Two north-central Iowa men are charged with animal cruelty after police found 43 puppies in a parked vehicle earlier this week in Chicago. Law enforcement officials observed a suspicious vehicle around 7 A.M. in the Little Village neighborhood.
An officer heard loud barking coming from the back of the vehicle and found dozens of dogs in cramped containers, without sufficient food or water. Twenty-two-year-old Travis Wester and 49-year-old Larry Subject, both of Britt, were arrested and each charged with one misdemeanor count of failing to meet animal owner duties, plus 43 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals.
A Cook County Circuit Court Judge has ordered the pair to be held on $10,000 bail. Wester and Subject are scheduled to be back in court February 16th.
Chicago’s Department of Animal Care and Control is assisting with the investigation and took custody of the puppies.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City