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Spring Issue 2008
Tributes
A lot has happened in 34 years
TLC passed another important milestone, 34 years of helping animals in need. A lot has changed in our area since then. We had considered other villages as a home for TLC, but they thought the idea for an animal shelter was good, as long as it wasn't in their town. Then we came across the property where TLC is now located, it was just a little township using the mailing address from the adjacent town of
Lockport. In the spring you heard the sound of tractors as the farmers planted their fields
and in the fall you would
hear the tractors again as
they harvested their crops.
And as you turned on to
Bell Road coming from the
south you would pass a farm
with a large herd of cattle,
before coming to our little traveled gravel road.
In those days we would
make our weekly sojourns
to check out the local
"garbage dumps" remote
spots on those rural roads where people would discard old furniture and appliances and often the family pet, without the fear of being caught.
All of this is long gone, no more cows, the vacant lands have been built up with homes and condos. Our little township is now a town called Homer Glen with 22.4 square miles, and 24,083 people and even our own zip code of 60491. The once gravel road in front of the shelter has long been paved and the traffic on it is so heavy it necessitated putting up a stop light complete with turning lane. The stray situation in our area is at a minimum, and lost pets are usually re-united with their owner within a few hours. Homes stand where the "garbage dumps" used to be, so dumping animals is not as convenient as it used to be. Now we find a lot of the animals dumped are done in the shopping plazas that have popped up in the area! As for changes we have seen with the animal situation in our area, there are several. Years ago it was a rarity for an adult animal that was brought in for adoption to be spayed or neutered, now that has done a complete turn around ..... Now it is rare when we see an adult animal relinquished to TLC that had not been spayed or neutered. Not only in our area but across the nation spaying and neutering has made a major impact on the number of homeless pets euthanized each year. Thirty four years ago the estimated figure of homeless animals euthanized across the USA each year was 13.5 million! Due to the increased awareness about spaying and neutering the national figure of euthanized animals yearly has dropped to 4.5 million! I know that is not perfect but I do see tremendous strides having been made in really a few short years. TLC is still averaging an intake of about 3,500 animals a year. It is not the numbers as seen before in litters as it is pets 6 months old and up. There are very few stay at home moms in our area any more, which translates to who is now home to take care of a pet? More pets are being given up because they are left alone 10 to 12 hours a day, which is hard on the pet. With the economy and housing market as it has been, more animals have been brought in because people cannot afford them or have lost their homes.
The one thing we are overjoyed about, is that adoptions have never been better! We have been very fortunate that several local papers have been doing "pet of the week" features for us, but still our greatest adoption asset is the TLC website something we never had 15 years ago. We never realized what a powerful adoption tool the website would be, so much so that we can transport animals from more rural communities with little chance for placement, to TLC where they are usually placed within the week. We want to thank each and every one of you for supporting TLC's efforts through the years, enabling us to save thousands of animals lives... but it is a sad fact that there are many more homeless and abused animals out there waiting to be loved and in need of our help to change their future. We hope we can count on you to help be a part of this effort. On behalf of these animals, Thank you!
Judy Kunkel sent this beautiful rendition of Rainbow Bridge to share with you. So many of us had have gone through the grief of losing a beloved pet, and this beautiful rendition might ease the pain and bring us comfort.
There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth. It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of it's many colors. Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge is a land of Meadows, hills and valleys with lush green grass. When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this place. There is always food and water and warm spring weather. There, old and frail animals are young again. Those who are maimed are made whole again. They play all day with each other. But there is only one thing missing. They are not with their special person who loved them on Earth. The nose twitches, the ears are up, the eyes are staring, and this one suddenly runs from the group. You have been seen and when you and your special friend meet, you take him or her into your arms and embrace. Your face is kissed again and again as you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet. Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated.
What will entice people to purchase chances? GLITZ, GLAMOUR, and GETAWAYS top the list of favorite prizes that sell the most tickets. Jewelry, spa services, gift certificates, trips, flatscreen TV's top the list of prizes people like winning.
We do request that prizes donated be valued at a minimum of$100.00. If you are donating a prize please bring it to the shelter no later than July 15th.
This is not the type of story you want to read about, and not the type we like to tell, but never the less it's one that needs to be told. There are not any pretty pictures and the ending is anything but happy.
It all began with the cat being abandoned by it's former owners, in the apartment they vacated. A woman who lived in the same building thought she knew the people pretty well. She had spoken to them on numerous occasions, and found out that they were also cat lovers and both had a cat. When they would meet in the hallway their cats were often the topic of conversation. She told us she had no idea that her neighbors were moving, and would not have thought that they were the type of people to abandon their cat. She told us that they seemed like such nice people, and she could not fathom them doing something like that.
The crime against this poor cat did not stop there, that was only the beginning. If only the landlord checked the apartment closer he might have seen the cat, but all he did was drop off a gallon of paint. He was in such a hurry he had forgotten to lock the door behind him... a major mistake in more ways than one. Some kids in the area had been looking for a place to party and decided the empty apartment was the perfect place to do so... and party they did, and finding the cat was a bonus. If only the cat had stayed hidden, but being hungry and alone the cat made the mistake of coming out of its hiding place, looking for companionship and hoping that someone would give it something to eat. The poor cat had no idea what was in store for her. The "kids" used the cat for their cruel, sadistic entertainment for the evening. (Mind you I use the term "kids" loosely for not wanting to offend anyone with what I really would like to call them). The "kids" found the gallon of latex paint, and proceeded to open it, and then poured it all over the cat. The cat let out an awful cry while her tormentors laughed hysterically. The woman hearing the ruckus called the police. Upon hearing the sirens and seeing the flashing red lights the perpetrators fled, leaving the apartment totally trashed and the poor cat encased in dried latex paint.
When the woman saw the cat she broke down and cried. Not knowing what else she could do, she brought the cat to the shelter. Through this entire ordeal the cat remained as sweet as can be. We tried to remove the paint which was a long and arduous process in an attempt to save her, but the chemicals in the paint had gotten into the cats system, and was actually poisoning her. We did what was most humane.
I'm sure the cats owners didn't want anything like this to happen to their cat when they abandoned it and probably thought a neighbor would take it in... But in reality they were just as guilty for what they did, as those that tortured it. When animals are abandoned the outcome is often far from good. There will never be any justice for the suffering this cat went through, no sentence will be served, but we felt her story needed to be told. If it helps to save the life of just one animal, this poor cat will not have died in vain.
GoodSearch donates half its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities selected by its users. The pennies quickly add up. For example since February of 2007, TLC's Webmistress, Sandi O'Brien has raised $115.00 for TLC just by using GoodSearch for all online searches.
Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter TLC Animal Shelter as the charity you want to support, or use the link on the TLC Website. You can also download a toolbar for Internet Explorer and Firefox, so you will always have GoodSearch at your fingertips. The more people who use this site, the more money we'll earn so please spread the word! Please email all the animal lovers on your buddy list to use GoodSearch to help our furry friends.
There is a GoodSearch box on the TLC main page. Try it out and see how easy it is to raise money for the shelter and it is not costing you a thing.
A special thanks to our friends at the Clorox Corporation for their generosity, with products they have donated to help us maintain the cleanliness of the shelter.