And the winner is.....

Recently, Red Door held our first Design Contest. 

Entries were posted on our Facebook page, and fans were invited to vote by "liking" their favorite entry.
Click here to view all of the entries

Here is the winning entry, by Claudia Aguilar, which received 176 votes:

A long-time animal lover, Claudia moved to the Ravenswood neighborhood several years ago and learned about Red Door through a co-worker.  " I started by helping out on cleaning days and dog washes. I've continued to volunteer at events and participated in the Holiday Bazaar. By far my favorite thing has been taking part in "Kitty Boot Camp" this year. It helped me establish relationships with the current Red Door residents and see their personalities emerge"

Claudia received her BFA in Fine Arts from Columbia and currently works at PaperSource in the West Loop, designing crafting kits and samples. "It has always been a dream of mine to use my creativity to help others, so I thought the Red Door contest was the perfect opportunity to do so!"

"When I set out to design something for Red Door's contest I knew I wanted to communicate what they do in a simple, bold way. I played around with ways to combine images of the animals that are helped by Red Door most often, with a message about their work. I feel that it is so crucial to really emphasize the importance of adoption. When I sketched out the word adopt, I liked how the roundness of the letter "o" could be turned into an animal. I added details I felt communicated a cat, dog and rabbit in the simplest most universal way. And of course, I made it red to convey the name Red Door."

We're sure that Gizmo, Polo, Tortilla and Eleanor Rigby (cats) and  Franny & Zooey  (african clawed frogs) may have helped a little.  " I am very fortunate that my pets didn't have to experience shelter life, but it makes me more determined to help those who are in shelters"

So congratulations to Claudia, and to all of our designers.  Look for the winning design as well as several others on a new line of Red Door merchandise coming soon.

A Howling Good Time at the K-9 Easter Egg Hunt

Over 50 dogs and their people had a wonderful (and noisy) time at our K-9 Egg-stravaganza! Dog Easter Egg Hunt.

PinkyStinky Horton arrives at Rex's Place

Photos courtesy of  D.O.G. (Dog Obedience Group)

 

More photos from our friends at Chicago Pet Video

 

Check out this great video as well!

Thanks again to Dog Obedience Group, Rex's Place,  and all our volunteers.

Especially Mike!

Egg-citing Event: K-9 Easter Egg Hunt

This Saturday, March 24, marks what Red Door hopes will become an annual tradition: our first K-9 Egg-stravaganza! Dog Easter Egg Hunt. Sponsored by Dog Obedience Group and Rex's Place, this doggy event will be tail-wagging fun.

In the U.S., the best known Easter egg event is probably the White House Easter Egg Roll, which officially started on the South Lawn of the White House in 1878 (although some history references mention a possible egg roll overseen by Dolly Madison). But at the White House, the eggs are rolled--with a spoon or a stick--across the grass. Even First Dog Bo looks pretty excited about the whole idea this year.

I think I found a bug...

Red Door's Egg Hunt will have leashed dogs and their owners searching for eggs along our course. Every owner is given an egg carton and every egg sniffed by his or her dog goes in the carton. Of course, each egg is stuffed with treats--plus there will be many extra prizes for dogs or humans! Prizes include dog toys, bags of dog treats, chocolate bunnies for humans, restaurant gift certificates, coupons for doggy day care, and a pet portrait at Sutton Studios.

There's better be treats for this...

The event is from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Dog Obedience Place/Rex's Place, 2120 Ashland, Evanston. Entry fee for the K-9 Egg-stravaganza is $10 per dog. Also, the Easter Bunny will be on hand for instant photo portraits with your pet ($5). All money raised benefits the abandoned rabbits at Red Door.

Here Is What NOT To Do...

For the second time this week, a box has been left at the front door with an animal inside. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last time unfortunately. However, both times, the animal that was inside escaped and the box was empty by the time the staff came in the morning. One of the animals was recovered by someone, the other unfortunately has not been found. If you find an animal, or know someone who has, please do NOT leave it at an animal shelter after hours. Aside from the animal possibly escaping and running into traffic (Red Door is located near a very busy intersection & alleyway), many times left without food or water, the animal is also exposed to the elements outside including rain, heat, snow, predators, insects, and even people who may want to do the animal harm. Also, leaving an animal at any shelter in the city other than Chicago Animal Care and Control is considered animal abandonment and is punishable by law. Understandably, people think they're doing the right thing, or may not know where else to turn.
So what should I do with an animal I find outside after hours? If you can house the animal overnight (spare bedroom, bathroom, etc) you can contact area animal shelters in the morning to check on availability. If you absolutely cannot keep the animal overnight and it's after hours, you can contact Chicago Animal Care and Control, who by law must take any stray animals for a holding period.

Red Door on 190 North

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!

Have You Adopted from Red Door -- Wall of Honor for June 13th

We remember these faces -- of course! And they're only a fraction of the animals we've saved over the last 10 years.

Have you adopted from Red Door? If so, you will want to come to the Gimme Shelter! walk to see our Wall of Honor, showing all of the names--and many of the photos--of the animals we've saved during our past decade of rescues.

You can place a heart or star sticker by your animal's name on the wall.

Even if you haven't adopted from Red Door, you will still want to help us celebrate on June 13th at Indian Boundary Park. Get all the information at reddoorshelter.org

Registration is $15 before the event, $20 the day of the event. See you there!

Come out and support Red Door!

Come to Avieve Salon and Day Spa on Saturday October 10th from 9am-5pm, where a $10 donation gets you entered in a raffle of dozens of great prizes from local area businesses. Also, Red Door dogs will be there from 9am-11:30am for your viewing and adopting pleasure!
A portion of sales at Avieve that day will also go to support homeless dogs, cats, and rabbits at Red Door.
Avieve is located at 2558 N. Southport in Chicago.

Don't Miss Dog Wash Sept. 12 at Evanston Whole Foods!

Don't Miss this great dog wash at Whole Foods Evanston South, 1111 N. Chicago Avenue, Evanston. It's from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. and all the money goes to the homeless animals at Red Door, a no-kill, cageless shelter for cats, dogs, and rabbits.
Wash is $10 or a brushing with spritz is $5.

Dog Wash August 8

Don't miss this Saurday's Dog Wash! It's a benefit for the animals at the shelter. It runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot at Whole Foods Evanston South, 1111 Chicago Avenue, Evanston. Wash is $10. And if your dog is phobic about water, you can do a brushing and a scented spritz for $5.

See you there!

Returning a Lost Dog to its Home: Priceless!

If you read the posting "Dog Rescued from Uncertain Fate," then you know about Laney, the white dog who was running around in a snowstorm. Red Door volunteers Kristin and Mike worked hard to catch Laney--as we called her. Her back legs were bleeding from some injury--possibly a brush with a car!--and she needed immediate medical attention.

Today, Laney returned to her owners. It seems she had escaped from the back porch and then had some kind of accident. Her real name is Linda, which is amazingly close to the name we'd chosen for her. Linda/Laney was thrilled to be reunited with her family, who have promised to keep a closer eye on her from now on.

Thanks to Kristin, who first spotted her running around; Mike; Matt; Animal 911 & Dr. Gallegos; Chicago Exotics & Dr. Horton; Katie and Benji, who took turns fostering Linda/Laney during her time with Red Door.

Have a Heart Art Auction

Join us at Woman Made Gallery, 685 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, for a wonderful art show. The work is bound to make your heart beat faster! Auction of art work ends the evening--with all proceeds going to the animals at Red Door. Admission is free. Cash bar for wine, soda, and heart-healthy pomegranite martinis--with proceeds going to the shelter animals.
Red Door cat Jade does her best DaVinci impersonation, showing off her tipped ear.

Santa Baby! Photo Session Dec. 14 Benefits Red Door Animals

This year, get a great holiday photo of your pet! Come to Sit! Boutique on December 14, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. for a photo-with-Santa pet session. All proceeds from the photos benefit the homeless animals at Red Door. Also that day: elves! refreshments! cookies! Sit! Boutique is a great place to buy quality cat and dog food, toys, and pet beds. The boutique is located at 2316 W. Leland, Chicago, in the Lincoln Square neighborhood.

Red Door Dogs Hit Andersonville Streets - Dec. 21st

Look for the Red Door donation dogs on the streets of Andersonville on December 14th. They will be wearing their donation pouches, like Benji here, and looking for any spare bills or coins you can donate for the homeless animals at the shelter. The dogs will be out, starting around 5225 N. Clark Street, around 12 noon.

City of Chicago Chooses Dog City Sticker

Congratulations to the City of Chicago for choosing a dog as the art work for the 2009 city sticker. This sticker, designed by Chicago high school student Denise Ferguson, will appear 1.3 million car windshields in June 2009. Let's hope that's another step in making Chicago a no-kill city for animals.

Take A Chance on Chapa

You can meet Chapa and other adoptable Red Door Animals at the 1st Annual Howl-o-Ween event sponsored by Chicago Area Shelter Alliance. The event will be held on Saturday October 25th from 10am-7pm at Navy Pier.

Whole Foods Dog Wash a Swimming Success!

Our dog wash at Whole Foods Evanston South on August 17th was a swimming success! The heat just made the dogs--most of them, anyway--enjoy the whole bath experience. There were also post-grooming instant photos and dog treats, too.
Thanks to all the volunteers and thanks, too, to Whole Foods Evanston South, 1111 Chicago, Evanston.

We Call Him Sir Charles--Adopt a Dog in Chicago

We call him Sir Charles because he's so dignified. And his personality is very regal--plus friendly and loyal. Charles's owner died, so he's looking for someone to love him. He gets along with other dogs and is very devoted to anyone who spends a little time with him.
Email us to hear more about Charles.

Doggone Mystery Writer David Rosenfelt Appears at The Book Cellar

6:00-9:00pm, Sept. 10th
Join David Rosenfelt, the popular Chicago author of six Andy Carpenter mysteries, including the recent hit "Play Dead," as he delivers his new novel: Don't Tell A Soul. Rosenfelt will read and sign his book at this evening's event. The Book Cellar is a regular supporter of Red Door, and a percentage of the proceeds will benefit our shelter. Rosenfelt is a Golden Retriever enthusiast, often using dogs as characters in his books.
The Book Cellar
4736 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago

Dog Wash at Whole Foods

Scrub a Dub Dub, this dog wash will be fun--for you and your dog! Meet us and our team of dog washers in the parking lot of Whole Foods Evanston South, 1111 Chicago Avenue, Evanston. Choose Quick Groom (brushing, two-minute massage, and a doggy wipedown) for $3.00 or a dog wash (shampoo in tub, rinse, towel dry) for $10. All proceeds benefit the animals at Red Door.