PLEASE PLEASE take the time to read this entire post and PLEASE pass it on. This has been one of my big complaints about rescues is that they are accepted as oh were saving so many dogs when too many times this is not true. Not only are MANY rescues profit driven, but they actually can be fraudulent shell companies to make money. Many so called rescues are actually for profit pet sellers. They claim to be rescuing dogs but in reality they are taking dogs in cahoots with those who are turning in innocent owners and flipping them. There are legitimate rescue organizations. However, all of them are not. Some do a great deal of good. Some do not. Any time someone makes money on boarding rescue dogs or moving rescue dogs or selling them you better look not twice but several times. What I am posting in below is happening right now in Illinois. It could be you next. The Waukegan Puppy Caper by Sheila Kessler. On the day before Christmas Eve, a dog owner was arrested for illegally breeding dogs. Visions of too many dogs in rusty crates, dog feces and matted fur come to mind when one hears of an arrest of a dog breeder, but Mr. and Mrs. Bass of Waukegan Illinois have one dog and she had a litter of puppies. The dog and puppies in question were healthy and well cared for pure breed bull dogs and the condition of the Bass home was certainly not the circumstances the ordinance was designed to prevent, the unscrupulous breeding of dogs in inhumane conditions. The mother lived with the family as a house pet. The puppies were being raised in the kitchen with tons of attention by the family, including the children. They had been taken to the vet for their six week check-up the day before Lt. Kelly of the Waukegan police department knocked on Mr. Bass’ door pretending to be a puppy buyer. Unbeknownst to this couple, the city of Waukegan Ill, where this couple and their children live, has an ordinance prohibiting breeding a dog and selling puppies without first obtaining a license from the chief of police. The offense is punishable by a fine of $750 plus $200.00 for each puppy sold in violation of the ordinance. It also allows for the impounding of animals “used” in violation of this law. If the animals are impounded, they cannot be returned to their owners according to this ordinance. On December 23rd, 2014, Lt. Cory Kelly went to the Bass home pretending to be a potential puppy buyer based on a tip they received from a “concerned citizen” we believe is connected to an organization called Wags to Wishes based in Joliett Ill. This person was with Lt. Kelly when she came to the Bass home and according to Mrs. Bass her picture is on the Wags to Wishes facebook page. Lt Kelly reviewed a sales contract, answered the questions about the suitability of her home and offered the couple money for a puppy. It was a sting operation that went down like a drug bust. After putting the money on the kitchen table, Lt. Kelly arrested the dog’s owner. I researched whether or not a police officer can use criminal procedures like arrest for violations of municipal ordinances that have no companion state criminal statute. The answer is no. I called the Waukegan Police Department today and interviewed Lt. Kelly. I asked her under what authority she arrested this man. Her response was he committed a criminal act, a petti offense. The laws of Illinois allow home rule and municipalities, like Waukegan, may enact ordinances to further the purposes of the city in keeping the peace and protecting its citizens. The dog breeding law is one such ordinance. There is no penalty of incarceration and it is NOT a crime. The Illinois Supreme Court held in a 2005 decisions that; Municipal ordinance violations do not fall within the definition of an offense under either the Criminal Code of 1961 (see 720 ILCS 5/2 — 12 (West 2002)) or the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (725 ILCS 5/102 — 15 The City of Champaign v Torres, 2005, 291 Ill.Dec.768, 214Ill.2d 324, 824 N.E.2d 624. Lt. Kelly had no legal authority to arrest Mr. Bass. This was not a criminal offense or one authorizing arrest under State Law. Mr. Bass did NOT commit any crime. At the most, he inadvertently violated a civil ordinance. I attempted to correct Lt. Kelly and her response was to ask me if she was on trial. Unfortunately illegally arresting a citizen for a fine only ordinance isn’t a constitutional violation according to the U.S. Supreme Court, but I certainly hope that Mr. Bass lets her know about how that violation harmed him, embarrassed him in front of his children and caused him emotional distress. I assumed that if Lt. Kelly would use the extreme police measure of deprivation of liberty to enforce an ordinance of failing to pay a $25.00 licensing fee, I wasn’t surprised she decided to impound the puppies that were worth more than Ten Thousand dollars. When asked to comment on this she said, “He (Mr. Bass) was told about the ordinance and had the opportunity to relinquish the dogs, which he did.” She claimed it was voluntary. I wonder how voluntary a relinquishment it is when you are being arrested and detained without authority. As a practical matter, “Voluntary” is no longer a viable option when you are in handcuffs. One would think that if the puppies had value, the City of Waukegan would want to receive the benefit of the acquisition. Apparently that isn’t the case since the valuable assets taken from a citizen of the community were given away to a private rescue organization 70 miles away in another county. Not only did the City of Waukegan fail to receive any benefit from the acquisition of assets valued at more than Ten Thousand dollars, no governmental agency or private agency in Lake County received the benefit, Wags to Wishes, an orginzation with questionable ties to this whole debacle profitted. Lt. Kelly insists she didn’t have any personal connection to this rescue organization before this case. For a stranger, it was sure a big gift from the city or should we say Lt. Kelly. This is a case of government overreach and apparently Lt. Kelly holds Mr. Bass to a higher standard of knowing the law than she holds herself. When Lt. Kelly got in that house and saw the clean conditions and the healthy animals, she had the option to tell Mr. Bass about the ordinance and give him an opportunity to comply rather than an “opportunity” to relinquish his puppies and face prosecution. That is what “protect and serve” is all about. Nobody and nothing, especially those puppies, were protected in this case. The citizens of Waukegan would have been greatly served by an educational moment here. As it is, the only one served is Wags to Wishes, the organization to which Lt. Kelly so graciously gave the valuable puppies. Also please read the following article yankee-shelties/retail-rescue.html
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 13:46:41 +0000
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