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Police charge Deerfield woman with animal cruelty
Updated: February 26, 2013 8:21PM
DEERFIELD — Deerfield resident Debra Jaffe, 42, was charged Sunday, Feb. 24 with aggravated animal cruelty after police found two dogs in her excrement-filled home on the 800 block of Chestnut Street.
One West Highland White Terrier mix was dead and the other showed “obvious signs of dehydration and malnutrition,” Deerfield police said.
The original complaint about the condition of the dogs was filed Nov. 1, stating that Jaffe was thought to have moved away months ago, police said.
Officers could see floors filled with feces through a window, as well as the two white dogs, one which appeared dead, according to the police report.
Officers called the fire department for assistance to open the locked front door, and once inside found “the smell overwhelming from the urine and feces,” which were on the first floor, up the stairs and on the second floor, too, police said.
They could find no food or water for the pets, they added.
“The (living) dog hadn’t been cleaned or groomed in quite some time. The dog’s eyes were almost completely closed from being dirty and infected,” police said.
“The dog’s coat was overgrown and knotted, and appeared to be stained with feces and urine.”
Police took both dogs to a veterinary clinic, where “Sidney” was bathed, most of his hair shaved off and his eyes flushed.
Nothing could be done for “Joey.”
Police charged Jaffe, whose last known address was 818 Chestnut in Deerfield, with eight counts of cruelty and neglect.
She was accused of “intentionally committing the act that caused a companion animal’s death,” and failure to provide a sufficient amount of good food and water for the pair, according to the police report.
Palatine police stopped Jaffe about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, because of an alleged traffic code violation and discovered she was wanted on a warrant by Deerfield police.
She posted a $1,000 cash bond and is to appear at 9 a.m. March 13 in the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan.
