French bulldogs rescued from O'Hare will stay in U.S.
Fifteen French bulldog puppies that were rescued from an O'Hare airport warehouse in August while awaiting transport to Jordan will be allowed to stay in the United States permanently.
A Chicago-based animal rescue group refused to hand over the puppies it saved, defying a federal order out of concern for the animals' "health and welfare."
Federal authorities had given Chicago French Bulldog Rescue until 9 a.m. Monday to return the dogs to the owner in Jordan. The dogs were scheduled to be flown there Monday afternoon.
On Friday, Kelly Dworniczek, counsel for Chicago French Bulldog Rescue, confirmed that the final details of an agreement have been worked out with Royal Jordanian Airlines and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the rescue group to receive ownership of the puppies.
"The CDC, for their part, are requiring certain very strict quarantine guidelines that they provided to us," Dworniczek said.
The puppies will be quarantined over the next few weeks in compliance with CDC requirements and under the supervision of the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
Dworniczek said the puppies are being kept under quarantine at a PAWS Chicago facility on the South Side.
"PAWS Chicago has an amazing, beautiful facility, and they have been such an amazing resource," Dworniczek said.
After the quarantine period ends, the rescue group will place the dogs in foster homes, where they will receive further care, treatment and training before they are available for adoption.
"Saving these puppies' lives was only achieved through acts both small and large of literally over one hundred thousand people," said Mary Scheffke, director of Chicago French Bulldog Rescue. "We now must harness the momentum to fix the broken system and create permanent change."
The rescue group credited U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth for their advocacy efforts, as well as the efforts of PAWS Chicago.
On Aug. 31, 20 dogs were discovered in the warehouse at O'Hare. Sixteen of them were French bulldogs, and four were large-breed dogs. One of the French bulldogs later died.
"They were left there alone for four days without food and water, found in their cages with an inch of fecal matter and urine," said rescue group spokeswoman Mika Stambaugh.
She said the dogs would have been too sick to survive the flight to Jordan.
"We fought really hard for the past nine days, and we have been treating them," she said. "Their vet bills are upwards of $60,000."
It appears now, though, that the dogs have a bright future, Dworniczek said.
"They are all in spectacular health and are just the cutest, most energetic things you would ever want to see," Dworniczek said, "Now they are going to have to spend another 19 days in quarantine, which is too bad, because these puppies want to be held and they want to bond and they want to love. And they are going to have to wait."
• Daily Herald staff writer Madhu Krishnamurthy contributed to this report.