Thank you for visiting my fundraising page for the West Suburban Humane Society!

Our biggest fundraiser of the year is coming up on Sunday September 28th.  I'd love to count on your support this year.  

I'd like to introduce you to our newest addition at home, Molly.  She was adopted from WSHS as a kitten and ended up back at animal control in Chicago.  Because she had a WSHS microchip embedded in her, the shelter got her back and into a great home--ours!  She was our second foster kitty and was with us for a day under 2 years before we formally adopted her this past April.  Our first foster kitty, Hope, was with us for 7 months and is now living happily in her forever home nearby.  

WSHS' shelter has the capacity for 60 cats or kittens and 20 dogs or puppies.  We are rarely not at capacity at the shelter, and as of last week we also have 44 cats and 43 kittens and 14 dogs and 23 puppies in foster homes.  WSHS not only pays for food, shelter, and medical care for the cats and dogs in the shelter; WSHS also pays for those in foster care.  We get no public funding---it's all from donations from people like you and me.

I know, you're asking, "Why should I donate to WSHS over another organization?".  At WSHS, we pride ourselves on specific things we do that other shelters don't.  Number 1.  We ALWAYS take back our animals, no matter what---healthy, sick, or elderly.  This is how Molly ended up back at WSHS--luckily  she is healthy.  Number 2.  We go to the mat for our animals. Once we take them in, we care for them as if they were our own pet at home.  Ashes, a 6 year-old cat that was in my care as a volunteer was returned to the shelter several months ago due to allergies.  He is a shy cat by nature, and the shelter environment so overwhelmed him, he stopped eating and became very sick. Ashes spent 3 weeks in the hospital and racked up a bill of over $4,000 dollars.  He is doing fine in a foster home now. Most shelters would have euthanized Ashes, but this is one of the things that sets us apart.  We take in heartworm positive dogs (I believe that almost all of the dogs we took in after Hurricane Katrina were heartworm positive) when no one else will. Many shelters either cannot or will not treat medical cases.  Finally, we send dogs with behavior issues to training. Although very expensive (on average each dog costs us about $600), getting the dogs into permanent, appropriate homes is worth it. Our adoption numbers have significantly increased and our returned dog numbers have significantly decreased since we started sending these dogs to training.

WSHS makes sacrifices in other areas because we feel getting the animals well, medically and behaviorally, and into their forever homes is our top priority. So if we work in a less-than-stellar building and if we can't afford to build a sparkling, state-of-the-art new shelter right now, we are okay with that because we know that the animals we take in are getting the very best care and treatment that is reasonably possible.   Each and every animal we care for is as precious to us as your pets are to you.

Donating through this website is simple, fast and secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.  If you'd prefer to donate by check, please make a check to WSHS and send it to me at 2230 Westfield Drive, Downers Grove, IL  60516.  All donations are tax-deductible.

Your donation, no matter how large or small, goes directly toward the care of the animals at WSHS and is very much appreciated.

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

Thank you!
Cindy, Andrew, Spitfire, Ellie (WSHS 2004), and Molly (WSHS 2008)