09/30/2025
**OFFICIAL STATEMENT**
For seven years, the Chicagoland Rescue Intervention & Support Program (CRISP) stood at the front doors of Chicago Animal Care & Control (CACC). What started as a one day a week operation in 2016 became a beloved Chicago program, and by 2019, CRISP was at the shelter four days a week helping people keep their pets and networking surrenders to rescue groups.
We did this work for free. We did it with non-judgmental compassion, and most importantly, we did it with results. In 7 years, we never said no to a client in need. We kept 1,412 pets out of the shelter, sent thousands more directly to rescue groups, and had an appetite to increase our impact.
In October 2023, we had met with CACC leadership to share that we secured a $100,000 grant to cover 100% of surrender hours inside the shelter. We drafted a Memorandum of Understanding and were told it was with the Law Department and to wait for their response.
On November 21, 2023 CRISP was asked to skip our regular weekend shift. We weren’t told why, but a week later we found out via social media that the CRISP program was being replaced by a new PAWS Chicago program that would do the same thing we did… just “better.”
It has been two years since our program was cut. In those two years PAWS has failed to deliver on their promise of a “better” program.
**PAWS Chicago has failed to provide diversion services for most of the open CACC hours. They are not scheduled to be at the shelter daily and they do not cover all open hours on the days they are there. Both total diversion numbers and percentages of diversion compared to intake are down with the new program.
**PAWS Chicago and CACC have repeatedly turned owners looking for support away, telling them surrendering their pet is the only option.
**PAWS Chicago has failed to provide services to pets needing what they deem “extraordinary care”. They cite an amputation as an example, which is a procedure CRISP would always cover. In our time at CACC, we almost exclusively provided medical care and “extraordinary care”. Those services are now being denied to Chicagoans in need, causing very sick and very injured pets to enter our shelter, or worse, be euthanized without treatment.
After a promising meeting and exchange of emails this summer, CRISP hoped to return to CACC to work alongside PAWS Chicago, providing “extraordinary care” and filling the vacant diversion hours that PAWS is not staffing. After months of email exchanges, drafting a new MOU at CACC’s request, and canceled meetings, we were finally told we are not welcome to come back in person.
While CACC offered to refer clients to us, the reality is the official program has not referred a single client to us in 2 years. Additionally, the current diversion program is not staffed during all intake hours so there will be no one there to refer clients.
We are shocked that CACC, who consistently shares they are under-resourced and can’t handle all the owner surrenders they receive, would turn down our offer to continue to provide free help 7 days a week.
We are shocked that PAWS Chicago would choose to replicate a program that already exists instead of creating new services that are so badly needed at our shelter. We are further shocked that they would turn down working alongside us despite being unwilling to provide the services that we can.
If you are also shocked, please use your voice to ask that CRISP be brought back to CACC:
Susan Capello, Interim Director of Chicago Animal Care & Control [email protected]
Alexis Fasseas of PAWS Chicago [email protected]
Despite our frustration, CRISP is back to our mission of keeping families together. We are currently taking referrals from any area municipal shelter and will soon share how we will accept referrals from the public. Our work is vital to the health of our community, and we will not stop keeping pets with their families. It’s not rescue if they already have a home.
Sincerely,
The CRISP Team
ALIVE Rescue
Mutts of the Midway
One Tail at a Time
Second City Canine Rescue
