Lemont man faces charges after animals found in squalor
BY STEVE METSCH smetsch@southtownstar.com December 15, 2011 6:44PM
A dog is tied to a post in a run-down, junk-filled building in Palos Park, where a Lemont man was treating several animals inhumanely, police said. | Supplied photo
Updated: January 17, 2012 8:28AM
A 49-year-old Lemont man faces several charges, including cruelty to animals, after police found dogs, rabbits, pigs and goats in inhumane conditions in a barn in Palos Park, police said.
Officials recovered four dogs, four goats, eight rabbits and five pigs, police said. The area was filled with feces, and there was little if any food or water for the animals.
Jozef Maka, of 13370 Fox Hill Drive in Lemont, rented the barn, Palos Park Police Chief Joe Miller said Thursday. Maka also is charged with failure to get rabies shots for animals, failure to clean up feces and having unsafe living conditions, police said.
Police were alerted late Sunday by a nearby resident who heard strange noises and noticed a foul smell coming from the barn, Miller said.
Charges may be levied against the barn’s owner, said Miller, who was appalled by the conditions found there.
“It was freezing in there. No heat or electricity. The animals have vision problems from always being in the dark. They had no social skills since they haven’t been interacting with human beings,” Miller said.
The animals, which were taken to the Animal Welfare League, had assorted infections, he said.
“Some of them have to be put down because of the extent of their injuries or the lack of social skills,” Miller said.
