Year of the Dog
As we looked back through our stories from 2019, we discovered for us, this seemed to be the year of the dog.
In January we kicked things off with the husky heroes – annual visitors to the Morton Arboretum. The Siberian sled dogs show off their skills and greet their public with a warm welcome. Adopt-a-husky is on hand to teach more about the dogs for those thinking of bringing one into their family. They’ll be back this month on the 25th and 26th.
Later in the year we learned about a new program making a splash. A.D.O.P.T. pet shelter and the Naperville area humane society send dogs up for adoption to get some free swim time in at Wag ‘n Paddle. The company decided to offer the service as a way to give back to the community. The pups get a chance to get in some exercise, and have a new experience. Sharing the lessons on social media had the added bonus of finding many of these dogs their forever homes.
Love for Pets
In July A.D.O.P.T. pet shelter came to the aid of pets affected by Hurricane Barry. Before the storm made landfall in Louisiana, 12 dogs and 15 cats were safely transported to the Naperville shelter to make space in shelters down south for animals displaced by the storm.
And speaking of A.D.O.P.T., they celebrated their 30th anniversary this year. Since being founded in 1989, the shelter has served nearly 30,000 dogs and cats, finding them loving homes. With their celebration happening on Halloween, they dressed up some of their furry friends in costume, to make things a bit more fun.
There were also some paw-some costumes to be seen in downtown Naperville on Halloween, as Two Bostons held their annual howl-o-ween pet parade. The event came complete with selfie stations to pose for any pup-arazzi
And the downtown Naperville alliance saw the pet-ten-tial draw that dogs could have, choosing them for their summer sculpture theme. The “Dog Days of Summer” brought 20 different pooches to various locations around the downtown area. All were sponsored and had special themes, including our very own NCTV17 pup, appropriately named “Scoop.”
Another pet-centered artsy installment went up this year on the side of Dog Patch Pet and Feed on Ogden avenue. After a car smashed through the store’s wall, owner Greg Gordon decided to make the most of the situation, commissioning a mural of a dog and cat chasing a ball to be put on the new wall. The artwork showcases the shop’s mission of selling only rescue animals, asking folks to “adopt.” The mural became the 51st piece of artwork in Naperville’s century walk.
More Furry Friend News
And finally, we highlighted a dog on duty. The DuPage county sheriff’s office welcomed Nitro into their K-9 unit this summer. The German shepherd-Belgian millions mix is trained to sniff out explosives and alert his partner, Frank Carragher if he finds any. Nitro is one of seven dogs now on staff, all with a nose for fighting crime. Three more are currently in training, and expected to join the team in mid-February.
And this year we’ll soon have another op-paw-tunity for a pet-friendly feature, as lazy dog restaurant is slated to open in February. The restaurant in the heritage square shopping center on route 59 will have a dog-friendly outdoor patio, special meals on the menu just for dogs, and even a dog club.
This year also saw the start of a major capital campaign from the Naperville Area Humane Society. The organization is seeking to update their 30-year-old shelter to serve more animals in the area. The renovations are expected to cost $1.5 million.
Naperville News 17’s Kim Pirc reports.
