PEOTONE, Ill., March 2 (UPI) -- Police in Illinois seized 49 dogs from a dog breeder who allegedly kept them crammed into cages in an unheated shed.
The alleged puppy mill was located in Peotone, a rural town about 40 miles south of Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday. The dogs included Yorkshire terriers, Chihuahuas, Pomeranians and poodles.
The South Suburban Humane Society sparked the investigation after a purchaser said a dog from Phoebee's Puppies had been sick. Investigators from the Cook County sheriff's office went to the business in Will County and fund the owner to be cooperative, the report said.
The dogs were taken to the PAWS animal shelter in Tinley Park.
"It's heartbreaking," said Ruby Wilson, a shelter volunteer. "They're starved for attention. They were all very hungry."
Investigators said as many as seven dogs were in a single cage. A space heater provided the only heat in the shed.
