South Elgin animal shelter gets $95,000 valentine
Anderson Animal Shelter got a Valentine's Day surprise Tuesday in the form of a $95,000 giant check from the Petco Foundation in a celebration that included gifts for the humans and treats for the pets.
The South Elgin facility is among 16 shelters across the nation, and the only one in Illinois, getting special treatment this week from the foundation. BOBS from Skechers - which donates 25 cents to the foundation for every pair of shoes sold - donated 30 pairs to be distributed among shelter volunteers and staff members, and WholeHearted donated treats for the pets.
The celebration, which included lunch at the shelter, was to recognize "the tremendous lifesaving effort" the shelter performs each year, said John Sierra, Petco Foundation's regional field program manager. A partnership between Petco and the shelter has yielded 2,370 pet adoptions in the last three years, he said.
Beth Foster, the shelter's chief executive officer, said $95,000 "is a lot of money to us."
"You guys are as lifesaving as we are in what we do, and we could not appreciate you more," she told foundation representatives.
The South Elgin shelter helps about 4,000 pets find adoptive homes each year and has an annual budget of about $3 million, she said. The shelter especially appreciates unrestricted donations, such as the one from the foundation, money that likely will go to routine veterinary care - vaccinations, deworming and the like - that costs more than $400,000 per year, Foster said.
The no-kill shelter has about 60 dogs, up to 40 ready for adoption, and about 60 cats, up to 30 also ready for adoption. It has another 60 animals ready for adoption at Petco in Bloomingdale and at an adoption center in North Aurora, Foster said. The rest are in "pre-adoption," meaning the staff and volunteers - there are about 300 actives ones - are working to get them ready to find homes, she said.
Volunteer Ken Swanson of Elgin said the shelter deserved Tuesday's celebration.
"I think this is the greatest thing they could have done for this place," he said. "I like that fact that it's no-kill, and they are extremely concerned about the animals at all times."
Anderson Animal Shelter continues to launch new programs, such as one this year for military veterans who want to work with animals with behavior issues, Foster said. The shelter also is eyeing a capital campaign to possibly expand its building, which was built in 1970s and at capacity, she said.
The Petco Foundation distributes $14 million annually in grants and conducts an annual "Love Changes Everything" campaign at more than 1,500 Petco locations, officials said. This year, it also created what it calls "the world's largest shelter valentine," with thousands of messages of gratitude from pet adopters that will go to more than 4,000 animal welfare partner organizations across the country.