TribLocal Evanston - 14-20 June 2012
TribLocal.com
Evanston • Skokie
*JUNE 14-20, 2012
CJE SeniorLife seeks volunteers
Page 6
Northwestern names Big Ten award winners
Page 18
More pets abandoned due to economy
By Brian L. Cox
SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE
With the economy still in the doldrums, an increasing number of people are abandoning or giving their pets up for adoption which is putting a strain on animal welfare organizations in Evanston and Skokie. “Everybody working with animals is trying to help as much as they can,” said Linda Gelb, president of Evanston-based Community Animal Rescue Effort, or CARE. The organization operates an animal shelter at 2310 Oakton St. “We give pet food to people who come by the shelter,” she said. “Anything that we can do that’s within reason, we are doing to try and help people keep their animals. I think most rescues are doing the same thing, if they can.” Animal care workers say it’s difficult to calculate how many pets are abandoned or put up for adoption because of the economy. In some cases people simply leave their pet without explanation at a shelter’s door — or in a foreclosed home, or in parks, or in the street, said Bruce Jones, environmental health supervisor in Skokie. “Whether it is the shelters in the North Shore area or in Chicago, they have seen that uptick in people walking in and either leaving their animals or sometimes making an excuse that’s not the real reason, or
potentially just leaving them in public areas or leaving them in their household when they’re evicted or foreclosed.” Jones said. “We’ve heard all the bad stories.” It’s not just dogs and cats that are showing up at shelters in recent years. “We have found guinea pigs and hamsters left by our front door,” said Gelb. “We either try to find volunteers to take them home, or contact a rescue for that. But those rescues are overloaded. Everybody’s got enough.” “They’re not only giving up their animals, we’re also not seeing the adoptions we used to see,” she said. “It’s because of the economy. Pet’s cost upwards of \$1,000 a year, easily.” Dr. Robyn Barbiers, president of the Anti Cruelty Society in Chicago, said that organization is seeing an increase in the surrender of older dogs and cats — which is unusual, because owners often make every effort to keep pets they have had for many years. She said 1,240 dogs were surrendered at the Anti Cruelty Society of Chicago in 2011, up from 1,091 the previous yeas, and that 2,117 cats were surrendered in 2011, up from 2,090 the previous year. “We have seen a shift in the reason people are bringing their animals to us,” Barbiers said. “We are hearing more and more often ‘I can’t afford the pet. I’m moving because I
PLEASE SEE PETS, PAGE 8
Students peer through the metal bars at Chute Middle School in Evanston.
Phil Velasquez/Tribune photo
D65 OKs bids for removal of metal bars at Chute
By Jonathan Bullington
TRIBLOCAL REPORTER
The tall metal bars that some Chute Middle School parents and students say make the building feel like a jail could be replaced by a new visitor entrance and main office. Members of the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 finance committee on Monday recommended that the district solicit bids
for the project, as well as capital projects at three other district schools. The proposal calls for the removal of those 12 metal bars, nearly two stories tall, built along with the school’s construction in 1966 and designed as a security feature preventing people from freely entering or exiting in between the 13 brick columns that comprise the north-facing entrance on
PLEASE SEE BARS, PAGE 12
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