Animal rescue organization needs rescue of its own

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Christopher Hankins/chankins@dailyherald.com

Guardian Angels Animal Rescue needs an angel of its own, if it intends to survive.

With recent fundraising efforts falling flat, the South Elgin organization increasingly finds itself trying to exist solely on donations.

And that money is not enough to do what it's done for the past 10 years -- rescuing feral cats and kittens from the streets, tending to their medical needs, spaying and neutering them and then putting them up for adoption, said Carol Schultz, its owner.

"We're like, pretty much near the edge of the cliff of falling off and not coming back up for air," Schultz said.

Schultz, a South Elgin resident, keeps 30 cats in her home that are ready for adoption; 20 cats live in the garage she remodeled just for them.

Another 25 cats live on a Carpentersville farm owned by Marilyn Estes. While some of these cats are awaiting medical treatments and sterilization, others are ready for adoption, Estes said.

Estes' main duties is trapping and neutering; Then, if the cats aren't eligible for adoption, she releases them back into the wild.

The county is only required to collect stray dogs by law, not cats, said Tom Schlueter, a spokesman for the Kane County Health Department.

And there are only eight available spaces for cats in the new animal shelter in Kane County -- there's room for a total of 15 cats and seven spots are already taken, Schlueter said.

This keeps Guardian Angels busy, as the organization draws cats and kittens out from all over the Fox Valley. Calls come from Crystal Lake, Wayne, Richmond, Elgin, South Elgin, East Dundee and West Dundee, among other places.

Estes said Anderson Animal Shelter in South Elgin also provides tips about wild cats.

Local veterinarians and ones in Chicago treat the cats for diseases and other ailments, while Anderson Animal Shelter spays and neuters these cats.

But these services don't come cheap.

Schultz and Estes estimate they've racked up thousands of dollars in credit-card debt to keep the services going.

For one cat alone, it costs about $50 to sterilize, vaccinate and insert a microchip in it that helps owners find their lost cats, Estes said.

Additional problems arise when a cat is especially sick.

"Then the vet bills can be into the hundreds" Estes said. "It mounts pretty quick."

Schultz's ultimate goal is to raise money so she can open a place just for cats and call it Feline Heaven.

But a county grant Schultz applied for fell through, and she isn't sure how much longer Guardian Angels can hang on.

Still, Estes says her animal empathy is hard to shake.

"When I have an injured animal or sick animal, it's hard for me to turn them down," she said.

How to help

If you'd like to make a donation to Guardian Angels Animal Rescue, call (847) 931-4535. Or you can mail it to Guardian Angels Animal Rescue, P.O. Box 595, South Elgin, IL 60177