The Barn on Baseline
16173 Base Line Rd
Genoa, IL 60135
Date and time of CAPS Investigation: 3/3/25, 0959
Weather at time of investigation: 40°F and overcast
Approximate number of dogs and cats observed at time of investigation: about 22 dogs and 50 cats
Unsocialized cats
The shelter had an indoor area for cats and an indoor and outdoor area for dogs. There were dozens of cat enclosures, which were plastic boxes with clear door, each enclosures about two feet wide and four feet long. Each had a litter box, plastic shelf, and the bottom half of a small plastic crate with a blanket inside. Some enclosures were empty, and some had two cats in them, but most had one cat in each. A larger enclosure was in the middle of the room and one cat was loose on the floor, but one of two workers cleaning enclosures told me that cats generally did not leave their enclosures and stayed in them for their duration at the shelter. The workers explained cats had been at the shelter for days, weeks, or months. A Barn on Baseline Instagram post shows an orange tabby cat (orange cats tend to be very friendly and even doglike) that had been at the shelter for 400 days.
Filthy dog pens
I saw the indoor dog enclosures as they were being cleaned. They were each about three feet wide and six feet long, with solid floorings and raised sections about one foot by three feet for dogs to be on above their floorings. All dogs were in outdoor pens when I was at the shelter. The outdoor runs were each about five feet wide and eight feet long, with chain-link walls and concrete floorings. Some runs were empty but others had one dog per enclosure. Most enclosure floors were covered in feces stains. Some had leaves and dirt piled up near their edges, while others had what was clearly fur and manure piled up at the edges, especially at the backs, as though someone had scraped or sprayed the kennels but did not reach the edges consistently. Many dogs had nowhere to stand without contacting feces stains.
Scared, aggressive and unsocialized dogs
Several dogs were clearly afraid of seeing me approach them. Just by walking up to them and looking at them, they began barking, growling, and backing up to the rear of their pens, or they approached the front doors while snarling and snapping. A brown Pit Bull mix snarled and barked as I approached the front door of the dog’s pen, and I saw the tops of the dog’s front ankles were swollen and had fur worn off of them. Such a thing is typical from animals that lick out of boredom or frustration. The dog’s flooring was covered in urine and feces stains. A small white Jack Russell mix barked at me and jumped back from the door as I approached, acting fearfully. A Miniature Pinscher mix acted in a similar way, barking and baring teeth and occasionally lunging towards me as I stood by the door before jumping back and snarling again.
Many other dogs jumped up while wagging their tails, acting in a friendly manner, but their paws were covered in feces stains. This is noted because it is unlikely that people looking to spend time with a new dog will select an animal that is going to make them smell like dog feces after the dog jumps up on them during a visit. A brown Labrador Retriever mix named Rocky ran in circles continuously in his pen, which was entirely coated in a thin layer of feces stains. The dog also jumped up against the chain-link walls before running in circles again. Such behavior is typical of dogs who are perpetually stuck in enclosures, thus suffering from severe stress and anxiety.
Contradictions from kennel staff
A woman who identified herself as Roberta (Caucasian female, about 70 years old, 5’6”, 140 lbs., with shoulder-length grey hair and glasses (she is the director of the shelter) was behind the counter in the lobby of the shelter. I told her I was interested in dogs and cats. She said that I could look at them in any of their enclosures and explained that Rocky had been at the shelter for over a year and recommended I look at him. She said that Rocky’s behavior was different in person than behind a cage door.
I asked Roberta about socializing of the dogs, and she said that the shelter does not foster or take dogs on walks but occasionally lets them into the front office/foyer area. She said the dogs are “socialized” but didn’t elaborate on how. A worker in the kennel told me dogs are never walked or socialized in any manner. He pointed to the outdoor pens and indoor pens and said dogs are sent from one to the other and “That’s it.”
I asked the worker if I could see Rocky, and he put Rocky into a fenced yard filled with toys and dog agility equipment. Off leash, Rocky ran around, but he ignored toys I threw into the yard except to briefly sniff them. He did not look at me at all, even while I petted him. He simply stood staring at a door that accesses indoor runs, ran around briefly, and then stared at the door again. Such behavior indicates that he is so used to the pattern of being let in and out of the indoor/outdoor pens that he doesn’t know what to do when given the opportunity to experience anything else, including human contact.
The play yard was up against the building with the indoor dog runs, and the door to the runs was about two feet from the yard’s fencing. Right by where the chain-link met the building, mud stains were smeared across the wall, as if a dog or dogs had repeatedly jumped up to get out of the yard and go back into the building. A dog would only demonstrate such behavior if the outside was too cold or the dog did not know how to behave in an outdoor environment because they are too used to being confined to an inside enclosure.
Additional Information
The Barn on Baseline is a 501(c)(3) that takes in homeless animals or animals relinquished by owners for DeKalb County.
Their website has not been updated since Covid. Adjacent to the shelter, The Barn on Baseline runs the Family Pet Care Center, stating that income from this business helps the shelter. Dog training is listed as a service provided by the Family Pet Care Center (suspended during Covid), yet the dogs at the shelter do not receive training or enrichment.
The Petfinder page has few animals listed. Some of the cats are missing photographs, and most of the animals have extremely limited descriptions.
The Facebook page does feature dogs and cats but not nearly enough.
The Instagram page was set up in January 2023; the last post was in June 2023.
