A Champaign man was sentenced to a year of probation with orders not to have any animal possession after city officials found dozens of dogs living in unhealthy conditions in his home.
Mark Richards, 61, of the 1300 block of West Springfield Avenue, was sentenced Wednesday on the same charges his wife, 55-year-old Wendy Richards, had been charged with. She received the same sentence earlier, on Aug. 24.
Both pleaded guilty to a Class B misdemeanor charge of failure to provide humane care and treatment of animals. Authorities found more than 80 dogs in their home last October.
Complaints about too many dogs at the Richards address had been called in. Champaign County Animal Control responded, and the worker noticed a feces stench. She heard a lot of dogs inside when she knocked, but there was no answer.
Mark Richards came to the door when she was about to leave but would not say how many dogs were in the home, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Peter Su.
After obtaining a search warrant, police came back days later and found 84 dogs in varying physical condition. The dogs were running on layers of feces, debris and furniture remnants, officers said.
Richards negotiated a plea agreement with Su and Assistant Public Defender Michael Anderson after the first offense. Richards was to get a mental health evaluation and reimburse the county for the care of the dogs seized.
The bill cost Richards $37,000, according to Stephanie Joos, the county’s animal control director.
Joos said some of the dogs seized back in October were pregnant, leaving a total of more than 120 dogs living under these conditions by the time this case made it to court. A dozen of the dogs needed to be euthanized due to extreme health problems or aggression.