BENTON - For almost nine years, Oliver the cat ruled the animal roost at the Franklin County Animal Control facility.

Weighing in at 26 pounds, the formidable feline with the long yellow hair did pretty much as he pleased, but could usually be found in the office, lounging across the desk of supervisor Jarrett Broy and meowing orders to his minions.

"Oh, he whined all the time," Broy laughed before reality returned and he remembered that Oliver is among the missing after a devastating fire ripped through the facility late Monday night, killing 42 cats and 15 dogs. "It's about broken my heart. We've really been hunting hard for him. It was awfully chaotic out here, so maybe he's just hiding out for now."

A passerby reported the fire just after 10:30 p.m. By the time sheriff's deputies and firefighters arrived at the facility, flames were shooting through the metal roof, and the office portion of the building had collapsed, said Franklin County Sheriff"s Deputy Steven Overturf.

Despite the extreme heat of the fire and the presence of two roaming Rottweiler guard dogs, many animals were pulled from the burning building, Broy said.

"If not for the deputies and the firefighters going in there, we would have lost a lot more. (Lt. Rick) Veldman of the sheriff's department ran in with some of the firefighters who were first on scene. They had bolt cutters and started letting all the dogs out of the cages and pulling cats out from the back of the facility. When I got here there were dogs running everywhere."

Animal control employee Mary Crawford said she was struck by the care shown to the animals by their rescuers.

"They were amazing. When they were carrying them out, they were petting them and trying to calm them down. They showed great, great compassion," Crawford said. "They helped us so much, getting the animals out and going back in and getting cages. I know it couldn't have been easy."

Ewing-Northern Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Doug Webb said firefighters did not hesitate to go into the flaming building to rescue the four-legged victims.

"Most of us are farm boys and girls and we love animals. We don't like to see them hurt," Webb said. Firefighters from Ewing-Northern and the Benton Fire Department fought the fire until about 3 a.m., Webb said. The fire is believed to have started near the furnace.

More than 40 dogs were corralled into a fenced-in area of the pound, while the 12 surviving cats, their fur wet from the firefighters' efforts, were huddled in cages placed near the building.

One kitten, just a few weeks old, managed to escape from the cage where its mother and seven littermates were later discovered dead.

The kitten was carried to safety by one of the firefighters.

"That image is branded in my mind," Broy said. "All the lights from the fire trucks were on and once they got the garage door open and could get in to the cats, smoke was billowing out. And out of the smoke came a young firefighter from Ewing-Northern, carrying that little kitty who hadn't even been weaned from its mother. It's something I'll never forget," Broy said.

The kitten was named "Miracle" by facility volunteer Kathy Dwyer, who took several of the soot-covered animals to her residence after the fire, as did other employees and volunteers.

"Miracle is eating like a pig. She's a little nasally and sneezy from inhaling so much smoke, but she survived. I can't help but think about all those other beautiful cats. They never had a chance," Dwyer said with her tears free flowing. "I can't stop thinking about them. I've been crying all day."

Animal caretaker Dottie Darr said many of the dogs were already tagged for new homes by a Northern Illinois animal rescue group and were on their way north at 5 a.m. Tuesday. Coincidentally, the group and its efforts were to be the focus of an article in the Daily Herald, a suburban Chicago-based newspaper. A team from the newspaper was in Benton Monday and Tuesday following the progress of the rescue, especially that of a dachshund that was supposed to leave with the others Tuesday morning, Broy said.

The dog was one of the fire victims.

While some animals are bound for new homes, others are still in need.

"We've had a lot of people offer to house them temporarily, but we really want them to go from here to good homes. These animals deserve it," Darr said.

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