Pet rescue, cleanup to cost $5,000
BY SAM SMITH
SVN REPORTER
ssmith@svnmail.com
The estimated cost of managing one of the worst animal hoarding cases in Illinois history came in Wednesday at $5,000, significantly less than Lee County officials feared last month after they seized 230 diseased and malnourished pets from the now-condemned home of a rural Rochelle woman.
The relatively low price tag is good news for taxpayers, said Andrew Bollman, assistant Lee County state's attorney.
The county provided shelter for Barbara Munroe's 106 dogs, 160 cats and 31 domestic birds, using public and private kennels and shelters, after her arrest Oct. 12. Several animals required extensive veterinary care.
Munroe has pleaded not guilty to 10 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and not caring for her pets; she has a pretrial conference
Nov. 30.
Much of the savings came from a combination of volunteer help, state grants and the fact that Munroe's medical bills no longer are the county's responsibility, Bollman said.
Patient privacy laws prevent him from saying where Munroe is being treated, but she no longer is in Lee County, Bollman said.
Other costs included a mass extermination of rats on Munroe's five-acre Mulligan Road property. The infestation should be eliminated by Dec. 1, said Tim Trader, director of the Department of Environmental Health.
A decision on whether to demolish Munroe's home is months away, because the department hasn't talked much about it yet, Trader said.
Reach Sam Smith at (815) 625-3600 or (800) 798-4085, ext. 525.
