Ricky's Rascals Animal Rescue, INC — Local services in Marengo

Harvard animal rescue's license revoked after owner misrepresents past felony convictions Ceasers Heaven owner changed name, Social Security number in 2000 By KATIE DAHLSTROM April 02, 2016 at 11:25 pm CDT HARVARD – The state has revoked a Harvard animal shelter's license after officials disagreed with her sentiment that she did not need to disclose she was a convicted felon because she had adopted a new identity. Angela Johnson, the owner of Ceasers Heaven animal rescue, was known by a different name in the early 1990s when she and her then-boyfriend were convicted of running a scam to bilk thousands of dollars from couples hoping to adopt her unborn child, according to reports obtained by the Northwest Herald under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. In a February administrative hearing, Johnson told Illinois Department of Agriculture officials she did not believe she needed to report her felony record from Lake County because she changed her name and Social Security number in 2000. Officials refuted her claim, revoking her license and ordering her to turn animals in her care over to McHenry County Animal Control. Johnson, 44, also is barred from holding an animal shelter license for a minimum of three years. More than a month after the state’s decision, Johnson said she stands by her application and decision to write “no” on the Aug. 29, 2013, application when it asked if she ever had been convicted of a felony. “When I changed everything, the Social Security Administration told me I was a new person,” Johnson said, adding, “Everything from before is gone.” Based on documentation contained in the complaint from the state’s agriculture department, Johnson, under her old name, was convicted of 13 felony counts, including fraud, theft and unlawful placement of an adopted child. Documents show she was sentenced to nine years in prison, but was eligible for parole after half that time. The Animal Welfare Act stipulates a felony conviction is considered when the department reviews an application, but does not bar someone from obtaining a license. Making false statements, however, is grounds for revocation under the law. Johnson said she had no intention of disclosing that history. She said a tip to the state agency about her criminal past was part of a “witch hunt” aimed at her. “The Department of Agriculture would have never known had somebody not called them because my name and Social Security number does not show up,” Johnson said regarding court records and convictions. February’s hearing was not Johnson’s first time facing formal discipline from the state agency. She was fined in 2013 for operating an animal shelter out of her Mundelein home without a license, documents show. She was fined $2,500 in February 2015 for failing to sterilize and/or microchip a golden retriever and keep adoption records. Inspector Mark Ballman in his report noted there had been “multiple violations in a short period of time.” Those violations and the felony convictions are small, Johnson said, compared with what she has done to improve the lives of thousands of dogs. “I think that in 24 years I have done good in life,” Johnson said. “I’ve done good things. Why do I need to be crucified? Is this fair to me and my family?” While she won't be able to run an animal rescue of her own, Johnson said she plans to continue helping other shelters by volunteering or fostering. She is helping a new pet store in Marengo by offering food and...

Back in June, we adopted a boxer from this “rescue”. From the very beginning, it was nothing but problems. He had a severe case of kennel cough that he gave to our other dogs, he had constant bloody diarrhea, giardia, and was not neutered. We were told he was perfectly healthy, less than two years old, and had no known behavioral issues. All of these things were a complete lie. In the 4 months we had him, we spent thousands of dollars on vet bills for testing and neutering and medications to try and get him better. Finally our vet was able to determine he had a chronic disease and would require weekly to biweekly injections, along with daily meds to keep his symptoms at bay. After a few weeks, he was starting to feel better. That’s when the aggression started. Once he was healthy and no longer weak, he became severely aggressive with one of our other dogs and injured him very badly, requiring vet care every time. He unprovoked had bitten two guests, gone after our pig numerous times and attacked our dog five different times. After trying to keep him separate, consulting with a trainer, as well as our vet, it was recommended we euthanize due to the severity of his unprovoked aggression and how dangerous he was. I reached out to Angela for some sort of help because I didn’t want to do that. She said she had forever fosters and may be able to take him in a home with no other dogs. Once I told her he had chronic health issues, she never responded. We did end up euthanizing him and this whole experience has been extremely traumatizing for my family. We are dog rescuers and dog lovers. We are not scared of working with issues. But this was something that not many people would be able to handle. So basically, this dog was relinquished to them, he had no vet care, was not neutered, was extremely sick, and had severe behavioral issues. And we were still charged 400 dollars for him. This isn’t a rescue, this is a dog flipping business. They get puppies from puppy mills or owner relinquishments and sell them for a profit. A real rescue doesn’t adopt out dogs like him. A real rescue doesn’t have puppies living in chinchilla cages. A real rescue doesn’t charge 600 and higher for mutts and a thousand or more for “pure bred” or “designer breeds”. It’s all for profit. A scam. All dogs deserve homes, but let’s call it what it is. This is not a reputable rescue. And they are part of the problem within the rescue community, because what they do, makes it impossible for actual rescues to rehabilitate and spend the time and resources on the dogs with severe issues. There’s too many dogs out there and they are only continuing to support the puppy mill pipeline whether they admit it or not. We have spent a lot of money in this store weekly for crickets and dog food and other items. We love supporting small businesses and I really debated writing this review at all. But after reading the other bad reviews, I felt that perhaps our experience would benefit someone else and maybe even protect another dog from the same fate. This isn’t a small business or people that deserve your support. It’s really just heart breaking and I would never go to this place again, and you shouldn’t either. It’s clear that once the animal leaves their facility, they take absolutely no responsibility for what you purchased. They don’t care, it’s that simple. Real...

DO NOT GET AN ANIMAL FROM THIS PLACE! They pretend to be a "rescue", but in reality, they are buying puppies off FaceBook and reselling them at their shop. I saw on FB someone trying to sell a pretty rare breed dog, by the time I could get out to look at them, they were all gone. The next day, I saw this business post that they had the same puppies! I contacted the original posting to ask if they were the same puppies and was told they were! They are frauds... in multiple ways. After I was blocked on FB (by the owner for calling them out) I also put in a call to the Department of Agriculture to let them know what they are doing (since the owner also decided to never respond to my phone call either). They were aware and said this place has had multiple complaints and investigations. Just ask yourself, if this was a legit rescue, isn't it strange that they: Only ever have puppies? No adult dogs Only ever have pure breed puppies or designer mixed breeds (like doodles) Have prices that vary depending on the breed, instead of a standard adoption fee? Go to animal swap meets to sell puppies Never have any pictures of the pups BEFORE they are "rescued", especially if you are trying to say they come from puppy mills?

This place is just bad news. They play on your heartstrings to make you think you are doing the right thing by adopting these puppies with sad back stories, but in all reality, you're just re-buying a dog they found posted for sale elsewhere. Do yourself a favor and work with a REPUTABLE...