About Strays
📢🐾July is Lost Pet Prevention Month: Your Guide to Reuniting Pets! 🐾📢
Today marks the final day of Lost Pet Prevention Month, and we’re wrapping up with an important video from our staff and volunteers at Chicago Animal Care and Control (CACC). 🎥🐶🐱
In the video, we cover crucial information on what to do if you find a stray or if your pet goes missing. Here’s a quick rundown:
🔍 Stray Animals General
Q: What is the current situation with stray animals in the US?
A: In 2023, Shelter Animals Count reported that 48% of shelter intakes were strays. At CACC, this number was even higher at 74%. Microchips and tags are crucial, but there’s still a challenge, with only 9% of pets being returned to their owners.
📍 Found a Stray
Q: What should I do if I find a stray animal?
A: Check for a collar or tag, and try to reunite the pet by walking or driving around the area. Use social media and local resources to spread the word. If you can’t reunite the pet, file a found pet report on our 24petconnect website.
Q: What if I find a litter of kittens?
A: Monitor the area to see if the mother returns. If she does, let her care for the kittens until they are 8 weeks old. After that, ensure they are spayed or neutered.
🏠 Lost a Pet
Q: What steps should I take if I lose my pet?
A: Search the area immediately, share details on social media, and file a lost pet report on our 24petconnect website and Petco Love Lost. Don’t forget to contact the microchip company if your pet is chipped.
🚑 Sick or Injured Stray
Q: What should I do if I find a sick or injured stray?
A: Bring the animal to our shelter, open from 12pm to 7pm for intakes, or call 311 for assistance.
🔗 Resources
Visit our 24petconnect website: https://24petconnect.com/chgoall for more information, and check out Petco Love Lost.
We also offer free vaccine and microchip clinics in various community areas. To learn about all the free and low cost vaccine and microchip clinic
Milkdud makes our hearts hurt. He seems to have had an embedded collar based on the still healing injury to his neck. (Watch to the end at 0:16 for a pic). He’s probably the best cuddler we have. And maybe he’s never felt kindness from humans before so he doesn’t want to let go when he gets close to his volunteer friends (seen here with Abby). Milkdud is trying to navigate life in a busy, overcrowded, city shelter. It’s not easy for any of them, but harder on some. He may do well with another dog in the home based on what we’ve seen at the shelter. He’s feeling lucky that someone will see his reel & take him home! 🍀Adoption fees are waived every weekend in March along with all dogs and cats with a stay of 30+ days. #chicagodogs #pibblesofinstagram #graypitbull #lover #cuddler #hereforthesnugs #adoptlocal #adoptachicagodog #rescuedismyfavoritebreed
Tiny guy Donal is a toy & fun lover! He can’t even decide which toy is better so he tries to play with them all at once and barely even stops to take treats & pose for pics. He’s all about maximizing his time when he’s out of his kennel. He looks like some type of pug mix but we really aren’t sure. His tail curls up at the end and he has a short little nose on that CUTE little face! You can meet this adoptable small fry 12-6 daily. Adoption fees are waived on the weekends in March and for all pets with a stay of 30+ days. Adoptions are walk-in but don’t forget to bring your ID when you visit us. #funfunfun #smallfry #schmedium
Bro is such a handsome boy that Bro is the obvious name choice. He’s carefree, handsome, happy, joyful, funny, sweet. He’s ticking a lot of boxes. Bro came in as a stray and had a huge gash in his shoulder but we don’t know what happened. Our medical staff stitched him up and you would never know the way he struts around happily looking for attention. Add a Bro to your life. 🩷 #shelterdog #pibble #adoptdontshop #chicagodogs #rescuedismyfavoritebreed
Edith's DDO!
I was adopted on Feb 10, 2024!
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔, 𝚊 𝚜𝚙𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚎𝚜. 𝙾𝚑, 𝚖𝚢!
💗💗 𝙴𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚑’𝚜 𝙳𝚘𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚢 𝙾𝚞𝚝! 💗💗
Our incredible volunteers, Chris and Joe, took Edith on a very special adventure! Starting with the park where she put in a shift on geese patrol, to a spa day at Pet People, to wrapping up the day with loads of hugs from her admirers. Edith had a blast! And after spending the last 91 DAYS at the shelter, this sweet, gentle soul truly deserved it. Next on her agenda…finding a forever home!
Edith A266471
🌟🌟 Adoption fees are waived for all adoptable animals who have been at the shelter for 30+
days!!! 🌟🌟
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/XrQtCHH2tUdrTpiR/?
Sweet Olive! We hate to see you waiting for so long for someone to notice you. Olive has such a balanced personality dividing her time between cuddling & playing! Olive came in as a confiscate/prisoner property back in November. We could tell she had not had the easiest life before because she had obvious skin issues on her back but she’s looking like a brand new lady! She has not seemed comfortable being in contact with dogs at the shelter, although she doesn’t cause a ruckus when she passes them. So she would be best as an only pet. It’s difficult to tell in the shelter if they are simply under-socialized, not exposed to other dogs, or have truly had bad experiences that make them less dog-friendly than other dogs. But we aren’t here to judge or guess about her past. We want to meet her where she is. And why shouldn’t she be the queen of the castle? Give a solo pup a chance! #solodog #longstay #queenofhercastle #olive #pibble
Gypsy is the absolute cutest and we cannot comprehend how she’s still living at the shelter after more than 2 months! She’s teeny tiny, just a year and a half old, is already spayed, probably 40lbs or so, may do well with dogs, and has lots of personality! Come meet her! Happiest little girl ever. 🩷#pitmix #pocketpit #curledtail #dainty
Mandy had the best (doggy) day (out) EVER! She recently became our longest stay dog after Hayden was rescued and is now living in a foster home. This is not a designation we ever want any of our pups to achieve. But here we are more than 115 days later and Mandy is still living in a kennel at the shelter. We had volunteers, friends, partners, everyone reached out to help make this day happen! Here’s the day: 1) We call this “but first, coffee” ☕️ Mandy and her volunteer stopped by our local @starbucks for a pup cup. She gave it a 10/10, ⭐️ highly recommend. 2) Next the pair headed to @boslysbackyard which is a local indoor play place for dogs. They have hosted many of our dogs before and love hosting shelter dogs! While Mandy didn’t do much of the agility equipment on her first trip, she “will work for treats”. 10/10 ⭐️3) Another volunteer (Sara) has her very own @sniffspots yard and donated 90 minutes of playtime for her there! So they headed to Tiva’s green space for running, sniffing, and fashion modeling where we discovered that Mandy looks good in every color. Sara even left us some @toothandhoney Pitbull clothing for us to try out! Also 10/10, highly recommend! ⭐️At the end you’ll see a glimpse of what Mandy probably needed most. A little cuddle session and a peaceful nap in the car. 😭 *insert tears 🥹 It’s not an easy life being a shelter dog. It’s stressful and loud and even when they sleep they never really rest. They kind of live in a state of constant exhaustion. It’s not uncommon for dogs to get home and sleep constantly for a few days. Mandy got more time out of her kennel yesterday than she has since September when she first came to us as a chipped stray that no one ever claimed. 🥺😢💔Here’s why we think Mandy has been waiting so long: when she first came to us back in September, we introduced her to other dogs, while both dogs were leashed. She did well & seemed very happy & playful toward the other
Yeardley ran out of energy mid play session with volunteer Erin! 🤣😭🥰 but couldn’t be any cuter. Not possible. She’s a senior so she’s not a wild woman after all! This beautiful lady has heterochromia iridum which means, two different colored eyes! She’s got a blue and she’s got a brown. At an estimated eight years old, it’s sad for us to see her living in a shelter. You may find it hard to believe that this doll has been with us for nearly 4 weeks. 🥺 she has a very familiar story, a southside, unchipped stray. Of course we have an ask: 🩷If you can’t adopt, foster. 🩵If you can’t foster, share! But let’s really get this lady seen & saved so do all the social media things! #likecommentshare #weresavingliveshere Adopting from a municipal shelter is a life-saving act! #heterochromiairidum #pibble #seniordog #seniorsinshelters #maturelady #waggytail #watchlongerreels #chicagodogs #adontdontshop
Louisiana is a leaner! That’s right, this doll-faced angel leans in for pets and it’s beyond adorable. Louisiana is the SWEETEST lady! We say lady because she’s estimated to be past those puppy years but not yet a senior? Maybe a senior? Whatever it is, we call that: #thesweetspot She came in a month ago SO neglected. Her tail was missing hair on her tail (the entire top from tip almost to the base of her booty). 😢 How this sweet angel wasn’t the center of someone’s world is beyond our comprehension. We just love the gentleness of a dog her age. Our guess is maybe 5-8? (She has not been to medical yet to get an official estimate from a vet.) Last week she met so many people in a collaborative event and did SO WELL! Being around large groups of people didn’t bother her. She even met some elementary school aged children ended well. She’s definitely a volunteer favorite too! 😭🥰 *swoon, swoon. She’s such a sweet, easygoing pup in need of a family. Foster home, adoptive home, she’s open to any type of “not the shelter” placements! 🤣 #yourhouse Come meet her and you’ll swoon too. Her adoption fee is waived. #adoptaseniordog #seniordogsrock #dontpassmeby
Riggins-3 Snowflakes- 257 (but who’s counting…he definitely won!) Riggins is the best snowflake chomper at CACC! ❄️ This delightful, friendly, loving, big boy is looking for a ticket out of the shelter! That could be with you! We love the big guys and people seem to think they need a BIG place for a big dog and we’ve found that’s not true at all! Sometimes the bigger the dog, the lower the energy level. Or they have energy, but there’s no stamina behind it! We hear people say all the time that they can’t have a big dog because they don’t have a house or yard. But right now these dogs live in kennels! Size and energy are completely different things. We hate seeing big dogs get overlooked just because of their size! 🥰Our best guess is corso mix or mastiff mix. *swoon He has been with us a month now, so he would really love to leave with a rescue of adopter! We don’t know about his dog friendliness yet but he would love to meet you! Sometimes one dog is all you need. #largebreedlovers #mastiffmix #corsomix #swoon #bigdog #blackmask
Pudu (who you just met in those beautiful photos from volunteer Bob!) had a great day in the snow. He is perpetually happy and requires so little from life. Some love, some toys, some treats. His tail is in constant motion and he acts like he’s never had a bad day! What a star. ⭐️ If only we could all look at the world the way he does. Come meet Pudu! He would love to meet you and happy up your life! (Yes, happy is a verb for this doll). He also would appreciate if you could fatten him up a tad. He’s pretty slender! #kthanksbye #seeyouat12 #adoptabrindlebaby
We first met Kaya back in September, she was just a young pup, so we were happy that she went back to her owner. But just a few weeks later, she came back but this time as a chipped stray. Now she has been with us for months. She’s actually one of our longest residents which is really hard to believe. She’s petite and hilarious. She has so much fun personality packed into such a little Pittie bod. Her adoption fee has been waived. She goes to playgroup, and as you can imagine she is her little young and energetic self. At just a year old, she deserves to live her best puppy life outside of a shelter. #adoptapibble #rescuedismyfavoritebreed #chicagodogs #personalityfordays #sassinagoodway #spunk
While Oleg didn’t find a forever home for Christmas, he had a BLAST with our amazing volunteers who made sure all of our animals got some extra special love over the holidays. 💗 Oleg also had fun playing with a new toy from Santa. And then showing that toy who is boss. 🤣
Oleg A266846
❤️💙 Adoption fees are waived for the remainder of 2023!!! 💙❤️
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