torture. Judge Heidi Ladd set sentencing for April 13.
JUNE 4, Urbana
The case: Dimarrio Zander says he came home to his Urbana apartment to find his three-month-old pit bull, Malik, dead. His former girlfriend, Kinny Redmon, 24, is charged with animal torture and aggravated cruel treatment to a companion animal for allegedly putting the puppy in a 300-degree oven, then wedging a chair under the oven door.
Resolution: In September, a six-person jury made up entirely of current or former pet owners acquitted Redmond of killing the puppy.
Do's and don'ts of owning an animal in Champaign County
A big chunk of Champaign County's animal control ordinance deals with "humane care" and "cruel treatment." Among the rules for animal owners:
MUST
Have sufficient quantity of good quality, wholesome food and clean, fresh water.
Provide shelter that has four sides, a roof, floor and bedding. The shelter must be of sufficient size to permit the animal to stand up and turn around inside when fully grown and allow retention of body heat. The shelter shall be placed to provide shade from the sun and protection from the weather.
Arrange for regular and sufficient veterinary care to prevent suffering and maintain health.
MUST NOT
Beat, cruelly treat, torment, starve, overwork or otherwise abuse an animal.
Abandon any animal where it may suffer injury, hunger or exposure.
Confine any animal in a motor vehicle in such a manner that places it in a life- or health-threatening situation by prolonged exposure to extreme heat or cold or without proper ventilation.
Around the area
The number of neglected animals seized by area authorities the past two-plus years:
Vermillion County
2014: 55
2015: 86
2016: 16
Douglas County
2014: 1
2015: 2
2016: 7
Urbana County
2014: 21
2015: 9
2016: 1
Mahomet County
2014: 1
2015: 2
2016: 0
Note: Champaign County Animal Control reported 60 welfare calls from 2014-16 but none resulted in the impoundment of animals. Neither Ford nor Piatt County has an animal control department.
(News Gazette - March 27, 2016)
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