13016 West 151st Street Homer Glen IL 60491
(708)301-1594

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Closed Sunday and Monday

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Winter Issue 2007


Tributes

Scared, Scarred, Starving and alone........

In their short lifetime these four pups suffered a tremendous amount of abuse. Some heartless individual had thrown the pups out in Messenger Woods Forest Preserve. We had no idea how long the pups had been out there, but it was obvious that they were literally starving to death. Fortunately a good Samaritan had spotted the pups, and knew she couldn't leave them out there, especially not with coyotes in the area. After rounding them all up, upon closer examination the woman was sickened at the condition the pups were in. It was apparent the pups needed a lot more care than she could possibly give to them, so she brought them to TLC.

When we examined the pups, we estimated them to be about three months old. They were in horrendous condition. They were pathetically thin, and had scars all over their bodies. Due to being so malnourished the pups were also suffering from rickets. The physical abuse the puppies had endured was bad enough, but it was obvious they had suffered severe mental abuse too. We knew putting weight on the pups would be the easiest part of our job, but gaining their trust was going to be an entirely different matter. Two of the pups would plaster themselves up against the back wall of the puppy cage, cowering and shaking if you would go to touch them, while the other two pups would growl and go to bite...they didn't trust anyone, and looking at their scarred bodies you can understand why. It was so pathetic... due to the abuse the pups had suffered, it had robbed them of their puppy- hood, they did not act like normal puppies at all, they did not play with one another, they did not bark, all they did was watch every move we made, with fearful looks on their faces, all the while wondering if someone was going to come in and hurt them.

We worked with the pups every day and ever so slowly they started coming around. We knew we had made great strides with them when the pups started wagging their tails, something we had never seen them do. The transformation was something to behold, the turnaround was like night and day. The pups repaid our kindness many times over as they would nestle up to your neck and lick your face, as if to say thanks for all you did to help us.

Two of the pups were ready for adoption within a few weeks after they were brought in, but the other two pups, which we came to name Scout and Sweetie Pie needed additional medical care, to get them back on their feet. It turned out that Sweetie Pie had a partially crushed growth plate in her right front leg, and needed orthopedic surgery which was very expensive, but without the surgery Sweetie Pie's leg would get worse as time goes on which would cause her a great deal of pain. Thanks once again for donations made to the Bertha Fund we were able to provide Sweetie Pie with the surgery she needed.

We are hoping by the time you read this article Scout and Sweetie Pie have found loving homes, but if not you can check our website to see if they are still available. We can guarantee whoever the lucky person is who adopts these pups will be rewarded with a whole lot of love.

Three Foundations help out the Bertha Fund
Veterinary bills have been extremely high for the shelter this year, with numerous animals in need of more extensive medical care. We are extremely grateful for grants that were made to the Bertha Fund by the following Foundations: the Alex and Kip Foundation, the Joyce Hewes Dennehy Charitable Fund of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, and the Wanda Muntwyler Foundation for Animals. These grants have helped us out tremendously in providing the shelter the funds to cover these hefty medical bills. Money from these grants helped the little kitten pictured above plus so many others.

We wish to thank these foundations for their generosity.

Mill Creek Animal Clinic Holds Santa Paws Event
November 12th the staff at the Mill Creek Animal Clinic held its annual Santa Paws event, which entailed having your picture taken with Santa. We appreciate the efforts on behalf of all the animals this donation will help.

TEXAS HOLD 'Em
Our first ever Texas Hold 'Em went very well thanks to all the time and effort John Walters put into planning the event. John took care of all the particulars and researched every last detail. John obtained the gaming license from the state of Illinois and procured the grant from the J. Edward Mahoney Foundation to cover expenses, along with getting the use of the Hall at the Lockport VFW Post 5788.

We want to thank the following people for their help with the Texas Hold 'Em and made everything go smoothly: Carol and John Walters, Mary Bower, Donna Laik, Brooke Nighsuander, Chuck and Sandy Peters, Paula Bickel, Michele Chalifoux, Sarah Ahlberg, Janice Lane, Deb Haslinger, Denny Carter, Patty Robinson, Kristen Himlin, Jason Miller, Brad Anthony Zych, Kristin Heinlen, and Officer Jason Miller.

We wish to extend a special thank you to The J. Edward Mahoney Foundation for the grant, Lockport VFW Post 5788 for the free use of the hall, and to Sedona Staffing for providing all the pizzas for the event, Erica Follkie for the 2 huge liquor baskets she donated for raffle prizes and also to Andy Avalos the meteorologist for channel 5 for mentioning the event on TV for us.

Thank You!
A Special thanks goes out to Artisan Inc. Heating, Cooling and Refrigeration, located at 101 Ontario Street, in Frankfort for servicing the shelter's 2 heating units for gratis. We sincerely appreciate their generosity.

Sending Flowers for Valentine's Day?
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!


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.