Lemont Animal Rescue Trying To Re-Rescue Stolen Boxer Puppies

LEMONT, IL — The owners of a Lemont animal rescue facility find themselves attempting to re-rescue two puppies who they said were stolen by a person who expressed interest in fostering the dogs, only to now say the shelter will never see the pups again.

Lisa Steck, who is the pet fostering coordinator at the Ruby Whiskers Rescue, told Patch on Thursday that two female boxer mix puppies named Laila and Holly were picked up last month by a woman who had applied to foster the puppies.

As a foster, no fees are paid by the person taking the pets in and the animal shelter covers all vet costs, along with providing the foster parents with all they need to care for the animals. But after the woman, who is not being named by Patch, was approved as a foster parent, Steck said she learned that one of the puppies suffered a possible broken leg.

The foster parents said in a text message this week that if Steck tried to regain possession of the pups, she wouldn’t like the outcome, especially if the police became involved, Steck said Thursday.

Steck said the new foster parent changed the dogs’ names to Micky and Mylei and has told her in text messages that she has no intention of returning the dogs. Steck said when she contacted the police, she was told nothing could be done because the issue was civil, not criminal.

Now, Steck is hoping the foster pet parent, who lives near Bloomington-Normal, will do the right thing and allowed the two boxer pups to get the care they need.

“What’s not fair is that the dogs need treatment,” Steck told Patch. “Yeah, we can go ahead and OK treatment for the dogs, but for what? For them to just keep taking the dogs back? If they really cared about the dogs’ best interest, they would give the dogs back to the rescue.”

Steck said Ruby Whiskers had previously sent the foster family medicine after being told the pups were sick after initially providing them with a kennel and food. But after the foster parent said that one of her kids accidentally fell on the puppy and injured the pup’s leg, the shelter offered to help the family seek veterinary care for the dog.

That’s when things turned ugly, Steck said.

In a text message this week, the foster parent told Steck that she didn’t have any right to take the puppies back. She also said not to bother showing up with the police because she is not legally obligated to give the dogs back since she has a fostering agreement with the shelter. The woman has told Steck she cannot afford to pay for vet care and cannot afford the adoption fee for the pups, which is $500 per dog.

The woman was scheduled to see a veterinarian in Bloomington on Friday, but Steck said care cannot be given without the shelter’s consent. The vet, along with police in Bloomington and Normal as well as Bloomington animal control officers, have told Steck they do not wish to become involved in the matter.

Now, Steck said the shelter will need to sue the woman to regain possession of the pups, who were rescued from Kentucky. Ruby Whiskers was founded just more than a year ago by Kim Arias and Violet Vrsek and is a not-for-profit organization that rescues pets from neighboring states.

The foster parents met officials from Ruby Whiskers at the transport facility in Batavia in January and everything seemed to be fine, Steck said. But now, it’s clear to Steck that the foster parents never had the intention of living up to the foster agreement and just wanted free puppies. She said she believes the foster family wanted the rescue to pay all of the vet fees with the intent of keeping the dogs.

The owner said she was given the dogs to care for and that is what she is doing and that she hasn't stolen anything. Now, Steck is unsure what will happen next. Steck said that this is the first time anything like this has happened to the shelter since it was founded.

“We’re trying to get the right thing done,” Steck told Patch on Thursday. "We're hoping these people get a conscience and return the puppies to the rescue."