Lake County keeps quiet on the fate of seized dogs

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - One year after Lake County authorities charged an unregistered dog breeder with animal cruelty, the fate of more than 70 seized animals remains unclear.

The Post-Tribune reports that officials in Lake County refuse to offer specifics about what happened to the dogs, citing a gag order issued in the criminal case against breeder Steve Rajcinoski.

Lake County officials said all dogs that were put up for adoption have new homes.

But the sheriff's office denied records requests that would shed light on the matter. And officials won't say if they were adopted by individuals, distributed to rescues or given out by other means.

It's also unclear which organizations were involved in finding new homes, how much people might have paid to adopt the dogs or how many survived.

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Information from: Post-Tribune, http://posttrib.chicagotribune.com/