  This month let’s focus on hydration. Proper water intake is obviously essential for both animals and people and is especially critical in extreme temperatures. Dogs can sweat through their paws, but they mainly lose water (through evaporation) by panting to cool themselves in hot weather. Without proper water intake, dehydration can result in lethargy, dry gums, increased heartrate, skin tenting, and dark colored or decreased volume of urine. Continued dehydration can cause kidney damage and even be fatal if the pet goes without water too long.
Always provide fresh, clear water for your pets and bring the proper equipment with you when you’re away from home. When exercising outdoors, your pet might be tempted to drink from a pond or lake. Stagnant, warm water, under the right conditions, can host an algal bloom. This can be harmful, even fatal to animals and people if ingested. To learn more about the dangers of algal blooms in our area, check out the DuPage Forest Preserve’s website and understand how to keep you and your pets safe.
With the recent wildfires in Canada affecting our air quality, we are getting constant reminders on how the health of the environment affects our own health and the health of our pets. The CDC launched a campaign titled “One Health” to bring issues like climate change and the transmission of zoonotic diseases (those diseases that can be transmitted between people and animals) to the public eye. Understanding how to keep the environment healthy will be key to keeping our pets and ourselves safe in the future. Learn more about One Health by clicking the image below.
  Dr. Barbara Hanek,
Veterinarian Administrator
Welcome Maddie Juhl
Maddie joins the front office as an Animal Client Services Coordinator.
A life long animal lover, Maddie volunteered with animal shelters beginning in high school and fostered animals throughout college. She's excited to put her passion and education to use at DCAS and actively help animals in need. While the family dog Sadie may be her favorite cuddle buddy, Maddie can't limit herself to one favorite animal. Cats, Rabbits, and Horses join Dogs on that list.
Don't worry though. Maddie doesn't show favorites to mammals. A fan of all animals great and small, she and her mother help raise Monarch and Eastern Swallowtail butterflies every year.
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Welcome Amy Wrobel
Amy Wrobel, our newest veterinary technician, comes to DCAS with years of experience in animal hospitals around the Chicagoland area. Starting her animal care journey as a high school volunteer with Anti Cruelty Society, Amy has a special affinity for helping dogs in need. She's especially looking forward to helping broken dogs become whole again at DCAS.
Along with dogs, Amy has a soft spot for pandas, ravens, and crows. She has Ellie, a pit mix, and Emma, a rat terrier mix, at home as well as Oreo, a hamster. If you see her barefoot at the shelter, don't worry too much. Amy is super dexterous and can pick up bobby pins with her toes!!
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Normally, we use this space to highlight a specific animal who may be struggling to find a forever home. But 2023 is an unusual year and continues to throw our small shelter curveballs with large single home intakes, sometimes with dozens of animals arriving at the shelter in a single day. All of our pets need help.
We're using all our resources to help these pets, but our main resource is YOU.
Here's how to help:
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Adopt! Now is a perfect time to help a pet in need.
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Foster! If you live near the shelter, consider fostering. Every animal in a foster home means more space in the shelter for pets in need. Learn more about fostering for DCAS.
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Share! Follow our social media accounts and share the stories of the animals in need to help find them homes.
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Prevention! Check on the people you know to make sure they are okay. Animal hoarding doesn't happen overnight, and often doesn't get noticed until the situation is out of control. Talk to family and friends about resources for spay/neuter in our area.
Our community can do amazing things to help animals in need. We know that working together, we can find placement for these homeless animals.
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