Thinking about getting a pet? Undoubtedly the most generous way is to rescue one by adopting from an animal shelter. But adopting is a serious decision and shelters vary. Some are no-kill while some put unsocialized animals to sleep. Some are specialty shelters, dealing mostly with alley cats, say, or wounded animals, or particular breeds. Some shelters make sure that every adopted animal is microchipped — a coded identification implant records the owner in case the animal is lost. Shelters vary in application process too. All require proof of address and a personal interview, but most differ in fees, philosophy, and follow-up care. Take a little time to familiarize yourself with some of the terrific places listed below and pick the one that’s best for you and your family.
One very special place to adopt a dog or cat is Furry Friends, a nonprofit, no-kill shelter run by the passionate and compassionate Catherine Hedges. She says the house philosophy is to improve the animals’ lives from the minute they pad through the door. To this end she makes sure all the animals get lots of TLC, including daily walks for the dogs, vet checks two times a week, microchipping, and as little cage time as possible. Many of her animals have special needs. She rescues dogs with broken legs, cats with tumors or diabetes. She saved a dog who had been electrocuted and a cat who had to have its tail removed after having been swung by it. Catherine also raised money for a cat who needed thyroid surgery and then placed her with an elderly man. "He spoils her rotten," she told me.
The shelter is on the property of a vet clinic so Catherine works with the surgeons to get lower-cost care. To get one of these precious animals, adopters go through a rigorous application process. In addition to the usual interview and fee, adopters sign an agreement they will take care of the animal’s medical, grooming, and social needs and they must bring the animal back for a free follow-up exam two weeks later. You can expect to hear from Catherine too. She continues to call and give follow-up support for up to six months after adoption. She says this helps ensure that the adoptions stick. Catherine and her crew need donations, volunteers, and adopters. So if you’re looking for a good cause, this definitely is one! Call 312-397-1001 for details.
Another terrific no-kill shelter is Animal Advocates, an all-volunteer private shelter run by Shirley Weaver. Shirley opened the shelter ten years ago after working at the vet clinic next door. She said people left animals by the back door or didn’t pick them so often that finally her own home became too full of pets and she had to open a shelter. She adopts out primarily cats and dogs but she receives all sorts of animals, including turkeys around Thanksgiving; rabbits, sadly enough, just after Easter; and chicks when school lets out in June and teachers don’t know what to do with their hatched eggs. She also gets reptiles, ducks, goats, lambs, pot-bellied pigs, and guinea pigs. Talking to Shirley is like interviewing a soldier in the field. She is all strategy, connections, and knowledge. She has an extensive network to place the animals, whether they need to be on a farm, reintroduced to their natural habitat, or put in a foster home to await adoption. As you might imagine, Shirley is careful about the people she allows to adopt from her. It’s important that the adopters and the adoptees are guaranteed a good match. Her adoption policy is comfortingly rigid. To speak with Shirley, call 773-252-7401.
A third important no-kill shelter in Chicago is the Lakeshore Animal Shelter, rescuing dogs and cats since 1966. Elizabeth Curran, president of the board, told me that their goal is to resolve every case. She works to find homes, provide medical care, and training for those who need it — "animals only, no disobedient husbands," she jokes. She says that nearly 24,000 cats and dogs are killed each year in the Chicago area and her mission is to lower that number. Visit the shelter’s web site at www.lakeshoreanimalshelter.org and join them for their annual fundraiser, A Dog’s Night Out, in August. Elizabeth can be reached at 773-409-1162.
Then there is the Anti-Cruelty Society, a larger organization that receives and adopts out a large number of animals every day. David Dinger told me the single biggest reason owners say they are bringing in their animal is because they aren’t allowed to have pets, either in a new home they are moving to or in the residence they are currently in. So a big part of the application process is checking with the landlord. Also, according to David, Anti-Cruelty wants to be certain the animal is not a surprise to anyone in the household. If there are children, he likes them to be present. Anti-Cruelty microchips every adopted animal now. Unlike the smaller shelters, which are often full, Anti-Cruelty accepts all animals. However, they only adopt out dogs and cats. So keep this in mind before dropping off your bunny: this is not a no-kill shelter. But David Dinger said they euthanize less than half of the animals that are brought in and that number has decreased over the years. They use injections for euthanasia.
Another terrific organization is P.A.W.S., an acronym for Pets Are Worth Saving. This group, made up of six hundred volunteers, isn’t a shelter. Instead they work as an umbrella organization for Chicago area shelters and as a resource for animal-lovers. They showcase cats and dogs waiting for homes, increasing awareness and showing off their picks. They get animals from a variety of different shelters and bring them to special events and process adoptions with a screening counselor on the spot. They also keep an up-to-date list of shelters and provide information about immunizations and pet care for the public. Their phone number is 773-244-3248.
What if you find a wounded bird or a pouch full of orphaned possums? It is, in fact, illegal to keep wildlife in your home. The place to bring them is the Trail Side Museum, a facility of the Cook Country Forest Preserve. For sixty years, Trail Side has taken in injured and orphaned native wildlife with the goal of releasing them into the wild after medical care. Besides birds and possums, they also take woodchucks, foxes, raccoons, squirrels, and native turtles. They rescue 3,500 animals a year, but they do not accept pets, exotics, or deer. Jerry Sullivan, a naturalist on site, said a consulting veterinarian gives medication and check-ups and they only euthanize the most horribly injured creatures. Trail Side is in River Forest along the Des Plaines River at 738 Thatcher Avenue. The phone number is 708-366-6530.
There is also a plethora of specialty shelters. Perhaps the best no-kill shelter exclusively for cats in the Chicago area is Tree House. They take in mostly sick and injured stray and street cats and orphaned litters. They generally don’t take pets. What makes this shelter truly unique is the socialization program for these worn-out little felines. Many of them have had negative people experiences or are feral. The socialization staff works with the cats one on one, trying to build a trusting relationship with a human in a comforting environment, a difficult task for a shelter that houses up to three hundred cats! The most successful cases are then adopted out. Adopters work with a counselor to make a perfect match. Sometimes this takes hours and often families come more than once. If you’ve got kids, they must be present for adoption. Also adopters fill out a follow-up questionnaire. Another special part of Tree House is the Pet-Owner Telephone Counseling Hotline. Anyone can call, not just adopters. They are there to help with questions about pet behavior, vet referrals, resources, and more. The number is 773-784-5488.
And now for something completely different.... How about adopting a rat? Dawn Rabig of Oakbrook Terrace has been running a rat rescue for two years now. She houses up to sixty or seventy rats at a time, but she doesn’t breed them. "There’s so much personality packed in that little body," she told me. She receives her rats from Animal Control, the Animal Welfare League and private sources but she says she would take in even Chicago sewer rats or other aggressive rats to save them from being eaten by snakes. She takes them to pet expositions to raise awareness about them and to adopt them out. "They’re a throw-away society," she said. "But they’re extremely intelligent and playful. I would recommend them as a pet to anyone." For more information, call Dawn at 708-424-2793 or e-mail her at taratherat@aol.com. Dawn’s sister, Laura Frausto, runs a guinea pig rescue. She keeps approximately forty guinea pigs. She claims they make wonderful pets and are easy to take care of. She can be reached at 630-833-3313. Deb Dillon in Chicago specializes in sugar gliders (Petaurus brevicep), an exotic marsupial, and prairie dogs. She takes them in when people can’t take care of them and adopts them out. She often arranges for adoptions across the country from a national list on the Internet. She is very picky about adopters. She says wild animals need special care and food. It isn’t wise to keep them around rambunctious children. People who want to adopt sugar gliders, unless Deb knows them, must visit once a week for six weeks before they can be approved. If you’re interested, call Deb at 773-774-3775.
Although shelters have different policies and values, most seem to agree that breeding dogs is a bad idea. Why breed when there are so many animals who need a home? In fact, there are already many bred dogs, with and without papers, who need adoption. If you want a particular breed, the best idea is to find that breed’s rescue group and adopt one that doesn’t have a home instead of supporting the industry. There are rescue groups for golden retrievers, cocker spaniels, greyhounds, and many more. To find a rescue group, call one of the shelters that houses dogs, such as Furry Friends or Animal Advocates. They keep listings and will be happy to give you a referral.
Choosing a pet and a shelter should not be taken lightly. However, there are so many special places for animals in Chicago. One thing I noticed about every person I spoke with in researching this article, whether they were discussing squirrels, basset hounds, or euthanasia policies, was their kindness and passionate devotion to the cause, which is more important than any single shelter’s philosophy. "Shelters work together," Catherine Hedges of Furry Friends told me. "This is for the animals."