EMERGENCY TRO GRANTED IN CHICAGO FRENCH BULLDOG RESCUE MATTER
Today is a win for four medically vulnerable French Bulldogs and the woman who founded the rescue that saved them, all of whom were facing the loss of their home and had been cut off from the funds needed for their care and food.
On May 21, 2026, the Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division, granted our client's Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order in Scheffke v. Schultz et al., Case No. 2026CH04709, before Judge Eve M. Reilly. Order
Mary Scheffke founded Chicago French Bulldog Rescue, Inc., NFP in 2008. She has served as its President and Executive Director for nearly two decades, rescuing and rehabilitating French Bulldogs with severe medical needs. Two of the bulldogs currently in her care are disabled. One is waiting for a wheelchair. The other is being fitted for a prosthetic limb attachment. These are animals that no one else stepped forward to take.
In the weeks before this action, board members sent Ms. Scheffke abusive, profanity-laden text messages. There was no hearing. No attempt at mediation. No conversation. The board moved immediately to retain a law firm, strip Ms. Scheffke of her presidency, schedule a vote to remove her as a director, and sell the shelter property where she lives and cares for the dogs. They cut off her access to the rescue's bank account, leaving her unable to buy food or obtain veterinary care for the animals in her custody. They funded all of this with at least $10,000 in charitable donations that donors gave to help dogs, not to pay lawyers.
The Court found that Ms. Scheffke met all four elements for emergency relief: a protectable right, irreparable harm, no adequate remedy at law, and likelihood of success on the merits. The TRO preserves the status quo. Ms. Scheffke's employment, housing, and directorship are protected. Her access to the rescue's funds has been restored so the dogs can receive proper care. The purported board is enjoined from terminating her employment, removing her from her home, or removing her as a director, as they had threatened. Two disabled bulldogs and the woman who has spent eighteen years rescuing dogs like them will not be homeless.
The preliminary injunction hearing is set for June 16, 2026. The underlying complaint raises claims for declaratory relief on the validity of the organization's governing documents and breach of fiduciary duty for the use of charitable funds to finance litigation against the rescue's own founder. We are also evaluating referral to the Illinois Attorney General's Charitable Trust Bureau to ensure that donor funds are used for their intended purpose: the rescue and care of French Bulldogs.
This was an important first win but the battle is just beginning.
Jonathan Lubin and R Tamara de Silva have on occasion taken pro bono matters when we believe them to be of sufficient importance. This is one of those matters.
R Tamara de Silva, De Silva Law Offices, LLC, Chicago, Illinois, together with co-counsel Jonathan Lubin of the Law Office of Jonathan Lubin, represent the Plaintiff.