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Autumn Issue 2006
Tributes
Innocent Victims Unable to Speak for themselves
None of their stories will ever appear on the 6 o'clock news or make front page headlines in any major newspaper, they were all victims of crimes that will go unpunished... crimes against animals. Innocent victims that cannot speak for themselves, and are unable to tell us who did this to them. I think you would agree that their stories are important to those of us who care. Because we are all they have. They are all lucky to be alive, as their fates were nearly sealed by the monsters that did these horrendous things to them.
Who in their right mind would place five tiny kittens in a plastic bag, tie it shut and throw it in the garbage? The kittens were so young no matter how hard they tried they could not get out of the bag and the heat of the day and lack of oxygen was getting the best of them. A woman heard a tiny meow and then saw the bag move. Gingerly she picked the bag up and was appalled at what she would find inside...five tiny kittens, two of them already dead and the three remaining were very weak. You shake your head and wonder who could have done something like this? This is more than a case of abandonment it is more like downright murder.
A cat and her kitten were tossed from a car window into the path of oncoming traffic. Whoever did this knew full well that this was certain death for the pair. Someone saw the poor cat get struck by a car, killing her instantly as she attempted to get her kitten to safety. The kitten only about 4 weeks old, looked like a little ball of orange fluff as she lie nestled close to the body of it's mother. The kitten didn't move an inch nor make a sound as a steady stream of tires drove within inches of her. Being so young, she probably felt she would be safe as long as she remained huddled up close to her mother, feeling danger could not touch her because her mom was there to protect her. Thankfully a good Samaritan grabbed the kitten before she was killed too..
It is unimaginable to think of people doing things like this! Anyone who would do anything as atrocious as this must have been born without a conscience. How can they sleep at night, or live with themselves? I cannot fathom how anyone could commit such heinous acts against helpless animals, and yet things like this happen every day, as you will read further.
There are places like TLC where animals can be taken if you cannot keep them, so what would possess people to do something like this? Four dogs were found in a container that was duct taped shut, a container that would become their tomb for all but one. Inside the container were three dead dogs, and one that was still alive: If it had not been that someone heard the surviving dog's whimper, he too would have died.
We would like to see the perpetrators of these crimes caught and sentenced to the fullest extent of the law, but the majority of these crimes will go unpunished. Unfortunately for the majority of these cases there aren't any witnesses, and the victims cannot speak on their own behalf. No one likes to hear things like this, but we feel that we owe it to these animals to let you know what they have been through. We also feel we owe it to you to see how important your help is, and how you enable us to assist these animals. These victimized animals may never totally forget the horror they lived through, but for the rest of their lives they will be treated lovingly by the families that have stepped forward to adopt them. You helped make this happen.
Our phone is constantly busy with calls in regard to animals, but there are many times after we get off the phone we just shake our heads and wonder "what were they thinking".
A man calls inquiring if we had his lost dog or if anyone had called in about finding it. We wrote down all the information about the dog so we had it on file in case anyone comes across it, or it is brought in to the shelter. He then goes on to tell us how the dog "got away". He said when he left for work in the morning he put the dog out in his backyard, but when he returned home several hours later much to his dismay the dog was gone. He then told us he thought the dog would just stay in the yard......his UNFENCED YARD! UGH! Need we say more?
here's her happily ever after ending
It was on our very first visit we saw Susie. Susie was not the first dog we took outside to get acquainted with. The first dog we took out was cute, but the dog didn't really respond to us. We then decided to take Susie outside. Susie was so cute, but very timid, she immediately tugged at my heart. I had the overwhelming urge to protect her. When we took her outside, she sat down, and daintily lifted one paw, I held her paw, and said "Well aren't you the little Princess?", and the name just stuck. She really took to us, but we didn't make any spur of the moment decision about her. We visited her a couple of days later (still just my husband and I), and when we left, I just couldn't stop thinking about her.
The man at the shelter told us that she was a Hurricane Katrina evacuee. Her elderly owner who had made his way up here with her, had said he was now going into a nursing home and would be unable to keep her. Susie and he had been through some rough times before her arrival at TLC, which could explain why she had been so timid.
After discussing at some length about the additional responsibility having a dog requires, we talked with our girls about getting a dog. Of course they were ready! We finally brought the girls to meet Susie now known as Princess. Princess responded to our daughters immediately, and they fell instantly in love with her. We took her home with us that very day, October 28, 2005.
I think we were very fortunate to be able to adopt Princess. She is so smart, and she is good both inside and outside the house. She loves to play in the backyard, and loves playing fetch and frisbee. I took her to her Beginner Obedience Class, and she came in 3rd in a class of about 20 dogs! Of course, our daughters are thrilled that they finally have their dog! We all love the new addition to our family, and we agree that she is the perfect dog for us.
Thanks for letting us share our happy ending.
The Sheetz Family
A big thanks goes out to the following people for the time they donated along with their hard work on such a hot day including: Jim, Diane and Sharon Endebak, Ed and Jennifer Frayne, Ryan and Kathryn Kittler, Kim Barton, Vicki Tryjefaczka, Dennis Carter, Jr., Brian and Amanda Otto, Dr. Kate Ball, Sheila Tyler, Alison Solle, Bob and Claire Fridele, Nicole Barzditis, Erika Bailey, Terry, Sam, Kathryn, Gloodt, Ken and Sam Scott, Becca, Kylie, and Nikki Gullett. We really appreciate all their efforts.
We want to thank Dr. O'Brien for allowing the Animal Care Clinic of Homer Glen once again be converted into a car wash for the day, along with the generous donation he made.
We also want to thank Annie Coleman. Although Annie originally came just to get her car washed, there's no stopping Annie when it comes to raising money for the shelter, so she donned her flowered hat and went into her routine.
We also want to thank the Endbaks for donating the refreshments for all the volunteers. We know in all that heat the volunteers were very appreciative too! Thanks again one and all for making the event such a success!