PEORIA, Ill. (25 News) – Fon du Lac Park Police say they’ve spoken with the people living on the boat where seven dogs were found unattended July 5th. One of the dogs was dead and the remaining six were reported as being ‘emaciated.’
On Wednesday, Chief Chance Barlow said the four people living on the boat came to the police station to answer questions. Barlow says they’re all cooperating with the investigation. It is still unclear who each of the dogs belonged to, but they did not all belong to one person.
“This is an ongoing investigation. The family is asking for us to give them their time,” he said. “They were cooperative. They came in on their own and gave us their information based on their side of their story and it’ll be up to the state’s attorneys office on how they’re going to handle this case.”
Barlow says his agency has now handed all of the information they’ve gathered over to the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office. That agency will decide what if any criminal charges are filed.
The boat is registered to Robert Recaldini Sr. out of Pennsylvania. It was anchored in the Illinois River, but was inoperable.
The people living on the boat were reportedly at work, just trying to make ends meet and waiting for parts to fix it. The people had been living on the 32-foot cabin cruiser since spring when it was dry docked on blocks. They reportedly put the boat in the water some time in June, though it is unclear how long it had not been operating.
Authorities said when the dogs were initially found on the boat unattended, they were kenneled with food.
Barlow says all of the six surviving dogs are now in the care of the Peoria County Animal Protection Services. He adds if people think they see something inconsistent, they need to report it to police or animal protective services.
The unnamed residents of the boat say people who had seen the dogs had asked them if the dogs were okay, but no one ever called police or animal protective services for a wellbeing check.
