Burglars steal donations from Humane Association

The Bloomington Police Department is investigating a Feb. 17 break-in to the building that houses both the Monroe County Humane Association and the Bloomington Animal Care and Control. A total of $1,500 was stolen from a safe inside the building, as well as a Palm Pilot, digital camera and other cash.\n"They're basically stealing from homeless puppies and kittens, so they have to be a pretty heartless person," said Sarah J. Hayes, Monroe County Humane Society executive director.\nDet. Sgt. David Drake, who heads the investigation, could not disclose the leads which he is pursuing in the case.\n"The investigation is underway: We don't want to give out too much information," Drake said.\nHe added that the burglary could result in jail time for the person or people involved in the crime. \n"Normally for a class C felony, jail time is necessary," he said. \nThe Humane Association and Animal Care and Control are taking steps together in response to the break-in.\n"We have changed some of our security and re-keyed the building," said Hayes. \nShe said she was unsure whether the break-in could have been prevented because a key was used in entry. \nLaurie Ringquist, Bloomington director of Animal Care and Control, is dealing with the aftermath of the incident by looking on the bright side.\n"It definitely affects our sense of security and trust around the office, but we have taken many security measures," Ringquist said. \nShe added that she was happy that only the offices were affected by the crime.\n"The area where the burglar went is not where the animals are kept, and the amount of money they stole will not affect the care of the animals," Ringquist said. \nBoth organizations said they were shocked that someone would break into nonprofit organizations.\n"I think it takes a pretty callous person to take from an organization whose every penny counts," Hayes said. \nThe safe contained an unusually high amount of money after a recent fund-raiser, Hayes said.\n"We encounter numerous burglaries of buildings every week here in Bloomington," Drake said. \nHe added he is adhering closely to professional procedure in handling this case.\n"We take burglary equally as serious for anyone in the city of Bloomington," Drake said. "We are not going to more aggressively pursue one case just because the City of Bloomington was a victim," \nThe groups also took measures to protect donor information in the wake of the theft. The parties listed on all the stolen checks were contacted by the Humane Association Friday to inform them that their check was stolen. Conclusions have been reached that no association employees were involved in the theft, according to a press release from the Humane Association. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Michael Beal at mdbeal@indiana.edu.