Today we’d like to introduce you to Elena.
Elena, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Chicago Pet Rescue started with a vision by a local Edison Park resident in 2010. My husband, Nick and I started out as a foster home for other rescues that were not in that area. We enjoyed fostering dogs but as I got more involved in the other parts of rescue I realized that I had a bigger passion then just fostering. After much stress about not being able to get rescues to come out to our area, I decided to start my own rescue.
At that time I really didn’t fully know what I was getting myself into. All the long hours, hard work, red tape/paperwork/forms to fill out and lots of stress. However, once the animals came into the puzzle there was no turning back. Every time something negative comes along that makes me want to call it quits, I think of all the lives we have saved and how much more we can save. That gives me the push to move forward.
I am proud to say that we have been able to save over 700 animals in almost 7 years. None of this could have been accomplished without the great support from my volunteer staff, friends and family.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There were plenty of challenges such as:
Keeping up with legal paperwork, financial record keeping without hiring paid professionals. Reading all the fine print and making sure we were always compliant with the law. We believe in doing things by the book, even if it’s not the easiest or cheapest way.
Finding time to run the rescue after working full time and part time is a huge challenge but where there is a will there is a way.
I believe any money we spend should be on the animals so very little goes to anything else. All the staffs are volunteers and usually donate necessary supplies out of their own pockets but most of our supplies come from donations. We work very hard to get monetary and material donations.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Chicago Pet Rescue story. Tell us more about the business.
Chicago Pet Rescue believes in the following core values:
Adoption
Chicago Pet Rescue will make every sincere effort to match each animal with a suitable and loving home. This often includes completing reference checks and home visits on potential adoptive families.
Customer Satisfaction
Chicago Pet Rescue is committed to treating all of their clientele in a respectful and professional manner in order to ensure that they have a positive and rewarding experience when fostering or adopting through Chicago Pet Rescue.
Quality of Life
Chicago Pet Rescue is a no-kill rescue and foster care organization. CPR expects that their foster homes will provide a level of care that is consistent with what is found in a loving home environment.
Volunteers / Partners
Chicago Pet Rescue recognizes the value of each volunteer and partner who contributes to the professional and humane treatment of animals.
Community Education
Chicago Pet Rescue is committed to keeping its volunteers current on our policies /procedures and educating the community on responsible pet ownership. We are committed to creating /maintaining a positive and professional image in our community by acting as a responsible advocate for those animals we represent.
Financial Responsibility
Chicago Pet Rescue is committed to managing our financial resources responsibly and diligently by utilizing sound business practices.
We also are one of the few rescues in our areas that will work with an owner to take in their animal so they don’t have to surrender them to a shelter.
We are proud to say once we rescue an animal, we make a lifetime commitment to them. If the animal is adopted and doesn’t work out we REQUIRE that our animal is returned to us. This way we can make sure the animal finds the right home.
We look for the right home not just any home for our animals.
We provide all necessary supplies to our fosters and only ask that they provide a safe and loving environment for the animal.
We only take on the animals we can manage instead of just rescuing an animal from one cage to put them in another.
Each of our animals are individuals and therefore has their own names, we try not to duplicate names. This way we will always be able to fondly tell stories of each animal.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I believe in life you will have a little bit of both, this way life balances out. So when we run into good luck, we enjoy it to the fullest. When we run into bad luck, we don’t get down too long because we know some good luck is bound to be around the corner.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chicagopetrescue.org
- Instagram: chicago.pet.rescue
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chicagopetrescue.org/
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