Lemont police found 76 dogs living in a home and garage on McCarthy Road on Thursday, and the homeowner now faces animal cruelty and weapons charges, police said.
Andrew Malak, 58, was charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty and felony weapons charges, police said. He was taken into custody without incident and later released. His next court date is Monday in Bridgeview. Police said three weapons were recovered from the property.
Officers went to the home in the 800 block of McCarthy Road in Lemont, Illinois, to execute a search warrant tied to a firearms restraining order issued by a Cook County judge. Before serving the warrant, police determined the number of dogs at the home posed safety concerns for officers and called in Cook County Animal Control and the Cook County Sheriff's Office's Animal Cruelty Unit. Police described the situation as a hoarding case.
Investigators said conditions inside were not livable. The house has been condemned.
Grundy County, Palos Hills, Bolingbrook and Evergreen Park animal control agencies and several local shelters helped remove the dogs.
Kim Arias, founder of Ruby Whiskers Animal Rescue, was among those who responded Thursday.
"You really couldn't breathe when you walked in," Arias said. She described covering her face with her shirt as her eyes and throat burned. Video showed at least a dozen dogs running around the backyard.
Arias said getting the animals out was nearly impossible.
"This was like chasing wild animals," she said.
She took in three dogs, which will go to foster homes and be available for adoption in the next few days. She said she is still concerned about pregnant dogs and possible puppies taken from the home, and about the dogs that still need care. The dogs "could have grown up differently," she said.
Neighbors say they have lived near the home for years with the problem. Myra Bertlang said she dealt with noise at all hours and, in the last month or so, a smell that was "horrendous," which she described as coming from dog feces. She said she had no idea 76 dogs were inside.
Bertlang said neighbors have asked the village for years to do something about the home. She said the village told her its "hands were tied" because no ordinance limits how many dogs a person can keep in a house. "They really need to get an emergency order so we don't have to deal with this," she said.
