Dirt and debris covered the walls and floor of a suburban home where more than 70 dogs were rescued by police this week, photos show.
Images of the inside of a now-condemned home on the 800 block of McCarthy Road in Lemont provided to NBC Chicago by local animal rescue Ruby Whiskers shows grime covering the floors and walls and debris littered about.
Several filthy plastic bins line one of the walls and appear to have been used as make-shift beds for the roughly 76 dogs that were removed from the property.
Kim Arius, who owns Ruby Whiskers Animal Rescue, said her eyes and throat started burning from the stench inside the home. Her rescue is taking three of the dogs in, including one that is believed to be pregnant.
The dogs were removed after Lemont police officers found them living in crowded and unsafe conditions while executing a search warrant of the property owned by 58-year-old Andrew Malak related to a Firearms Restraining Order, authorities said.
Several agencies, including Lemont police, Cook County Animal Control, the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Animal Cruelty Unit and numerous other animal control departments, worked together to remove the dozens of dogs.
Three firearms were also recovered, and Malak was arrested and charged with several counts of animal cruelty and felony weapons charges, according to police.
“I had no idea there were that many, I was thinking twenty or thirty. They were spread out everywhere, inside the garage, the yard, the bushes, they were everywhere,” Arius said.
Another local rescue taking in some of the dogs, Many Paws Global Rescue, shared a fundraiser on social media in a plea for help rehousing and rehabilitating the rescued pets.
“I’m asking our community to come together for dogs who desperately need our help. Last night, our rescue received a call asking us to help save dogs from a heartbreaking hoarding situation in Lemont, Illinois,” the rescue said in the post. “These dogs have a long road ahead of them. They will need medical evaluations, veterinary treatment, rehabilitation, and lots of love and patience to help them heal and begin a new chapter in their lives.”
