Tom Van Winkle, Director of the Animal Care League
Animal Care League
1011 Garfield St
Oak Park, IL 60304
www.animalcareleague.org
(708)848-8155 
Out-U-Go! chats with the Animal Care League's, executive director, Tom VanWinkle.
face on a daily basis in providing the best possible care for the pups and
kitties living at the shelter?
need. Each day the greatest “need" changes, as do the resources I have to meet these needs. Some days we get a large number of animals
into the shelter, thus requiring staff to check them in, set them up in their
new home and work with the clinic staff to ensure they are checked out
medically. The next day we may need to
spend our time working with the animals on behavior/socialization issues while
a day later the phone may ring off the hook, thus requiring us to be in the
office. Most days though, several of
these “needs” occur at the same time, thus requiring all of us to wear many
different hats. This doesn’t even take
into consideration the normal day to day “needs” of feeding, medicating,
walking/socializing and taking the normal calls from the public. Our wonderful volunteers really help us out
by alleviating some of this pressure by working side by side in helping the
animals. Some folks come in early in the
morning to get the dogs out, while others come to socialize our cats throughout
the day. Still others help in the office
or in the kitchen/laundry room to allow staff to concentrate on other job
duties.
are able to give to the animals in terms of time and area of expertise. Is a person very good on a computer or have
great phone skills? If so, I would
encourage them to offer to spend some of their volunteer time in the office. Are you willing/able to wash windows, clean
dishes or do a load of laundry? Yes? –
then we could use help in the kitchen/laundry room. I think many people get the impression they
can only do one thing as a volunteer, which is not the case. Of course everyone wants to work with the
animals (I did too as a volunteer) and this is extremely important, but
volunteers are encouraged to work in several different areas. We have a 2nd Chance Shop and the
Economy Shop which raise much needed funds for the animals and they are always
in need of extra help. (Not to mention
the 2nd Chance Shop has cats living their who could use
socialization too. Also, don’t think
you can’t help if working at the shelter is too stressful or if a medical
condition (such as allergies) stand in the way.
We have many fundraising opportunities that always have room for more
assistance. And lets face it, the more
money we raise, the more animals we can help.
So your families should not be afraid to give me a call and ask how they
can help if being with the animals is not what they are looking to do.
someone else that is, what piece of advice would you offer them?
foremost – are you really ready to add a new member to the family. Often times we may emotional decisions that
come back to haunt us later. Once it is
determined that another pet (or a first one) is right for the entire family,
then spend a little time doing homework to make sure they pick out the right
pet for them. When we were in our 20’s,
a high energy dog may have been right for us, but now that we are little older
and spend more time at work instead of home, maybe a lower energy dog or a
cat(s) would be a better fit. I had a
Labrador Retriever puppy when I was 24 and we were the best of friends. I was single and was able to meet her needs
because I had the time to do so. Now
that I am married, have a daughter and work a lot, I don’t think it would be
fair to bring a Lab puppy into my house.
I still love them to death, but it wouldn’t be the right fit for this
stage in my life. The last bit of advice
is to research where you get your pet. I
would love everyone to come to us (or another shelter), but if a families
requirements do not make coming to a shelter possible, I would be very diligent
in investigating where I get my pet from.
There are some very good, caring people who will sell a nice pet, but
there are also some who should not be in the “pet” business. The ACL and other shelters can give advice on
what to look for if anyone wants to more information.
and staff can participate in?
important than ever. This summer we will
be hosting the following events.
Recycled
Cans for Recycled Pets – this is an ongoing fundraiser where people bring us
their aluminum cans and we recycle them for money for the shelter. Can’s can be dropped off at the following
locations: Shelter;
recycle bins)
June
21st – Fathers Day Pancake Breakfast at
June
29th – Night Out for the Animals at Jimmy’s in
$20 at the door gets you live music, buffet food, cash bar and a chance
to enter our raffles.
August
1st –
Pet Parade
We
would like to add a few more low cost fundraisers because we know everyone is
feeling the crunch, but we need help organizing them.
newly adopting pet parents of the Animal Care League, Out-U-Go! promotes
our Home-U-Go! program by continuing to provide individualized daily dog
walks and visits. How important is
human socialization, exercise and outdoor stimulus for newly adopted pups?
and happy dog, the services provided by Out-U-Go actually allow people to get a
dog that might not otherwise fit their lifestyle. Some people really want to have a dog in
their home, yet don’t feel they have the time required to meet their physical
and social needs. Out-U-Go fills in that
gap by exercising and socializing the dogs so the family won’t have to as
much. Many people work long hours and
dogs get bored, so these services keep them mentally and physically fit. Also, well socialized and exercised dogs tend
to get into less trouble around the house.
I am a huge supporter of these services and recommend them to everyone,
even those people who don’t have highly demanding schedules.