Van had 43 dead cats, birds, squirrels and other animals
Forty-three dead animals, mostly cats, but also including birds, squirrels, opossums, a muskrat and other species, were found in a van this week outside the home of a 60-year-old Elgin man, according to court documents.
William C. Tinkler, of the 200 block of Villa Street, is due in court on Nov. 2 on misdemeanor animal cruelty charges.
Authorities also are moving to have him forfeit the four female cats that were seized from his home; a hearing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Elgin branch court, records show.
Tinkler, who is free on bond while has case is pending, has declined to comment. His phone was disconnected Friday. But officials have said he is cooperating with the investigation and has agreed to clean the home.
A hearing is set for next Thursday for a judge to hear the state’s petition to have Tinkler forfeit four spayed adult female cats that were removed from the home this week. Two dead opossums also were recovered from the home, court records show.
The cats are being cared for at the Golf Rose Animal Hospital in Schaumburg, records indicate. Charles Bulson, the hospital’s business manager, said Friday that all four cats have been treated for fleas and are on a 14-day antibiotic cycle for relatively common respiratory infection.
The cats don’t appear to show any signs of abuse and act as other cats normally would act in group setting, Bulson said. Three of the cats, a tabby, a black and white, and a tortoise shell, are estimated to be 3 to 8 years old and another black and white is an estimated 10 to 12 years old, he said.
“The cats appear to be healthy other than the respiratory infection and age-related weight factors,” said Bulson, who said people who call (847) 885-2122 will be put on a list and if a court takes the cats away from Tinkler, Golf Rose officials will work to find a match.
“We’ve got 70 to 80 other cats here that are looking for a good home,” Bulson said. “Our job is to take care of the cats until a court decides (Tinkler) can take them home or we have to care for them.”
According to court records, Tinkler does not have any previous cases of animal mistreatment or criminal charges against him in Kane County.
He was, however, cited by Elgin authorities on Dec. 20, 2006, for violating a local ordinance for a “dog at large.” After a March 2007 bench trial, he was found guilty and fined $250.
Tinkler, acting as his own attorney, appealed the guilty verdict, arguing to an appellate panel that the circuit judge allowed false testimony from an Elgin police officer and that the dog belonged to his neighbor, records show.
The appellate panel rejected Tinkler’s claims and upheld the guilty verdict and fine in a January 2008 ruling.