A community college instructor in Illinois has been charged with felony
disorderly conduct, after she told her class she found an abandoned
puppy inside a duct-taped pillowcase, but it turned out she made up the
story.
Woodstock Police began investigating after one of Dr. Hope Sanchez’s
students informed police of her story.
Police said Sanchez, an adjunct instructor at a McHenry County College,
had told her class she found the puppy in the pillowcase while riding
her bike on US Route 14 in Woodstock.
She took the puppy to class, and her students called Hoof Woof and Meow
Animal Rescue in Gilberts, which took in the puppy.
After learning about the puppy’s rescue on the news and social media,
two people at a Woodstock apartment complex called police and told them
the puppy was part of a litter their dog had given birth to in March.
Woodstock Police Chief Bob Lowen said the couple gave one of the puppies
to Sanchez, who is a therapist and doctor of psychology, because she
was working with their child.
Police were able to confirm the puppy Sanchez claimed to have found was from the couple’s litter, and after questioning Sanchez, prosecutors authorized an arrest warrant for one count of felony disorderly conduct for causing the filing of a false police report. Lowen said Sanchez admitted making up the story after learning she couldn’t keep the puppy at her home, and she thought her story would convince someone else to adopt him. “She was completely embarrassed by it, and remorseful to put everybody through all of this stuff,” Lowen said.
Sanchez, of Fox River Grove, turned herself in and posted bail, police
said. She is due back in court on May 12.
A McHenry County College spokesperson says Sanchez is finishing her
third semester as an adjunct professor.
“Upon learning of this development, we immediately initiated college
procedures related to this personnel issue. Please be assured that we
are addressing this issue in the most appropriate and timely manner, and
we are taking every measure to ensure that there will be no impact on
our students, or in the classroom,” the college said in a statement.
Hoof Woof and Meow Animal Rescue has since taken in all 10 puppies from
the litter, including Woodstock, the puppy that had been given to
Sanchez. The puppies will be available for adoption by the end of May.
Police were able to confirm the puppy Sanchez claimed to have found was from the couple’s litter, and after questioning Sanchez, prosecutors authorized an arrest warrant for one count of felony disorderly conduct for causing the filing of a false police report. Lowen said Sanchez admitted making up the story after learning she couldn’t keep the puppy at her home, and she thought her story would convince someone else to adopt him. “She was completely embarrassed by it, and remorseful to put everybody through all of this stuff,” Lowen said.
Sanchez, of Fox River Grove, turned herself in and posted bail, police
said. She is due back in court on May 12.
A McHenry County College spokesperson says Sanchez is finishing her
third semester as an adjunct professor.
“Upon learning of this development, we immediately initiated college
procedures related to this personnel issue. Please be assured that we
are addressing this issue in the most appropriate and timely manner, and
we are taking every measure to ensure that there will be no impact on
our students, or in the classroom,” the college said in a statement.
Hoof Woof and Meow Animal Rescue has since taken in all 10 puppies from
the litter, including Woodstock, the puppy that had been given to
Sanchez. The puppies will be available for adoption by the end of May.
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