Suburban Chicago duo charged in starving deaths of 2 dogs

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP) - A suburban Chicago man and woman face felony cruelty to animals charges for allegedly starving two of their dogs to death and dumping one of the bodies in a drainage ditch and the other in a field.

DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin's office said in a news release that 19-year-old Sarah Gorski and 27-year-old Andre Norris have also been charged with misdemeanor counts of the unlawful disposal of an animal and a felony count of forgery that alleges the pair forged pay stubs from an area pet store where Norris once worked.

In addition to the animal-related counts, Norris and Gorski were charged with one felony count of forgery. Naperville police allege the pair forged paystubs from Norris' former employer, Petland.

The investigation began last month with the discovery in a Naperville drainage ditch of a dead German shepherd wrapped in a sheet, Berlin's office said. The animal weighed 20 pounds, which was about 50 pounds less than an adult German shepherd should weigh.

That discovery led authorities to the Hoffman Estates home of Gorski and Norris, where they found an emaciated dog, too weak to walk and its body covered with sores. That dog has received medical treatment and is expected to survive.

Investigators later found another dead dog, a corgi, wrapped in a sheet in a field.

The remains of the dead animals were taken to the University of Illinois Veterinary School, where examinations revealed that both had been starved to death and the German shepherd also had been poisoned.

Gorski and Norris were both booked into DuPage County Jail. Gorski posted bond and was released and Norris remained in custody on Wednesday. Gorski does not have a listed phone number and could not be reached for comment. The two are scheduled to appear in court on June 1.