Man gets probation after 84 dogs found in his Champaign home

URBANA, Ill. (AP) - A central Illinois man has been sentenced to probation and ordered not to possess any animals one year after officials seized more than 80 dogs living in deplorable conditions inside his home.

A Champaign County judge sentenced Mark Richards, 61, on Wednesday to one year of probation - the same sentence the judge imposed in August on Richards' wife, Wendy Richards, 55.

Both had pleaded guilty to failure to provide humane care and treatment of animals, a Class B misdemeanor.

Those charges stemmed from the October 2019 discovery of 84 dogs, many of them pregnant, inside the Champaign couple's home, which was filled with layers of feces and debris, The News-Gazette reported.

A dozen of those canines had to be euthanized but homes have been found for the others, said Stephanie Joos, Champaign County's animal-control director.

The number of dogs that had to be cared for while the court case was pending grew to more than 120 after many of the canines gave birth. The county's bill for dealing with the animals topped $37,000, Joos said.