Hoffman Estates woman gets 3 years in prison for starving two dogs to death, mistreating another
A Hoffman Estates woman was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for mistreating her dogs so badly that two of them died of starvation.
Sarah M. Gorski, 21, of the 1700 block of Queensbury Circle, pleaded guilty in February to three counts of aggravated cruelty to animals.
In March 2020, Naperville police and animal-control officers were called to a recreational trail to investigate a dead German shepherd. The dog, named both Melodias and Otis, was wrapped in a bedsheet in a storage container in a wooded area.
He weighed about 20 pounds, 50 pounds less than normal. Authorities learned he belonged to Gorski and Andre Norris, 29, who lived in Naperville at the time.
Investigators found they also owned dogs named Scooby and Bubba. Scooby, a German shepherd/hound mix, was in a rusted dog crate filled with feces, blood and urine. He weighed about 20 pounds, could not walk, had "massive" sores and was severely emaciated.
Bubba, a Pembroke corgi, had died, been wrapped in a sheet and left in a field.
Melodias died of canine parvovirus, starvation and ingestion of rat poison, and Bubba starved to death.
Gorski and Norris had received a certificate for a free parvovirus immunization when they got Melodias but never got him the shot.
The couple told authorities they couldn't afford veterinary care. But they had several large-screen TVs, had recently bought a car and were spending up to $300 a week on marijuana, according to police.
Norris, who lived at the same Hoffman Estates address, pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to three years in prison.
"Simply put, with Sarah Gorski and Andre Norris responsible for their well-being, Otis and Bubba never stood a chance," State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a news release. "After living in deplorable conditions, they both suffered horrible, painful and unnecessary deaths after suffering through heartbreaking lives."
Gorski will have to serve at least half her sentence.