More than 200 people lined up outside the Anti-Cruelty Society Monday morning in hopes of adopting one of the small "designer" dogs rescued from a South Side puppy mill last week.
Simone Irizarry was among them. She said she always wanted what she calls a "fu fu dog," so when she saw a news story about purebred dogs being rescued from deplorable conditions in a South Side home, she thought it was her chance.
Irizarry said she had her eye on a pomeranian, a dog to "take it everywhere" in her designer Nicole Lee bag.
But, she wasn't among the lucky few who actually got one of the eight puppies the Anti-Cruelty Society made available. Those who got of the pups had waited in Monday's chilly morning air for hours. Those who didn't left disappointed, if not pissed off.
"It was supposed to be first come first serve," said Stacy Sims, who left the shelter without the bichon frise she had set her heart on.
It's all well and good that a raid on a puppy mill sparked such an interest in adopting the dogs -- but what about the thousands of other animals that sit in shelters around the city, waiting for a home? One has to wonder if people who showed up hoping for a pure breed and left without a dog at all really had the animal's interests at heart, or just wanted a pretty accessory.
The Raid
Local
On Tuesday, agents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Cook County Sheriff's Office and the Chicago Police Department seized 67 puppies from a home in the 6400 block of South Bell Avenue.
Following Tuesday's raid, Demetria Newell, 38, of the Bell Avenue address, was charged with 67 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. Another resident, David Hayes, 37, was charged with felony possession of marijuana after a Ziploc bag full was found during the search, authorities said. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said a 9 mm semi-automatic weapon was also recovered inside the filthy home.
The Anti-Cruelty Society, 157 W. Grand Ave., received 13 of the dogs from the Chicago Animal Care & Control Facility, according to a news release on its Web site. After being bathed and examined, the shelter determined that eight of the pups would be suitable for adoption.
The remaining of the initial 67 dogs were sent to other private animal shelters, including the Animal Welfare League, PAWS and the Hinsdale Humane Society, where the healthy ones will also be put up for adoption soon.
