Tails from the Front: Make No Small Plans!

As Chicagoans we all know of Daniel Burnham's famed comment about making no small plans.  We are the city of broad shoulders, big plans, and big dreams.

Well, all over the Chicago area dogs and cats  in pounds and "shelters," though no fault of their own, have the big plan, the big dream of having a home of their own again.  A loving family to worship and love, again.  They were once some family's loving pet, know all the house rules and all the basic commands, and were just very good boys and girls.  Then the winds of fate changed plans for their families, and the loving, loyal pets were turned into pounds where, because they aren't cute little puppies or kittens anymore, they have almost no chance of getting out alive.

You can help!  Here is a fun, free, and easy way to help. It's a Chicago tradition to make big plans and one local animal rescue, which specializes in older dogs and cats ( 5 years and up), is making a really big plan.  Young at Heart Pet Rescue ( www.yahpetrescue.com) is sponsoring a major pull of dogs and cats out of a Chicago shelter (the Animal Welfare League).   These are not the youngsters you see on the adoption floor.  These are the mature, grey-muzzled, 5+ years old, former members of someone's family who will be euthanized solely because there just isn't enough room for them on the adoption floor.   But they are twelve great lives that will be saved one day next month.  Twelve at a time!  That's a dozen lives saved!

Wouldn't you like a fun, free, easy way to help save TWELVE lives?  And why don't rescues do that more often? Well, the simple answer is, we don't have enough foster homes for the dogs and cats we pull.  You can be a foster home!  Young at Heart will get the dog or cat to you, pay to have it treated by a veterinarian who will make sure the newly saved life is up to date on all its vaccinations and healthy, and will even supply the food!  All you supply is the love!

By rescuing 12 seniors, Young at Heart is not only saving their lives, but saving the lives of 12 additional animals that won't have to be euthanized due to lack of space at AWL. The goals of the "Super Senior Save" are to 1) increase the number of seniors saved by our organization 2) encourage the public to go to their local shelter and adopt a senior and 3) educate the public on just how hard it is for a senior to get the care, time, and resources necessary to find it a forever home- something Young at Heart specializes in.

This is an easy, short-term commitment to help an animal get back on its feet and find a new loving family.  And it is so rewarding to see the dog or cat go to their new home- you will probably get emails and Facebook updates with photos of the life you saved being loved and living a great new life.  A true second chance story and a really big plan!

Worried that you will become too attached?  Foster families get "first dibs" on adopting.  Worried that you might not like the foster you get?  I've had over 40 fosters in the last 5 years and most of them have been far better trained than any dog I might have raised from a pup.  They taught my own dog how to behave!  And you get to meet so many wonderful souls who pass through your life and go on to make another family truly happy.

So come on, make a big plan!  Help Young at Heart save over a dozen lives in June, or any month you have some time.  There is always a need.  Check out the website at www.yahpetrescue.com or contact them at foster@yahpetrescue.com.  And look at the photos to see some of our past fosters, all of whom were great dogs and all of whom were slated to be euthanized due to age but are now with happy families giving lots of love.

And you can help!