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Jun 27, 2006 6:31 pm US/Central
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Dozens Of Animals Found In Filthy Home
Police Recover More Than 23 Birds In Home Overrun By Rodents
by Mike Puccinelli
ELGIN (CBS) ―
A suburban author was thrown out of her home after police decided it was not fit for humans.
Officers had a search warrant for what turned out to be a real animal house. It was full of critters, including a lizard, cats and more than 20 birds. The home is located in a picturesque section of Elgin along the Fox River.
CBS 2 West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinelli reports that the woman who lives there writes books for children.
Animal Control Officer James Rog showed off some of the birds pulled from the Elgin home, including a cockatoo and a macaw. They were living in large cages crammed into a small house.
"The smell was unbelievable," he said.
Rog says he'd never seen anything like it.
"There were numerous cages throughout the residence in the living room, in the dining room, in the bedrooms – a total of 23 birds in the house," he said.
Police have not released the homeowner's name because she has not been charged with a crime, but CBS 2 has learned she's Charlotte Graeber, an award-winning author of more than 25 children's books.
One was inspired by the sounds Graeber heard from critters scurrying across her attic. However, cute fiction became harsh reality in her Elgin cottage. There were so many mice, Rog says, they became part of the house.
"She kept her food and the birds' food in large garbage cans to keep the mice from getting into it," Rog said.
Sally Haugk owns the Bird is the Word store in Batavia. She's known Graeber for 17 years.
"She's just a very good person, and she would never have wanted this for her birds. It just probably got out of control for her not being able to keep up with them," Haugk said.
Haugk says Graeber loved her birds like family members.
Rog agrees.
"It's sad for the homeowner. She has the birds as her family. They're her primary people she goes home to every day," Rog said.
Now Rog says that family may have to be broken up so that the birds and their more than 70-year-old owner can get help.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)