Giving Back — Animal Rescue

Happy July! Our June donation goes to two wonderful organizations: Red Door Animal Shelter and Greyhounds Only. Red Door is dear to me because it connected me with my bestie, Cheddar, some 15 happy years ago. In addition to being a wonderful shelter for cats, they are also a safe haven for rabbits. Last week, Red Door volunteers endured extreme heat to find and capture 32 rabbits – adults, teens, pregnant moms and 15 babies – from a bad situation in Dekalb, IL. (Click here for the full story.)"All of these Dekalb rabbits are sick with parasites, bite wounds, infections and ear mites. (Plus) each of the...

Our March donation goes to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, TN. They provide elephants, retired from zoos and circuses, with herd, home, and individualized veterinary and husbandry care for life. Elephants that have lived their lives in captivity have an opportunity at The Sanctuary to live in an expansive habitat that allows for a range of natural behaviors. Many of the elephants suffer long-term health and complex behavioral issues common to elephants that have spent their lives in captivity, such as tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, obesity, arthritis, and aggression. Because elephants have complex physical and social needs, successful outcomes are measured not only by the...

Our February donation goes to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.   Giraffes, as a species, have been listed as 'VULNERABLE' on the list of threatened species (two subspecies, the West African and the Rothschild, are considered 'ENDANGERED'). Numbers of giraffe have plummeted by 40% over the last 30 years, due to habitat loss, habitat degradation, and habitat fragmentation together with human population growth and illegal hunting. In some areas traditionally regarded as prime giraffe real estate, numbers have dropped by more than 95%! The Giraffe Conservation Foundation is hard at work to reverse this alarming decline, and we applaud their efforts! Check out their website...

Our January donation is to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center (EFRC) in Center Point, Indiana. With about 200 exotic felines, they are one of the largest rescue centers in the United States for abused, unwanted and neglected exotic felines. When you visit you will see lions, tigers, leopards, pumas, bobcats, ocelots, lynxes, and several other lesser-known types. I visited several years ago... that's one of my photos, above. I'm due for another road trip!​Center Point is about 60 miles southwest of Indianapolis and about 4 hours drive from Chicago; if you're ever in the area, I strongly encourage you to visit. You can even arrange to stay...

Wishing everyone nothing but blessings throughout the year!Our December donation goes to the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, or CBCM, an all-volunteer bird conservation project.   This past July, I saw a pigeon crouched on the patio table out on my back deck. It was late afternoon and still quite warm, so I had the back door open, and kept watching through the screen door to see what it would do (my cat kept a keen eye too). After a few hours it still hadn't moved much, and I realized it may be hurt or ill. So I googled around and found...