Amber Manley, an animal control officer with Waukegan’s animal shelter, received a call a few weeks ago about a 4-month-old pit bull puppy wandering around the city with no identifying tags.
Bringing it back to the shelter, it appeared in good health except for a bump on its head. Susan Elliott, the shelter’s coordinator, went into action reaching out to Heidi Huber and Kelly Dalton at Bombshell Bullies Pit Bull Rescue.
“They said, ‘Bring us the dog,’” Elliott said.
Now in canine foster care, she said the puppy is awaiting adoption. Before the adoptive owner takes the dog home, the adoption agency wants to make sure it will be in good hands.
“They do a background check, and check with their vet,” Elliott said.
Collecting stray animals, getting them the veterinary care they need and connecting them to animal rescue organizations is commonplace at Waukegan’s animal shelter, now in a new home with spacious kennels as well as a healthy supply of food and care items.
Elliott and Mayor Ann Taylor officially opened the new Waukegan Police Animal Control facility Thursday, replacing an aging, smaller shelter with a state-of-the-art building containing 20 spacious kennels.
“The old one was a clean dump,” Elliott, a 21-year veteran of animal control, said. “We cleaned it all the time. Now, we have new, clean indoor-outdoor cages. They can go outside anytime. No one can get in. If they do, they’ll be on television everywhere.”
Taylor said the $1.4 million facility was in some ways a personal mission for her. One of her four dogs, Bella, was rescued by the shelter and adopted through proper procedures. The shelter does not do adoptions.
“I am personally inspired by this,” Taylor said. “Our animals are safe here. We’ve never had a better place for animal control. This is a no-kill shelter.”
Some of the animals rescued by the shelter are in need of serious medical care. Before she can think about adoption, Elliott needs to get them to the vet. She has a network of not-for-profit organizations that rescue the animals and eventually find them homes.
Using a private social media site, she said she posts the information about the wounded dog which is going to need a home. The response is usually prompt and very generous.
“We had $3,500 in less than three hours,” Elliott said. “I put it on Facebook and the dollars roll in. If you can save an animal, people will line up to help. If you do it right, people will be there to help.”
Making it clear the shelter does not handle adoptions, Elliott said she works closely with organizations like Waukegan Animals Getting Saves (WAGS), a not-for-profit that works with animal control to care for the sick or wounded animals. It helps with adoptions.
“I’m the middle-man,” she said. “I put people together. We don’t do adoptions from here. Only licensed agencies can do that.”
John Sarantakis, the owner of People’s Choice Family Fun Center in Waukegan, has adopted two dogs rescued by Waukegan’s animal control department. He liked what he saw as he went around the new facility.
He said he has no interest in purchasing a dog from a breeder. He has had six pets in his life, and they were all rescue dogs.
“They’re the ones who need help,” Sarantakis said. “The love is always there in the dog.”
