Naperville's ADOPT started with simple mission to rescue cats, dogs
They come to Naperville from many places from as close as Aurora, Chicago and Gary, Ind., from as far away as Kentucky, Tennessee and Louisiana.
They are the lucky ones, the ones who defied the odds.
“Four million cats and dogs about one every eight seconds are put down in U.S. shelters each year,” according to the Humane Society of the United States' website.
Missy, a 10-year-old border collie mix, came to Naperville-based Animals Deserving of Proper Treatment from Kentucky. In addition to having growths all over her body, she was heartworm positive, deaf and arthritic.
Renee Hix-Mays, an ADOPT volunteer since 1999, said the shelter asked her to take Missy home.
“I said, ‘Well she has to be able to get along with cats,'” Hix-Mays said. “Today the cats just walk on top of her! I've had (Missy) for two years now.
“(Many shelters) would not have brought her in; (many shelters) would not have the resources to treat a 10-year-old dog for heartworm.”
Tom Schmitt, one of ADOPT's founders back in 1989, said he and the others had volunteered with another local shelter, but said “there was a change in our philosophies. Animals were disappearing and we didn't know where they went. We wanted everything out in the open.”
ADOPT's “no-kill” philosophy had begun.
Because ADOPT's founding fathers wanted transparency, they formed their own organization.
“We met in Camille Stelter's living room and started throwing down our $25. Everything was dollars and dimes on the table,” Schmitt said. “Man, oh man, what we went through to get it all started.”
Schmitt and his wife, Chris, who now live in Stewart County, Tenn., said the founders “lived and breathed those animals. We worked with Dr. Robert Cortesi (of Boulder Terrace Animal Hospital). The medical bills were (exorbitant) at the beginning; we were paying out of our own pockets at first.”
ADOPT's nonprofit philosophy had begun. The shelter funds itself completely from private donations.
Mary Ann Gajda, who attended the group's third meeting and continues to volunteer today, said in the beginning all animals were in foster homes.
“Boulder Terrace started letting us use their facility on Sundays,” she said. “They gave us some cages in exchange for helping them clean. Dr. Cortesi opened the building to us, and many fosters would bring (the animals) in for adoptions.
“It was amazing how many people would come to Boulder Terrace for adoptions; there would be a two- to three-hour wait.”
Now, 20 years and 25,000 animal adoptions later, the original group of seven has increased to at least 300 volunteers, said current ADOPT board President Sandy Boston, a member since 1990.
And in 2010, adoptions remain the top priority for the group.
Boston said ADOPT's original mission was to rescue dogs and cats, to rescue special-needs animals both behavioral and medical to end overpopulation by spaying/neutering, and ultimately, to get its own building.
ADOPT's philosophy remains the same today and the mission has evolved.
“We take (animals) that often nobody else will take and give them a chance,” Gajda said. “Think of all the (animals) who have heartworm or are at high risk for parvo or need (orthopedic help).”
So, who are we?
ADOPT's Vision Statement sums it up, stating: “ADOPT envisions a community where every pet has a permanent and loving home, every companion animal is spayed or neutered and all pets are treated with respect and compassion.”
About this series
<p>This is the first in a three-part series of occasional stories looking at the history of Naperville-based Animals Deserving of Proper Treatment, or ADOPT.</p>
<p>Linda Kane is a freelance writer working for ADOPT. </p>