Southland Animal Shelters Unite to Find Homes for Pets

In my years as a reporter, I was never lucky enough to be assigned the animal beat until I landed at Patch. Oh, I wrote about residents protesting against attempts to cull deer at a North Side nature preserve and dying elephants at a Chicago zoo. I even interviewed an animal rights activist who reminded me a lot of Lily Munster and lived in a Munster-esque mansion along with her taxidermically preserved pet raccoons. (Though she was more than a little eccentric, I liked her.)

Being a dog lover, I had always wanted to help homeless pets find homes, even if it meant my home. I wanted to be the reporter who went to the shelters and sorted through the photos of pets looking for forever homes, but the job always went to an editor who was even crazier than I was.

My Patch colleagues in Evergreen Park and Palos and I rotate the beat that appears every Friday on our respective Patch sites. Each of us takes turns going to the wonderful Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge and does a video on three pets searching for homes. Had I given in to my impulses, I probably would have adopted 17 dogs and cats by now.

When I hear the back stories of these loving pets, or stroll by the kennels where dogs are leaping and barking against the bars showing off and trying to get my attention, I think: “How in the world could someone give up this wonderful animal—or lose it and not come looking for it?”

I think of my own dog at home curled up on the couch and keeping me company when I work late into the night. It didn’t take me long when I looked into the eyes of the three dogs I have owned in my life before I knew “that’s the one.” I think my record is 28 seconds.

The Animal Welfare League serves 56 municipalities throughout the Southland and operates entirely on private donations and grants. The league turns away no animal species, including the “dregs” of the animal kingdom—the dogs rescued from dog fighting rings, abandoned pets left to die of thirst or starvation in vacant buildings, and the ones that get tossed out at the side of the road. With some gentle rehabilitation, expert veterinary care and TLC from staff and volunteers, the league is able to restore these lost pets’ faith in humanity and transform them into members of the family.

This weekend, the South Suburban Humane Society and PetSmart will host the first Mega Pet Adopt-A-Thon at PetSmart at 191st and Harlem, just off I-80 in Tinley Park. The Animal Welfare League will be one of 16 animal rescue organizations participating in the tented affair, featuring over 200 adoptable dogs and cats that could be the next star of your family.

In addition to hundreds of adoptable animals, there will be prizes, raffles, low-cost microchipping ($15), and lots of fun for the whole family. US 99.5 will be broadcasting live from the Mega Pet Adopt-A-Thon on some days.

The Animal Welfare League will be bringing about a dozen animals to the Adopt-A-Thon, including some of the shelter's longest-term residents. There’s nothing wrong with these animals; like a lot of us, they just haven’t met that “special someone” yet.

The Mega Pet Adopt-A-Thon runs from noon to 9 p.m. Friday, March 18; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, March 19; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 20. Admission is free, but participating shelters do charge adoption fees that go toward the care of their shelter residents.

So, if you happen to look into a pair of soulful eyes and end up taking home a new friend this weekend, let us know. Sometimes, a pet just happens.