Cruelty charges for dog breeder

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AMBOY – A longtime dog breeder, convicted 3 years ago of animal cruelty, now faces felony charges after Lee County Animal Control discovered several dogs in poor condition on her rural Amboy property.

One dog was dead.

Sheri Thompson, 45, 18 W. Main St., is charged with two felony counts of cruel treatment to animals, punishable by 1 to 3 years in prison. She also is charged with 5 counts of violation of owner’s duties and operating a kennel without a license, a misdemeanor.

The criminal complaint, filed Wednesday in Lee County Circuit Court, alleges that Thompson did not properly feed the dogs; starved a female puppy; allowed one dog to roam freely on the property; and failed to provide adequate shelter and protection from the weather.

Cruelty to animals usually is a misdemeanor. Lee County prosecutors bumped the charges up to a felony because of Thompson’s previous conviction, said Lee County Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Gerken, who is prosecuting the case.

Thompson turned herself in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Department Friday morning and was released later after posting a $500 bond. She has a preliminary hearing Nov. 4.

Lee County Animal Control received several complaints last month that animals were being mistreated at Thompson’s 10-acre property at 1062 Inlet Road, where several outdoor kennels are set up, Animal Control Supervisor Bonnie Baxter said.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Department and Animal Control searched the property and found three Labrador puppies, five adult females and three males.

It is illegal to have five or more fertile female dogs on a property, and county zoning ordinances prohibit private kennels from having more than four dogs older than 4 months.

Baxter said Thompson was breeding and selling the dogs.

A dead puppy was found, one of the Labs was roaming the property, and two dogs were in wire cages that did not have a proper roof. Three horses and a pony were in good condition, Baxter said.

Animal Control took the puppies and a pregnant Siberian Husky to the Dixon Veterinary Hospital for treatment. Baxter declined to describe the condition of the animals, but said she “wished we had gotten there sooner.”

The remaining animals, who were in good condition, were removed from the property by Thompson, Baxter said. She was not sure where Thompson took them, she added.

Prosecutors are considering asking a judge to force Thompson to forfeit the animals, Gerken said.

Right now, though, the main priority is the condition of the animals.

“Action needed to be taken for the welfare of the animals,” Gerken said. “We want to determine whether the animals in this case survive or not. Unfortunately, in this case, one of them did not.”

This is not the first time Thompson has wrangled with Lee County prosecutors about the condition of her dogs and kennels.

In 2006, Thompson pleaded guilty to two counts of animal cruelty and operating a kennel without a license, all misdemeanors, and was given a year’s probation.

According to court documents, she allowed her dogs to roam freely on the Inlet Road property and had more than 5 fertile female dogs.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture also investigated Thompson for selling puppies infected with parvo, an often fatal virus that can be spread by contact with fluids from an infected dog.

Those charges were later dropped as part of her plea agreement.

Several months after she pleaded guilty in Lee County, the American Kennel Club’s management disciplinary committee suspended Thompson from the organization privileges for 10 years and imposed a $2,000 fine.

Nearly a decade before that, the committee banned Thompson from breeding cocker spaniels and collies for 10 years after she refused to allow an inspection of her records and practices.

During a brief hearing Friday, prosecutors also filed a petition to order Thompson to pay the county for the costs of caring for the seized dogs. That petition will be heard Friday.

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