Dogs in hot van in Palatine were 'suffocating,' vet testifies
A Cook County judge ruled Tuesday nine surviving dogs found overheated in crates in a van must be forfeited by their owner.
Two of the animals died after authorities say Griselda Martinez attempted to transport 11 dogs in 90-degree heat in stacked crates in a van without air conditioning from her Round Lake home to Streater on Aug. 16.
"This is what it is to be cooked," said Dr. Christina M. McCratic, an emergency veterinarian at Golf Rose Animal Hospital in Schaumburg, who testified Palatine police brought the animals, most of them bulldogs and French bulldogs, to Golf Rose that evening suffering from heatstroke.
"The fact we have 11 dogs in this condition is beyond coincidence," said Judge Joseph Cataldo, who terminated Martinez's ownership rights and ordered the dogs be adopted, not euthanized.
An attorney for Martinez said she and her boyfriend were trying to fix their vehicle's air conditioning and stopped at a Palatine auto parts store to purchase coolant. The boyfriend was working under the hood and the back doors of the van were open when a Palatine officer spotted the dogs in crates, police said. As the officer approached, police say Martinez attempted to close the doors.
McCratic estimated a male French bulldog that died had a body temperature of at least 108 degrees, even after officers attempted to cool him down. McCratic said the thermometer only registers to 108 degrees and anything higher is "incompatible with life."
"They were in essence suffocating," McCratic said of the dogs, whose breed is known for respiratory problems that make them unable to cool themselves.
Police said some dogs were two or three to a crate. Only one crate had a water bottle, which was one-quarter full. The survivors remain at Golf Rose undergoing treatment.
McCratic noted all the animals had untreated ear and skin infections and some had untreated congenital defects. Their skin and coats showed prolonged exposure to urine and excrement, she said. None were spayed or neutered.
"There is zero evidence my client is a breeder ... There's no proof she's some type of puppy mill," said defense attorney Gregg L. Smith, who suggested the dogs were under a veterinarian's care.
"This defendant must be the unluckiest person in the world," if not one of her 11 dogs responded to treatment, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Maria McCarthy. "These dogs were in obvious distress ... had the officer not stopped, who knows what would have happened."
Martinez has been charged with one count of felony animal cruelty and 11 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty.
She next appears in court on Sept. 11.