Police: Dog owners near Geneva ‘disturbed’ by letter

GENEVA – A dog owner who was disturbed by a letter he and others in his neighborhood received asked police to document the incident, according to a Kane County Sheriff’s Office report.

According to the report, a resident of the 0S300 block of Grengs Lane near Geneva contacted the sheriff’s office Dec. 10 after getting a letter addressed to “Dog Owner” that contained a copy of the Kane County Animal Control ordinance.

Parts of the document were highlighted, police reported, and the resident was “very disturbed” by this highlighted phrase: “ordering the humane destruction of said animal.”

The resident has a dog, but the sheriff’s office never has been to his home for an animal complaint, police reported.

Other dog owners in the neighborhood also got a letter, according to the report. The report indicated none of them had a previous animal complaint.

One recipient reportedly went to Animal Control to see if it had sent the letter and was told no and got the same answer from the sheriff’s office.

Lt. Pat Gengler wrote in an email that official agencies normally will use official letterhead and envelopes. With so many scams out there, he recommended that recipients of such mail shouldn’t take the information in it at face value.

“A good rule of thumb is that anytime you receive any correspondence like this that appears to come from an official agency, like the sheriff’s office, do some of your own research first before you respond,” Gengler wrote.

The recipients reportedly believed a woman who has yelled at dog walkers and has told their dogs to “shut up” was responsible.

Police reportedly contacted the woman, who claimed to have also gotten a letter. The report indicated the woman, who doesn’t have a dog, agreed with the letter, was happy it went out and said the dogs in the neighborhood bark too much.

Police told her to contact the sheriff’s office if she ever has an issue with dogs barking excessively, according to the report.