Animal Rescue Needs To Rescue Its Building

Cathy Anderson is worried about the puppies--the dark-eyed, tail-wagging beagles, labs and terriers sitting in spacious bays in her animal rescue shelter. They were due to be euthanized until the Anderson family brought them to this facility, where pet lovers can adopt them.

The Andersons have saved the lives of 4,500 dogs and cats in their two years of operation, but they may not be able to rescue them much longer. Their landlord has given their shelter, Wright-Way Rescue at 7136 W. Touhy in Niles, a month-to-month lease. At any moment, he  could give them notice they have 60 days to move out. So they're holding a rally from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday to raise awareness that they need a permanent location.

(Click on the video at right to see an adoption in action.)

"It's stressful. We can't operate like this. There's no stability at all," said Anderson, who is willing to buy a building for the shelter.

Creating clean, healthy place for dogs

It took her and her daughter Christy, the animal rescue's director, a year to prepare the current building in order to open the shelter. Even though they were renters, they made a significant investment in plumbing and ventilation. 

They had workers tear up the floor to put in trenches below it, so they can hose down the dogs'  bays every day. And the ventilation system forces air outside, so the animals are always breathing fresh air. 

They did this, Anderson said, because they and their co-renter, an animal hospital, got a 13-year lease. They opened in February 2009, but the animal hospital later went out of business, and Wright-way got a month-to-month lease last September.

'We need a home'

The "Raise the Woof" rally Saturday will welcome pet lovers with food, t-shirts and music, and Anderson said people can make signs to hold up on Touhy Avenue. They're expecting 300 people, plus pets.

Wright-way would like to buy the building, which is not currently for sale, or another building in Niles, Anderson said. But the shelter has to be in a standalone structure because the noise of dogs barking might bother neighbors. It also has to have enough parking spaces, and she would like it to be on a main street for visibility to customers. 

Saves animals from rural areas

Christy Anderson lives and works in Murphysboro, in southern Illinois. In rural areas in the Midwest, about 90 percent of animals in animal control facilities are euthanized, according to the Wright-Way website, due to lack of space and lack of people willing to adopt them. 

Wright-Way quarantines the animals for 10 to 14 days at its intake facility in Murphysboro in order to ensure that only healthy animals make it to the adoption center in Niles.

"The animal gets de-wormed, microchipped, ad vet-checked, so any puppy diseases happen in southern Illinois in the intake-quarantine facility," Cathy Anderson said.

"We have a really good record that we're really proud of."

Adopting out large numbers weekly

Every Friday, about 40 to 60 animals arrive at the Niles location, are adopted during the week, and free up space for the next week's arrivals.

Adoptions cost $115 for cats and $280 for dogs. The animals come with up-to-date vaccinations, 30 days' worth of insurance, a free first vet exam and a 50 percent discount on spaying or neutering. 

So far, Anderson says, the animal rescue, a non-profit organization, has been able to stay afloat from adoption fees, though without much cushion. It does not receive any grant monies.

The issue of a permanent location, though, hangs over her more than finances do.

"We really love Niles. We want to stay in the community. It's been very welcoming," Anderson said.