Arrested animal sanctuary owner thanks authorities for intervening
BY MICHAEL DRAKULICH mdrakulich@southtownstar.com February 11, 2011 5:36PM
Animals are removed from Dazzle's Painted Pastures at 5555 W. 175th Street near Tinley Park Friday, February 11, 2011. Brett Roseman ~ Sun-Times Media
Updated: January 23, 2012 12:28AM
A Tinley Park woman who ran a popular animal rescue sanctuary in an unincorporated area near the village was charged with multiple counts of neglect and cruelty to animals, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said Saturday.
Dawn Hamill, 41, was charged late Friday with eight counts of neglect of owner’s duties and two counts of cruel treatment after investigators found more than 100 animals on her property, many of them malnourished or already dead, Dart said in a news release.
Cook County animal control authorities on Friday removed dozens of animals from Dazzle’s Painted Pastures, 5555 W. 175th St., which is owned by Hamill and her husband Patrick. Officials filled one trailer with three horses, four goats and two sheep. Several also loaded two Animal Welfare League vans and a Cook County animal control truck with cats and small dogs.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Police Animal Crimes Unit began investigating after receiving tips that conditions at the sanctuary had deteriorated, Dart said. After conducting surveillance, officers obtained a search warrant on Friday. Investigators found animals living in barns, trailers and sheds that often were unheated, and the animals were without food and water. They also found a dead miniature horse and a dead cat.
Over five hours, officials removed 63 dogs, 31 cats and six rabbits and seized a total of 30 horses, ponies, sheep, goats and llamas, the news release said.
After Hamill’s arrest Friday, she thanked investigators for intervening, according to the news release. She is to appear in court March 11 in Markham.
Several calls placed to Dawn Hamill’s home and cell phones Friday were not returned. Hamill’s operation was known for taking in animals of all sorts.
Terry Sparks, a spokeswoman for the Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge, said her agency was accepting animals from Hamill’s facility but could not confirm how many.
Hooved Animal Rescue and Protection Society founder Donna Ewing said her organization was asked to take in 17 horses from Dazzle’s but declined because the horses had not yet been examined by a veterinarian. Ewing said authorities told her at least one horse had died and that several dogs on the property had contracted the parvovirus, which can attack a dog’s cardiac system or intestinal tract.
Ewing said authorities need to enforce rules and regulations for animal care more stringently. She also said the licensing process for establishing a rescue operation needs to be more thorough.
“Basically, anyone or anything can open a shelter today,” she said.
Neighbors said the Hamills lived in their house about 10 years.
Dawn Hamill had been looking for other locations for extra space to accommodate the volume of work her organization does. In October 2009, she appeared ready to buy Forest View Farms, a 20-acre farm at 16717 S. Lockwood Ave. in Oak Forest. But the $2.6 million asking price proved to be too steep, she said at the time.
In May, Hamill said she was looking at possible locations in Monee.
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