Did Cook County Sheriff Forget About Dog at Foreclosed Home?

When people abandon a foreclosed home, they leave a lot behind. Hopes and dreams for one. A mundane assortment of household items. Even damage, as fists and feet batter walls, cupboards and windows on the way out the door.

Two men walked out on a foreclosed home in Worth earlier this month and left behind a German shepherd.

The dog was inside a filthy garage in the 11200 block of Worth Avenue when Cook County sheriff’s deputies padlocked the property on July 13. Temperatures that week reached the upper 80s. Inside a locked garage, the temperature inside could have soared well past 100 degrees.

After two days, a neighbor heard the dog barking and called Worth police.

“The eviction officers who locked up the house left her in the garage without food or water,” neighbor Cynthia Villanueva told the Chicago Tribune. “How could anyone that was locking down a house for an eviction leave without taking the dog out?

“You could hear her barking continually. ... I just don’t understand how this happened.”

There are conflicting stories about whether the deputies notified Cook County Animal Control. A sheriff’s department spokeswoman said a call was made that day, but Animal Control says there’s no record of a request for anyone to get the dog.

Neighbors say the dog lived a miserable life while in the care of the two men. Her snout was often cut because the men forced the dog to eat from a can. She’s now recuperating at the Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge and may soon be up for adoption.

more via the Chicago Tribune