A home now unfit for human habitation, hundreds of animals with uncertain futures and their former caretaker committed to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

More information has come to light in the Rochelle animal-hoarding case.

Officials have said they were aware of Barbara Munroe to a degree, but it is evident they did not realize just how grave her situation had become.

The caretaker, Munroe, who pled not guilty to charges related to animal cruelty, was known to authorities, according to one officer working at the Dixon law enforcement complex.

“We’ve known about her for years. It wasn’t until recently that we had to do something about it,” said Officer L. Schremp at the Dixon law enforcement building.

Carlene Scholl, an employee at the Lee County Sheriff’s Department, said the sheriff’s office hadn’t previously interacted with Munroe.

“Absolutely not, there is no truth to that,” Scholl replied when asked if the sheriff’s office ever had any previous involvement with Munroe and/or the animals found on her property. “The sheriff’s office doesn’t have time for that.”

Animal Control became aware of any issues after Munroe failed to update certain vaccinations.

“Ms. Munroe came to the attention of the County Animal Control office after records showed she had allowed 35 rabies vaccinations to lapse by a month or two,” said Andrew Bollman, Lee County assistant state’s attorney.

The many pets didn’t attract negative attention from Munroe’s neighbors.

“There was no smell; if there had been I would have called it in myself,” said one nearby neighbor who wanted to remain anonymous. “I’ve lived here for about a year. The dogs were year-round outdoor dogs, but they had shelter in the form of kennels and plastic igloos.”

The neighbor recalls pallets of food being delivered to Munroe’s home on a regular basis until a short time ago. Helpers also came to the home at regular intervals to help care for the animals, the neighbor said.

“She had money; she had to, to have bought all those dogs, the fencing, the kennels, all that food; it couldn’t have been cheap,” the neighbor said.

The same neighbor claims Animal Control had been to Munroe’s property.

“Animal Control visited before, but it wasn’t until recently that they did something about it,” the neighbor said.

The neighbor’s interactions with Munroe were very limited since moving to the house across the street a year ago.

The number of animals Munroe had, though shocking to some, is not actually illegal.

“There is no county ordinance limiting the number of animals an individual may own. There is also no state statute limiting the number of animals a person can own,” Bollman said.

Sources close to the case say the surviving animals seemed to have been well-cared for, considering the large number of them. The animals are currently being cared for at the DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport by TAILS staff and volunteers from the community.

“It took TAILS a total of three days to move all the animals from Ms. Munroe’s home,” Bollman said. “They did an amazing job.”