 Operations Manager Laura Flamion pictured with adoptable Cindy Puppers
I am honored to be in my new position as Operations Manager
at DuPage County Animal Care & Control (DCACC). Supporting open admission
shelters has been a passion of mine that began when I became a shelter
volunteer, later adopted a pet from DCACC, and grew through the work I did with
DuPage Animal Friends. Through those experiences, I was privileged to gain a
deeper understanding of how teamwork, education and shared resources can have a
profound effect on the lives of our homeless animals and pet owners in our
community. In my new role at DCACC, I am excited to continue moving these three
principals forward in helping to make DuPage County a place where all pets have
a home and citizens benefit from the joys of having companion animals as part
of their lives responsibly and safely.
Our team at DCACC cares about the work we do. We are
dedicated to not only providing the highest level of care to our animals, but
we know that people are at the other end of those lives. We hope you see our
increased attention to providing an excellent customer experience and teaming
up with others to offer solutions. I want you to share your thoughts and
recommendations directly with me so we can exceed your expectations. You can
email me directly at laura.flamion@dupageco.org.
We want to be a leader in providing resources and education
to people in our community. Education can be a powerful tool in reducing animal
bites, lowering the number of owner surrenders and increasing positive outcomes
for our animals. I encourage you to check out the great educational programs
offered at DCACC and be on the lookout for new programs going out into the
community.
Finally, sharing resources is the next big game changer.
Whether it is a single family sharing their home with a foster animal or a
whole organization working to reduce the number of feral cats in our
neighborhoods, we all need to work together. When we share best practices,
network, and innovate together, we can do more.
I’m excited about our future and know we can’t do it without
YOU. Whether you have adopted, volunteered, attended an event or follow us on
Facebook, we appreciate you. Everyone at DCACC wishes you a wonderful holiday
season.
Laura Flamion
Year-end provides a great
opportunity to reflect on all that we have accomplished over the past
year. Here are just a few highlights
that you, our supporters, helped make possible in 2017…
Saving Community Cats
This fall, DCACC was awarded one-time financial
assistance from Best Friends Animal Society to provide spay/neuter,
microchip, and vaccinations for 40 community
(i.e. feral) cats so that they can be released back outdoors rather than face
euthanasia. In late 2016, DCACC began
actively seeking placement for community cats via our informal “working cats”
program which aims to release community cats received by DCACC back to
responsible colony caretakers. These
initiatives are the result of our goal to end the blanket policy of euthanizing
every feral cat received by DCACC and help as many as possible to find a
positive outcome.
Life-Saving Medical Equipment
Thanks to the generosity of DuPage Animal Friends donors, DCACC is set to
receive $10,000 worth of new medical equipment!
Funds raised via DAF’s Giving Tuesday fundraiser will provide a new
surgical cautery unity, suction unit, centrifuge, and critical care unit. These items will help decrease surgery time,
reduce treatment time and make surgery safer for our animals.
Specialty Veterinary Vehicle
DuPage County’s animals will soon benefit from a very generous $300,000 grant
from the Brooks J. McCormick Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy! The grant was made possible by DCACC volunteer,
foster and DAF board member Amanda Yancey, who worked with staff to develop the
funding concept and present it to managers of the trust. This specialty vehicle will be used for
veterinary outreach within DuPage County, veterinary disaster response wherever
needed, humane education, off-site adoption events, and even to provide
diagnostic services not currently available at the shelter (i.e. x-ray). Look for our vehicle to make the rounds
around town beginning in May 2018!
The Proof Is In The Numbers
Under the leadership of the
DuPage County Animal Control Committee, staff and volunteers are taking steps
each and every day to serve the public, maintain public safety, and save as
many animal lives as possible. As of
December 19, 2017, DCACC is celebrating its highest Live Release Rate (75.88%)
in our history, despite experiencing the highest intake numbers since
2015. (Read more about the Asilomar
Accords and how Live Release Rate is calculated here.)
It Takes A Community To Save Lives
But there is more work to be
done. The only way we can save more
lives is if you, our community members, join us in the life-saving work. Our current biggest challenges are:
-
Weekday Volunteers (Mon. – Fri. 8am-4:30pm) - Volunteers are
needed during the weekday to help us care for, exercise, and socialize our
rabbits and dogs (visit our website for the most current
list of volunteer openings).
-
Foster Homes for Hard-to-Place Animals - DCACC struggles to find foster homes for our neediest
animals: big dogs (35+lbs.), under-socialized kittens and medical animals. The difference between life and death is often
in finding someone willing to open up their home temporarily as a foster. If
you are willing to provide a temporary home for a big dog, a kitten in need of
socialization, and/or an animal recovering from an illness, please complete our
Foster Application or
contact Dina, our Foster Coordinator at dina.schubert@dupageco.org.
We look forward to working with you in 2018 to make life even better for
the animals in and around DuPage County!
Dear Santa Paws,
My
name is Toad and I have been a very good boy this year, well there was
that one cat chasing incident but I still say he was asking for it! I've
been very busy at the shelter practicing my manners and I have my paws
crossed that you will bring me the greatest gift in the whole world!
What I want most, more than anything, is a family! A family to play
with, to enjoy endless belly rubs with, and most importantly a family to
share a lifetime of love with!
Please, oh please, Santa give me this one amazing gift!
Love,
Toad
To learn more about Toad and the other wonderful adoptable animals at DCACC visit: bit.ly/DCACCadoptables.
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