13016 West 151st Street Homer Glen IL 60491 (708)301-1594 Open 11 am-4 pm Tuesday through Saturday Closed Sunday and Monday webmistress

Holiday Issue 2006 Tributes

We are Thankful for our Good Friends As the magic of the Holiday Season approaches, our thoughts turn to those who have made our efforts on behalf of thousands of homeless animals possible. We see each and every one of you, as a good friend to the shelter. We value your concern and interest in the cats, dogs and a wide variety of other animals, that we are desperately trying to help. Our efforts to help these animals would not be possible without your assistance. You mean a great deal more to us than just names upon a mailing list. We have been very fortunate to have gotten to know a great many of you personally, whether through your visits to the shelter, or through having corresponded with you, over the years. You have become part of the TLC family, a family working together for the betterment of life for those of God's creatures that cannot help themselves. Even when many of you have had to face some difficult times and personal pitfalls that have affected your lives, through all of this, you have never forgotten the shelter, and it's many wards. That is what a good friend is made of, always there when you need them. We are thankful for our good fortune to have friends and supporters as loyal as you! Words cannot begin to convey all the good you have helped us to accomplish, through your generosity and caring. We wish we could send each and every one of you, what we would dub, "The TLC Alumni Book of Animals for 2006," so you could see for yourself, what you have enabled the shelter to accomplish, but that would be a difficult task since there were over 3,000 animals helped this year all because of you and other caring people like you. We want you to know that your efforts have changed the lives of so many animals, bringing them from a life of hardships and misery, to one of a bright tomorrow, with many of them already adopted into loving homes. So many animals now are able to live happy lives, because of you. Pictured are just a few of the thousands of animals that you have helped this year. Your role is a very important one to the shelter, and it goes without saying how important your role has been to the animals. We do not often have the chance to express our gratitude, and let you know how thankful we are for having good friends like you. The goodwill that you have bestowed upon the shelter, all of the animals, and the staff and volunteers at TLC who care for them. We just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank-you from the bottom of our hearts. We wish you and yours a holiday season filled with peace, and love and may the new year bring you as much happiness as you have helped bestow upon the animals at TLC. Deadlines If there is anything special you want to see printed in the newsletter in regard to a memorial, or to honor a person or pet, or a special event, you want mentioned, we must have the information in our hands at least 3 months prior to the event to insure it will appear in the issue of the newsletter you wish it to appear in. Thank you for your understanding. Bertha Fund helped Numerous Animals This year we have been able to help more animals than ever that needed extensive medical care. Amongst these animals were forty three dogs that had heartworm. These dogs would have died had they not be treated.... you were there for them. Extensive care like this runs into the hundreds of dollars to treat each of these animals, an amount that takes an enormous chunk out of the Shelter's budget. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping save the lives of these animals. With Tidings of Comfort & Joy When our VIP members make their regular visits to area nursing homes, and convalescent centers they bring lots of joy to the residents. Our TLC VIP's are a special group of people that make regular visits to nursing homes in the area, and their four legged counterparts are just as amazing! Not everyone is cut out to be a VIP member, it tugs at your heartstrings, and some people find that they cannot do it. But on the other hand those that do truly enjoy themselves, and the smiles on the residents' faces are reward enough for our VIP's. It is also true that very few animals are able to make it into the program, it takes a special kind of dog or cat to go through the rigors of being part of the VIP team. Many of the residents have had pets of their own and are deeply saddened because they can not have one in their present living situation, so these VIP pet visits are very important to them. Whether helping to celebrate a 90th birthday or letting one of the VIP pets take a cat nap on the bed, the residents enjoy this one on one time with these furry critters. We want to say an extra thanks to all of our VIP members for a year of bringing comfort and Joy to so many people. They certainly are our shining stars! Golden Opportunity Books are available at the shelter for $25.00 each. The books cost $25.00 each and are just loaded with money saving coupons for fine dining, fast food entertainment and for your shopping pleasure. Many of the coupons can be used more than one time. These make great gifts and stocking stuffers for the upcoming holidays, and the shelter receives $7.00 on every book sold, a great deal all the way around! Stop in at the shelter to pick yours up between 11:00 to 4:00 Tuesday through Saturday. We can also ship one or more to you for $5.00 per book to cover the cost of shipping and handling. Sending Flowers for the holidays? Try Floral Alliance and you'll be helping the animals too! Your order can generate anywhere from a $5.00 to a $14.00 contribution to TLC. Next time place your order through Floral Alliance at 1-800-423-5803, and use TLC's code NP-1136 so the shelter receives the donation. Floral Alliance can make up fruit baskets, candy baskets, and gourmet baskets to your specifications. See for yourself by checking out their website: floralalliance.com There are many great gifts there, and if you don't see exactly what you want, they can customize it to your specifications. But please remember to use the shelter's code number when placing your order... thanks! Question: What is the difference between a softball & a kitten? Apparently this family was clueless! They told the woman who was trying to find a home for the kitten that they wanted it for their kids to play with, and play with it they did - just like a softball! The woman who had given the parents the kitten for the kids stopped back to see how the kitten was doing in its new family. She was aghast to see the kids out in the front yard throwing the kitten back and forth like a softball. Before she could stop the abuse one of the kids missed catching the kitten and it hit the ground head first! The woman snatched the kitten away from the abusive kids, and immediately brought it to her vet to be checked out. The vet said the kitten has suffered mild brain damage from being dropped. She brought it to TLC and asked if there was any hope of it being placed. Wev assured her that as long as the damage was not too severe we would be able to adopt it out. Some very nice people came in, looking for a kitten and they fell in love with this one. We explained the kitten's condition to the people, but that did not change their mind about adopting it. They said they had plenty of love to give it, and any little idiosyncrasies the kitten now has, makes it more unique & lovable. Notice to Our Supporters: Another group calling itself"TLC" is now operating in our area. Although we applaud all efforts on behalf of the animals, we want our supporters to know that this new group is not affiliated in any way with the Tender Loving Care Animal Shelter, and has not pledged any funds raised to us. If you are unsure about a fundraising event, please call the shelter or check our website to see if we are sponsoring it. TLC Favorite Pets 2007 Calendar Its's here! TLC's Favorite Pets Calendar 2007. This calendar will feature the top 12 vote getters in our photo contest, and a whole lot more! We were so impressed with all the wonderful photos and descriptions that were submitted, that we could not leave any ofthese champions off the calendar. So each month will have a large winning photo, and may small photos. EVERY SINGLE ENTRY WILL BE SOMEWHERE ON THE CALENDAR! We hope you agree that each one of these pets is a winner! Calendars will be available for purchase ($15.00 each) at the Christmas Craft Show November 11th. The calendar features 217 pictures of the fabulous animals that were entered in our photo contest. What a great and inexpensive stocking stuffer for the animal lovers on your holiday gift list. I can't think of a nicer way to brighten someone's day than by looking at the faces of all those wonderful critters! You may purchase your calendar at the shelter or if you wish we can mail it to you for an additional charge of $5.00 to cover shipping. If you wish more than one each additional calendar will be an additional $1.50 provided that they are all being sent to the same address. A great big round of applause goes out to Sandi O'Brien for this major undertaking, of designing the calendar, setting it up and all the work she did. We also want to give accolades to Clare Paskiet who worked hard along with Sandi for the photo shoot for the front cover. The props they rounded up and their patience, time and effort certainly shows, in what I think is one of the cutest calendar covers you will ever see. Sandi O'Brien (L and R) Clare Paskiet & the TLC Crew, photo courtesy of Dennis Carter