More than a dozen dogs are now looking for families and forever homes after being rescued from an illegal dog fighting operation in Kankakee County.
The sheriff said a man in Pembroke Township was charged with 22 felony counts linked to the horrific investigation.
The staff at Kankakee County Animal Control is doing their best to care for 18 dogs brought in over the holiday weekend.
“It’s hard on us and our staff to see those dogs in that condition when we try to make the best of every dog that comes into our shelter,” said Kari Laird, Kankakee County Animal Control director.
The dogs were rescued from a property near 3000 South and 13700 East Road in Pembroke Township where investigators said the animals were tortured and used for illegal dog fighting.
“One had definite injuries to his face. The lip was pulled down, the gum was preceded from the gum line, so his whole tooth was exposed,” Laird explained. “A lot of them had scars that are consistent with dog fighting on their front legs, chest, their face, their head.”
The dogs include 15 pitbull mixes and three rottweilers ranging in age from 5 months old to 4 years old.
“It’s pretty bad when you see the situation out there,” Laird said. “It’s not the worst that we have seen unfortunately.”
The Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant early Friday morning and discovered the dogs. They found makeshift dog fighting pits, weighted training collars, spring poles, modified treadmills and other devices to stimulate aggressive prey.
Two people were charged in connection to the case: Billy Walker, 45, was charged with 22 felonies, including 18 counts for dog fighting, and Yachia Austin, 43, was booked for manufacturing and delivery of 400-900 grams of fentanyl and aggravated fleeing/eluding.
As Walker and Austin await their next day in court, the director said it’s only a matter of time before these dogs find their forever homes.
“We’ve done other dog fighting cases in the past and it’s nice to see those dogs go live in a high rise in Chicago and are wearing sweaters and living their best life and have backpacks; they go to school every day,” she said. “So our goal is to get those dogs, the dogs that we have here currently, adopted out and moved on to rescues so they can live their best life, a life that’s not chained up to a tree and fighting.”
Laird said the dogs will be assessed and transferred out to rescue partners in a couple of weeks. As for the man charged, the sheriff’s office said he was granted pre-trial release by a judge.
