Splish Splash!

On Saturday April 30th and Sunday May 1st, Canine Social Club (5508 N. Western Ave) will be hosting a dog wash benefit for the animals at Red Door. Prices for baths are based on the size of the dog:
XS (0-15lbs)- short hair- $10 long hair $15
S (16-30lbs)- short hair $15 long hair $20
M (31-50lbs)- short hair $20 long hair $30
L (51-70lbs)- short hair $30 long hair $40
XL (71lbs +)- short hair $40 long hair $50

Canine Massage Chicago will also be on hand to offer dog massages for $1 per minute. The fun starts at 8am on Saturday and 10am on Sunday. There are also some great Spa packages for your pooch! All proceeds go to help homeless animals at Red Door. For more info contact Canine Social Club at 773-506-6200 or www.kninesocialclub.com.

See you there!

First Easter Bunny 2011 Rescue

Look at little Fozzy. He's just a baby--a lop-earred, long-furred, harlequin baby bunny. Yet he was found outside the day after Easter, sitting in his cage--in the garbage where someone had left him.

Red Door volunteers heard about him and scooped him up before he got taken away with the trash.

Fozzy got saved, but so many Easter rabbits are in peril. Please think of all the other Fonzys and help Red Door help more rabbits in need.

Remember the Duck "Brothers"?

We're sure you remember the baby ducks who came to Red Door last winter--they had been dumped in a pond but they had no feathers, just baby duck fuzz? Then it turned out they had metal poisoning, so Kiwi and Waffles lived at Red Door for several months while being treated.

We called them the Duck Brothers and you may have seen the video of them on our Facebook page? They loved to swim in our sink and later, when they got bigger, in our bathtub.

When Kiwi and Waffles reached a full recovery, they went to live in Virginia with our well-known duck lovers and rescuers Heather and John. (Thanks to Pam and her husband John for driving them.)

Guess what? The "brothers" turn out to be sisters! We thought you'd like to see Kiwi and Waffles in the backyard of their new home. The first photos shows Waffles looking at the camera and Kiwi is right behind her.

And the second photo shows the whole gang--we hear the Duck Sisters fit right in! In the middle of this photo you can see Kiwi and Waffles walking on either side of their new best friend Elmer. And bringing up the rear is Flipper, who is quacking off at them.

They look like very happy, healthy ducks! Thanks Heather and John for all the duck love.

Black Velvet

January was a great month for adoptions at Red Door. There were 9 cats adopted, and the biggest one of all was Velvet. For those who don't know, Velvet had been at Red Door for over 5 years. He was orignally living in a nursing home facility which then closed and Velvet had no where to go. Soon after coming to Red Door, Velvet was diagnosed with Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease and was prone to urinary blockages because of it. Once the problem was diagnosed, he was prescribed 2 different medications as well as prescription diet food.

Even though Velvet managed very well on his medications, had a very sweet & easy going personality, due to his special needs and age (7-10), he was constantly overlooked by potential adopters. Last winter a couple visited the shelter looking to adopt a pair of cats. They decided to foster Velvet to make sure he would be the right fit for them, and to be sure they would be able to manage his medications and special needs. Of course, they fell in love with Velvet, and could not envision their lives without him, and finalized his adoption in January. Velvet and his cute tounge-sticking-out antics will be missed by the staff and volunteers at Red Door, but of course it's most important that he found a great loving home to live his life with.

Red Door Honored by Windy City Rollers

Come out on Sunday February 13th to the UIC Pavilion to witness some nationally ranked womens flat track roller derby. Red Door will be honored at half time with a check presentation from Windy City Rollers and Red Door volunteers will be on site with information about Red Door programs.

Off the track, love is sure to be in the air the day before Valentines Day, but it's blood, sweat and tears on the track. It's sure to be a great time with some fierce competition as the Hells Belles take on the Double Crossers in the first match at 3pm and the Manic Attackers take on the Fury in the second match. For tickets and more information check out the Windy City Rollers at www.windycityrollers.com.

Hope to see you there!

Welcome to the Year of the Rabbit

It's official--2011 is the Year of the Rabbit: Happpy Chinese New Year to everyone! According to the Chinese zodiac, rabbits are gracious, kind, elegant, artistic, compassionate, and make excellent friends.

If you're looking for a new, excellent friend, please adopt a rabbit from Red Door. And stayed tuned for a whole year of wonderful rabbit-centric events.

Grape Expectations Jan. 27th: Red/White Wine Tasting Fundraiser

You won't want to miss the Red/White Wine Tasting Fundraiser this Thursday, January 27th, at Fine Wine Brokers, 421 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago. It runs from 7:30 - 9 pm and your $40 ticket includes wine, hors d'oeuvres, celebration, and a chance to help the animals at Red Door Animal Shelter.

This event usually sells out! And it's well on its way to doing so now. So make your reservation now at
http://www.reddoorshelter.org/events.php

Miss Pickles Finds Love

Valentine's Day came early for Miss Pickles. And not a moment too soon! For years, she lived outside in a hutch with little interaction with people and all too much exposure to the elements. Then Red Door volunteer Jill was able to rescue her. But even at Jill's house, Miss Pickles was very prickley! She didn't want love, she didn't even want anyone to look at her. Go away! was her constant state of mind.

Another Red Door volunteer, Pellet, took Miss Pickles home and spend time with her, sitting in her space with her, even though Miss Pickles made it clear that Pellet was not welcome. But slowly she began to come around.

Then she came back to the shelter and within two weeks, she met her dream family. They loved her and Miss Pickles loves them back. It's a real happy ending for a very deserving bunny.

Queen For a Day

Last Saturday, a Red Door staff and volunteer favorite was adopted. Queen, the little tortie who had been at the shelter since June, finally found a home. She was often overlooked in favor of younger, smaller kittens in the kitten room. The couple who adopted her had adopted a cat from Red Door five years previously, and had just stopped in to visit with some of the cats. When they came across Queen, they couldn't resist, and decided to welcome her into their home. The timing was great, and it was great to know that Queen would be spending the upcoming holidays in a new, loving home, where she would get heaped with affection and care. It also highlighted a great benefit to having been a previous adopter with Red Door- the green light! No application to fill out, no interview to sit though...just the willingness to open your heart to another homeless animal in need.

Happy Holidays from everyone at Red Door.

November is Adopt a Senior Pet Month!

Older animals tend to be one of the more overlooked when people visit animal shelters. People tend to forget that some cats can live to be nearly 22 years of age, so while a 10 year old cat may seem old, it would be the equivalent of a person in their 40's, and they still potentially have half of their lives left to live! Many senior cats are also healthy, or any health issues can be easily managed with the help of medications.
As volunteers of the shelter may remember, Esther was originally adopted from Red Door in 2002 when she was about 1 year old. Sadly, earlier this year, Esthers adopter passed away, and while various members tried to take her in and care for her, none of them could commit. Eventually she made her way back to Red Door. She didn't get along particularly well with other cats, and after being with someone who loved her for the previous 7 years, being back at the shelter was a shock for her. While her looks were very striking, her age and stressed out personality always seemed to dissuade potential adopters. Eventually, as we believe happens for every animal in our care, the right people came along and opened their doors to Esther and welcomed her with love. Recently I heard from Esther's adopters who sent along the attached picture and message:
"We are delighted with being able to provide Esther a new home and she has brought us so much joy. She talks to us a lot and is with us for the morning wake-up call as well as the bedtime devotion and playtime. We seek her out many times in the day so she has lots of attention. What a special cat she is!"
So next time you're in a shelter looking for a potential animal to adopt, don't look past the senior pets...they still need a lot of love, and still have a lot of love to give!

Rabbit Boarding at Red Door

Worried about your rabbit while you're out of town? Trust your bunny's care to our experienced rabbit-experienced staff.

Red Door is happy to announce the opening of our Rabbit Boarding Program--just in time for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's.

Your rabbit will receive hands-on care in a rabbit-friendly environment. We offer fresh Oxbow hay; salads; daily exercise in a playpen; bunny-perfect climate control (A.C. in the summer, of course! and not too warm in the winter); and--best of all from a rabbit's point of view--no dogs barking!

We can give meds, too.

Make your reservations now. Write: info@reddoorshelter.org or call 773-764-2242.

Red Door on 190 North

Heroes

Jade 9/20/2010

Many volunteers over the years at Red Door know and remember Jade the cat. Originally Jade came to Red Door in 2004, after living on the streets and being cared for over a year by a woman. Potential adopters visiting the shelter over the years were always drawn to her because she was very striking and beautiful. However, Jade was always a bit of a wall flower, very sweet once you get to know her, but very shy to start with. For that reason, Jade was overlooked by adopters time and again for over 6 years.

Back in April, staff at Red Door discovered some tumors on Jade's underside. After having them removed by our vet Dr. Gia, she did a biopsy, and the results came back positive for cancer. The doctor speculated that even though we had caught the tumor, most likely the cancer had metastasized and spread. She said Jade most likely had weeks to months left to live, and it would be great if we could find a hospice foster home for the time she had left.

A family did step forward and offered to care for Jade during her last days. They provided over 4 months of love, attention, and care for Jade. They reported that Jade was frequently run throughout the house and loved to play. As you can see in her picture, she was absolutely content in her new home.

Sadly, Jade passed away yesterday. However, we can celebrate the fact that she was able to live in peace and happiness, as every animal should, for a brief time in her life. It really goes to show how living in a loving home environment can change any cats personality. So remember to give that shy or special needs animal a second look next time you're thinking of adopting...you could be looking at a wall flower turned social butterfly.

Special thanks to Jade's foster family and to all of Red Door's foster providers for the work they do everyday. We wouldn't be able to do it without you.

Coraline: From foster to adopt

Many volunteers at Red Door are familiar with Coraline, the cute little cat who showed up on our door one day with four newborn kittens. All of her offspring had been adopted, and Coraline still waited. Finally a lovely couple came along interested in adopting Coraline, but they had some reservations. One of them had experienced allergies to cats in the past, and wanted to be sure that adopting a cat wouldn't worsen those allergies. So they decided to try fostering Coraline first, to see if their allegies became an issue, and also to make sure that Coraline was the right fit for them. Needless to say, and as you can see from the photo, they felt Coraline was a wonderful fit (and she agreed), and the foster parents reported no allergy flare ups. The couple was more than thrilled with her, and they decided to move ahead with the adoption.

Fostering is a great way to try out an animal, especially if you're unsure if the animal is the right fit for your home, or if you're concerned about any issues. The process is very similar to that of adoption, though it's not as permanent. That way, if it doesn't work out with the animal for some reason, they can come back to the shelter, and we can say that they got a nice vacation from the shelter. Of course, everyone's hope is that it does work out in the end, and that their story ends the same as Coraline's.

Of course, some volunteers foster animals, long term or short term, for a variety of reasons. Some foster just to give the animal a break from the shelter, some foster because it helps to create space for more animals at the shelter, some foster because a home environment is always more enjoyable for an animal than a shelter environment, some foster for terminally ill animals or animals with medical conditions, etc. The reasons are infinite. Please consider opening your home to foster an animal in need.

At the shelter

At the shelter
Originally uploaded by reddoorshelter

Red Door wants your help in making great videos of the animals at our shelter. If you have experience with Flip videos, please send us an email at toni@reddoorshelter.org

I Wish I May, I Wish I Might...

People interested in donating goods often ask us what sorts of items we need at the shelter. We have a wish list on our website (http://www.reddoorshelter.org/donations_wishlist.html). However, now for the first time, Red Door has a comprehensive list of all goods we use on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis at the shelter through our Amazon Wish List:

http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/3URHF5GPKB9M3

And remember, if you use this link: http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwreddoorshe-20&o=1&p=20&l=qs1&f=ifr Red Door will receive a portion of the proceeds from each sale! It's like making a double donation!

Cookie gets Blogtastic

Check out recently adopted Red Door cat, Cookie (now Boo) and her new blog!

http://booyah.posterous.com/

Time to Wash That Dog!

With all of the hot, rainy, muggy weather we've been having now is the perfect time to get Rover rinsed! On Sunday, July 11th, join us at Central Bark Doggy Day Care (3358 N. Pulaski) for some scrubtacular dog washing. The dog wash takes place from 11am-2pm. A clean dog will cost you only $10, and all proceeds go to help homeless animals at Red Door. What a deal!

Cat + Patio = Catio!

Catios--safe outdoor play areas for cats--are in style. Check out the whole trend, plus links to catio suppliers in today's New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/garden/17catio.html?scp=1&sq=catio&st=cse

The cats at Red Door are lobbying for their own catio this summer.