The hundreds of animals being housed at the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport and at Ollie’s Parrot Perch in Creston are now officially property of the TAILS Humane Society.

Barbara Munroe, the Rochelle woman accused of animal hoarding, agreed to give custody over to TAILS in an unexpected move.

The Lee County State’s Attorney Office filed a petition last week to have Munroe pay for care of the animals. Munroe did not object.

“I was so relieved,” said Carolyn Law, public relations director of TAILS. “It was really the best case scenario to move forward with the adoptions.”

Overall, about 160 cats, 106 dogs, and 35 birds will be eligible for adoption as soon as next week.

Standard practice for taking in animals is to have them under TAILS supervision for two weeks, Law said.

TAILS veterinarians will conduct spay and neuter surgeries this week as well as assess the animals’ dental conditions.

“The bad living conditions have left a lot of the animals with bad teeth,” Law said.

In addition to poor dental hygiene, some of the animals have upper respiratory infections which must be treated before the animals are put up for adoption.

The TAILS board of directors is formulating a plan to make the adoption process go as smoothly as possible, Law said.

Right now, there are more requests for adoption than animals available, but TAILS encourages interested parties to visit their own shelter, as there are plenty more animals available besides the ones taken from Munroe’s home.

The birds, which are being treated and supervised in Creston at Ollie’s Parrot Perch, could become adoptable as early as this Monday.

Munroe was arrested Oct. 12 at her home outside of Rochelle and is facing 10 misdemeanor charges related to animal cruelty.

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