December 21, 2010 • 30 mins
When Oprah Winfrey puts her stamp of approval on something, that person, product or organization is catapulted into the spotlight. That was the case when Oprah first visited PAWS Chicago a couple of years ago. It is Chicago's largest no-kill humane organization. Since it was founded 13 years ago, the number of homeless dogs & cats killed annually has dropped more than 50 percent. Sassy Seniors host Kelly Jackson talked to PAWS Chicago Executive Director Rochelle Michalek about their success of being a no-kill facility, pet adoption, senior cats and dogs at PAWS, and of course, the Oprah Effect!
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More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Oprah's Favorite Things: PAWS Chicago on Pet Life Radio
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bet you are listening to Petlife Radio dot Com.
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Speaker 3 (00:45):
Welcome to another edition of SASE Seniors on pet Life Radio.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Hello everyone, I'm Kelly Jackson and I'm your host, and
thanks so much for joining us. Okay, so you know
I always give a shout out.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
To an animal that's made the.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
News as of late, and this week it's not a dog,
it's not a cat, but a polar bear. I'm sure
you probably.
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Know him, who've heard of him?
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Newt, who was born in captivity at the Berlin Zoo,
celebrates birthday number four. He was rejected at birth by
his mother and raised by zookeepers in Berlin, and in fact,
he's the first polar bear.
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So survive passed infancy at.
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The zoo in more than three decades now he remains a.
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Huge celeb around the world. He's loved body young and old.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Dramatically increased attendance figures at the Zoo, and he even
made Get This the cover of German Vanity Fair, so
you could say he's also a supermodel. So we're gonna
get a big pause up for the very lovable polar
Bear Newt.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Happy fourth birthday.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Adher's to many many more. When we come back, we're
going to talk to you the executive director of Truly,
one of my favorite animal organizations in Chicago.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Pause Chicago.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
We're gonna take a pause and take a short break
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Let's talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Welcome back everyone to Sassy Seniors.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
I'm your host, Kelly Jackson, and today I love this organization,
Paul Chicago. It's Chicago lends largest no kill organization and
we have its executive director, Michelle Mahallick.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Hello, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 11 (05:25):
Hi, Kelly, Oh, thank you for such the kind words too.
We really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
Well, it's my pleasure I've been to Paul Chicago. I
shot a story with you for my website Art dot com,
and I just love you guys.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
You guys are fabulous.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
I always say if I'm a homeless pat, I'd want
to be a Paul Chicago. Can you explain to some
of our listeners who may not really understand what a.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
No kill facility is? Can you? I know it kind
of speaks for itself, but can you talk to us
about that?
Speaker 11 (05:59):
Oh, shall tell you'd be glad to here at PAS Chicago.
Our mission is to make Chicago and no kill city,
and we're going to achieve that really by focusing in
on a few key areas. The first area, and probably
the most important, is the ability to provide accessible, free
or low cost Spain neoter to those pet owners that
(06:19):
really need it. And we have our Lori Spain Neuter
Clinic which is in the southwest side of Chicago, and
this year we'll do over seventeen thousand surgeries, of which
over sixty five percent are free. So the whole one
of the key components of making your community no kill
is the ability to prevent these pets from ever being born. Wow,
I know, it's great, it's amazing, and you know, we
(06:41):
have so many awesome pet owners here in the city
of Chicago, and you know, Our goal is to really
to provide these services to these under resource communities, and
they're so grateful for the services because they really do
love and appreciate their animals.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Well, I wonder why, you know, you're the largest no
kill facility in Chicago. Why aren't there more no kill facilities?
Is it a matter of a money funding, lack of
education about this?
Speaker 11 (07:05):
I think it's a few things. One of it is,
you know, public awareness. Another key approach that we have
is really to engage the community and let them know
what's going on, because the community is what's going to
help drive change. And you know, part of another big
component of the no kill model is really valuing the
life of every animal and putting in place innovative programs
(07:26):
that actually help save lives versus the old traditional methods
of cage and kill being the acceptable way of managing
pet over population. Some of our key programs that we have,
for example, you know, as we all know, the economy
has gotten better, but it's there are still a lot
of people out there that are struggling. So one of
the programs that we put in place is our Pet
(07:47):
Food Bank, and we provide free pet food for people
that are having a hard time making ends meet. And
this year we will help well over four hundred to
five hundred individual animals, distributing all over thirty thousand pounds
of food so that these animals don't have to enter
into the sheltering system.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
And you know what, I think so many people would
be people who may not be as closely related to
the pet world, but I think people would be shocked
at how many people are in need of pet food.
There's a pet food bank also in Saint Louis and
I did a story with them about two weeks ago,
and Rachelle the line was around the block for people
(08:29):
needing food for their pets.
Speaker 11 (08:32):
It is, you know, and obviously is the unemployment rates
you know, stay at a higher rate. Individuals are making
really tough decisions, you know, do they put food on
their table, do they provide for their family or you know,
as a priority over their pet. And I think it's
great when you see a lot of these local food
banks that have popped up, because it's just preventing these
animals from entering the entering our sheltering system. And with
(08:56):
using asia rates where they are, you know, it's so
much better to provide resources to save a life than
it is to have that animal turned in because they
do have a good home, they just can't. They just
have other priorities or have circumstances in their life at
that time.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Absolutely, So let me ask you this, are winter months
more challenging when it comes to and I know you
don't call pau Chicago a shelter, but are they more
challenging for animals? And do you find that you take
in more animals in the winter months or not?
Speaker 10 (09:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 11 (09:22):
Actually, I think, well, I know a lot of it
has to do with your weather. And you know, even
you've got sunny California, what tends to happen is you
have more breeding seasons. So when the weather does get
colder or you have colder winters, you see a delay
and when the cats and the dogs that are out
there start reproducing. And as much as I hate cold
(09:44):
Chicago winters, I love them because I know our kitten
season is going to start a little bit later.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
Yeah, any given time, how many pets do you have
at your facility?
Speaker 11 (09:54):
We have as you as you talked about we we
had a wonderful time up at our adoption center in
our program. At any given time, we usually have about
four hundred animals and that includes about anywhere from one
hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty animals available
at our adoption center. And it's so neat. The puppies
and the dogs all have suites and because of the
(10:15):
way the facility is designed, the center is designed that
they get to have buddies and partners. In fact, I
was up there last night. We're gearing up for the holidays,
and it's so cute because a lot of the puppies
have three other dogs with them, so a lot of
thanks going on. They do, they do, and they have
roommates that they all love exactly, so they're having a
good time. And it's great too because by you know,
(10:38):
allowing them to have friends, number one, it really shows
how social they are and how well they do with
other dogs and they're happy, and a happy dog, you know,
just shows so much better for a family that's interested
in adopting and adopting them.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
And you had mentioned earlier, you know, the suite and
this is a cage less adoption center, right, so they're
not in cages. Can you explain to our listeners what
they actually look like.
Speaker 11 (11:03):
Well, one of the things that you know, we wanted
to do with the adoption center is really create an
environment that was very warm and very welcoming. A lot
of people have been hesitant to go into shelters because
of the noise, the smell, the coldness, the cages, and
the kill factor. And what we've done is we've created
a center that's very warm, very welcoming, kind of has
(11:26):
a nice urban farm feel to it. You walk in,
there's plenty of sunlight, there's a fireplace, and in Kitty City,
the cats all have the cats and kittens all have
wonderful sweets. They're housed by like ages, so you know,
seniors are with seniors and kittens are with kittens, and
there's plenty of vertical space for them to run up
(11:46):
and you know, get comfortable where they sit within that
room or how they fit within that room. And there's
nothing more wonderful and Kitty City than seeing the cat
fuling in the sun in the morning and afternoon sun
and just totally chilling. We also have a classical music
in all the rooms so that it's really peaceful and
calm for them with big beds, and in Dogtown, it's
(12:08):
really fun because you've got we have sweets. The suites
do have windows that you know, bring in a lot
of natural sunlight, may have different shapes to them, and
they're really designed to keep the stress count on the animals.
And you know, it's a lot of these animals. As
you know, we are Animal Care and Controls largest transfer partners,
so we bring into our program thousands and thousands of
(12:29):
animals from the City Pound and we don't know what
these animals, what happened to these animals prior to coming
to us. A lot of them have lived on the streets,
some of them have been in a home environment, and
now all of a sudden, they don't know what's happened
to their world. So you want to create a place
for them where they're very comfortable and they're very relaxed
and you know, until they find their next forever home.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Absolutely and it is it's so warm and welcoming there,
and you know, the pets they just seem they seem
so at ease, and that obviously will help them when
they do get a forever home. Let's talk about senior
pets that are there, since you know this is a
show about senior pets. So often when you go to
facilities older dogs are so often some of the last
(13:16):
to be adopted out. Do you have you find that
to be the case at Pause as well?
Speaker 11 (13:21):
You know, we are we are so fortunate. One of
the things that we try to do is our mature
as we like to call them animals, is first of all,
really highlight what amazing animals they are. So for example,
our senior cat room is the first cat room you see.
It's right in the entrance way and off the lobby,
so your first impression are of these amazing senior cats
(13:44):
and the room is designed, you know, for them, so
that it's easy for them to get around. It's easy
for them with a lot of natural sunlight and dogcown.
What we do is they also, you know, we try
to put them more towards the front so that you're
able to make an immediate connection with them. And it's
really neat. Like right now we have we call it
the old Man's Room. We have a twelve year old,
(14:06):
a nine year old and a eight year old all
just chilling.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
So I love it.
Speaker 11 (14:12):
You're walking through and the puppies are you know, playing,
and the little dogs are running around. You see these
guys and you're kind of like if that's what I want.
I want someone just to be my friend and you know,
be a wonderful companion. A senior pet is just absolutely
the way to.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Go, exactly. I totally agree.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
One dog that really affected me and I've been thinking
about him since I came to Paul Chicago.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
His name was Red, and he made the headlines of.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Chicago in fact, because he was involved his owner, I believe,
was held up at gunpoint and read ended up being
shot and paralyzed.
Speaker 11 (14:47):
Right absolutely, and it was actually pretty amazing. Red was
protecting the house and protecting his owner. When the police
got there, they thought that Red had died, and he
actually had survive this, but survived it with he's paralyzed.
So he had a severe spinal cord injury, and we
took him into our program and worked with him on rehabilitation,
(15:09):
so he learned how to use his upper body versus
using both front legs and back legs. And he is
one of our volunteer favorites. Everybody loves Red, not only
our volunteers but also our guests. On any given day,
Red will have a visitor with him probably from about
eight in the morning till about eight at night.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Oh well, if you go to Paul Chicago, you see Red,
he could use it forever home. So if you're listening,
if you're in the Chicago Land area, visit obviously all
of the animals that are available, but you know, Red
has been there a while, so it would be great for.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Him to find it forever home.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
Also, what I found really impressive with Paul Chicago when
animals are adopted out, you guys keep kind of a
database and keep somewhat of a relationship with them, don't you.
Speaker 11 (15:56):
We do, you know, And that's another component of the
no kill model that's I think really important. We do
make a lifetime commitment to any animal that's part of
our program, So at any given time, as the adopter
is no longer able to care for the animal, we
take them back, no questions asked, and we want the
ability to rehome them because we don't want these animals
ever to end up in the sheltering system. Again.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
I love that. I love that.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Okay, we're talking with Michelle Mhallick. She's the executive director
of Paul Chicago, Chicago's largest no kill organization. We're going
to take a break because when we come back, I
have to bring up the Oprah effect. So we're going
to take a short break and we're going to talk
about Oprah because Paul Chicago is one of her favorite things.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 5 (16:47):
We'll be right back right after these messages. Stay tuned.
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Speaker 4 (20:28):
Welcome back everyone to Sassy s Here's I'm your host,
Kelly Jackson, and my guest today is Rachelle Mahollicks. She's
executive director of Paul Chicago. It's Chicago Land's biggest no
kill organization. And you had a very special guest.
Speaker 11 (20:45):
How long has it been, Rochelle, It's been about two
years before we first had the wonderful visit from our
special guest.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
And our special guest was the.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
One and only Oh Brah. Okay, can you share with
our listeners the amazing story behind that.
Speaker 11 (21:01):
Oh it was. I still get to Joels when I
think about it. Oprah had did a story on puppy
mills and it was actually really, really really neat. An
organization from the East Coast had put a billboard on
one of our major express rights that said, Oprah, do
you know about puppy mills? And you know Oprah sabbas
(21:21):
her producer's side, and they did the research and had
no idea what was happening in animal welfare, and they
decided Lisa Ling did a story and it was one
of their most watched episodes, and it really talked about,
you know, puppy mills, what puppy mills are. It talked
about animal welfare, It talked about the reality of what's
(21:44):
going on in traditional sheltering, and then really exciting she
talked about the no kill model and a lot of
the life saving efforts that are going on. After the
show aired, they had such a great response from their
viewer on this, they decided to do a follow up
and we got a call from Oprah's producers that said
they wanted to come out and shoot some b roll
(22:05):
that they could use for the next show and would
we be interested, And we were like absolutely, and lo
and behold, we're shooting the bee roll on a Friday afternoon,
and who walks in but Oprah And it was just
so you had no idea, idea, and it was just
it was just absolute. It was wonderful. And she did
(22:26):
a tour of the center, which was fantastic, and at
that time she had just lost Sophie, and she decided
to dedicate a room in honor of Sophie. So we
spent the next week working with her team getting the
room all set up, and it is gorgeous. It has
a doghouse in it with a little port, it's got
a beautiful mural on the wall, it's got a nice
(22:48):
little chandelier that hangs in there. And so Sophie has
already saved the lives of hundreds of pets through adoptions
of the animals that come through her room.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
That just gives me chills. And I agree.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
You know, all of the sweets that you have there
are so nice and warm and welcome, but that's Sophie sweet.
Speaker 11 (23:10):
And it was even more exciting. So that was the
first time we had the opportunity to work with Oprah
and you know, as we know, Oprah is one of
the most amazing business women, and she's such a smart lady,
and she really really caught on to the impact of
what no Kill needs and the importance of putting in
life saving adoption guarantee programs versus the traditional method of sheltering,
(23:34):
which is, you know, more of the Cajun kill mentality.
And we got a call. It was probably about a
year later, and she had wanted to shoot the cover
of the June issue of OH magazine. It was going
to be a pet issue at PAS Chicago with a
bunch of puppies. So had a lot of fun on
a Saturday afternoon. I think it is I do know.
(23:56):
It's the only time we closed the adoption center down for.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
I was going to say that would be that would
be kind of crazy having all.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Of that going on.
Speaker 11 (24:04):
And we shot the cover and that's how she got
her first puff from us. And she has a gorgeous
little Cocker Spaniel. And the last year we were talking
to her and she had said that she was looking
for if we ever just happened to see too Springer
Spaniel's puppies, she might be interested. And for her birthday
(24:26):
this year, she adopted two more puffs.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
Wow, and they're just adorable. And I love the cover
of that issue too, was really sweet.
Speaker 11 (24:33):
It was so much fun. We had such a great day.
She was so happy. The puppies were hysterical. She was
having a ball. And let me tell you, getting a
photo of that many puppies all to look at the
camera at one time. Her team is pretty amazing.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
I was going to ask you how did they do that?
Speaker 11 (24:49):
You know, it was funny. What you don't see is
all of us on the side saying on the Countess
three you put the puppies on her lap.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Let say, you know, I know the puppies couldn't have
been that good.
Speaker 11 (25:00):
So yeah, but it was really a fun day, a
very special, very monumental day. And Oprah has been just
such an absolutely wonderful advocate for really driving and making
people aware of a lot of innovation that can happen
through the no kill model. And because of her, we
(25:21):
have done we have worked with a lot of organizations
across the country on you know, how we were able
to do this? What are some of the life saving
programs that we've been able to put in place and
really really get people to start thinking differently and you know,
thinking about life saving programs and there is hope, you know,
it's it's every small step makes a.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Difference, absolutely, and that is your Oprah effect. It's really
open the eyes of so.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
Many people, it really has. What about because of that?
Speaker 4 (25:50):
Do you have more volunteers and donors? How does pause continue?
How do you guys survive? Especially you know in this economy.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
How do you guys get through.
Speaker 4 (26:00):
Because so many organizations, you know, it's always difficult.
Speaker 11 (26:03):
It is in the you know, as a not for
profit in when you're you know, having when you're struggling
through financial downturns. You know, the not for profits definitely
are impacted. We've been so fortunate because of the work
that we do. First of all, we're privately funded. We
receive no government or no city funding. And for us
(26:24):
to continue to do the seventeen thousand surgeries every year
and I didn't mention we will save over four thousand
lives this year in our adoption program.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
Wow. I was going to ask you that too. Four thousand.
Speaker 11 (26:36):
Yeah. Really, we've had such a such an awesome response
from the Chicagoland community. We opened our doors on September
of seven, and in September of this year, we saved
our ten thousandth life.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
Wow, congratulations. That is wonderful.
Speaker 11 (26:54):
And what's nice too that in that same month our
Stay Nuter Clinic, which is you know I talked about
that is in one of our lower income neighborhoods, performed
its one hundred thousandth surgery.
Speaker 4 (27:05):
Wow. Now has that been since you guys opened in
ninety seven.
Speaker 11 (27:10):
Or that's been since we've opened the clinic in two
thousand and one.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Two thousand. Wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 11 (27:16):
But to your point, you know, it really does take
local support in order for us to continue what we do.
We receive no government funding, we receive no city funding,
and because we are a new organization that's incredibly innovative
and incredibly you know, as long as animals are dying, unnecessarily,
we're going to continue to you know, go forward at
(27:37):
full steam ahead putting in life saving programs and we
depend on the support of you know, of the community.
The financial support of the community. OPRAH has been just
fantastic for us and driving more of a national awareness
of the work that's getting done. So not only is
it going to impact you know, the future of sheltering,
but it also has you know, awakened people to why
(28:00):
you should adopt and why you should support some of
your support agencies that are really putting in life saving programs.
Speaker 4 (28:06):
Absolutely are We're going to start to wrap this up
for Rochelle. This is the time to let our listeners know,
especially if they're in the Chicago Land area, any upcoming
events that you all have because you have. You guys
have some really great stuff, some great events. You just
had like a black tie event, didn't you.
Speaker 11 (28:21):
We did. We just had our first ball in mid November,
which was just absolutely a lot of fun. The month
of December for US is all about saving lives and adoption.
So we just had our thirty six hour adopt us
on the first week in December, and we saved over
ninety eight lives in thirty six hours.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
You were open for thirty six hours.
Speaker 11 (28:43):
Uh yeah, ten am Saturday, It'll ten DM Sunday. And
we did our We were doing adoption Saturday nights about
three am in the morning. It was it was a
lot of.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Fun really, so people what they'd go out at night
and after dinner, Oh, you know what, I think, I
want to adopt a.
Speaker 11 (28:57):
Bet exactly or the people a lot of people got
really smart and said, you know what, we know you're
bringing in new dogs overnight and new kittens overnight. So
these people are, yeah, they are. And it was just
wonderful families coming in to save a life. So, you know,
for us, this month is really about you know, working
with the Chicago community, not only you know, to save
(29:17):
a life through adoptions and if you can't adopt, absolutely
donate so that we can continue our life saving programs
built from USTe nut or in an adoption perspective as
we move into twenty and eleven.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Absolutely, and where are you guys located in someone's to
stop by?
Speaker 12 (29:34):
No.
Speaker 11 (29:34):
Absolutely, adoption center is at nineteen ninety seven North Clyborne
and you can see all of our amazing animals online
at www. Posh Chicago dot org and you can also
make a donation online.
Speaker 4 (29:46):
Well, I salute the fabulous work that you do. I
love POSH Chicago and there's two very successful twenty eleven
for you and the hundreds of beets and the lives
that you have saved.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
So thanks, thank you so much Michelle for joining us.
Speaker 11 (30:02):
Oh, thank you Kelly. It's always a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (30:04):
Thank you, and thank.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
You all for listening to another edition of Sasey Seniors
where we truly celebrate our senior pets. And you can
also catch me on my website our dot com. Thanks
for joining us, Have a good one, happy holidays.
Speaker 10 (30:20):
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Speaker 3 (00:45):
Welcome to another edition of SASE Seniors on pet Life Radio.
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Hello everyone, I'm Kelly Jackson and I'm your host, and
thanks so much for joining us. Okay, so you know
I always give a shout out.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
To an animal that's made the.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
News as of late, and this week it's not a dog,
it's not a cat, but a polar bear. I'm sure
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Know him, who've heard of him?
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Newt, who was born in captivity at the Berlin Zoo,
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his mother and raised by zookeepers in Berlin, and in fact,
he's the first polar bear.
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So survive passed infancy at.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
The zoo in more than three decades now he remains a.
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Huge celeb around the world. He's loved body young and old.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Dramatically increased attendance figures at the Zoo, and he even
made Get This the cover of German Vanity Fair, so
you could say he's also a supermodel. So we're gonna
get a big pause up for the very lovable polar
Bear Newt.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Happy fourth birthday.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Adher's to many many more. When we come back, we're
going to talk to you the executive director of Truly,
one of my favorite animal organizations in Chicago.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Pause Chicago.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
We're gonna take a pause and take a short break
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Speaker 3 (05:07):
Welcome back everyone to Sassy Seniors.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
I'm your host, Kelly Jackson, and today I love this organization,
Paul Chicago. It's Chicago lends largest no kill organization and
we have its executive director, Michelle Mahallick.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Hello, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 11 (05:25):
Hi, Kelly, Oh, thank you for such the kind words too.
We really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
Well, it's my pleasure I've been to Paul Chicago. I
shot a story with you for my website Art dot com,
and I just love you guys.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
You guys are fabulous.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
I always say if I'm a homeless pat, I'd want
to be a Paul Chicago. Can you explain to some
of our listeners who may not really understand what a.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
No kill facility is? Can you? I know it kind
of speaks for itself, but can you talk to us
about that?
Speaker 11 (05:59):
Oh, shall tell you'd be glad to here at PAS Chicago.
Our mission is to make Chicago and no kill city,
and we're going to achieve that really by focusing in
on a few key areas. The first area, and probably
the most important, is the ability to provide accessible, free
or low cost Spain neoter to those pet owners that
(06:19):
really need it. And we have our Lori Spain Neuter
Clinic which is in the southwest side of Chicago, and
this year we'll do over seventeen thousand surgeries, of which
over sixty five percent are free. So the whole one
of the key components of making your community no kill
is the ability to prevent these pets from ever being born. Wow,
I know, it's great, it's amazing, and you know, we
(06:41):
have so many awesome pet owners here in the city
of Chicago, and you know, Our goal is to really
to provide these services to these under resource communities, and
they're so grateful for the services because they really do
love and appreciate their animals.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Well, I wonder why, you know, you're the largest no
kill facility in Chicago. Why aren't there more no kill facilities?
Is it a matter of a money funding, lack of
education about this?
Speaker 11 (07:05):
I think it's a few things. One of it is,
you know, public awareness. Another key approach that we have
is really to engage the community and let them know
what's going on, because the community is what's going to
help drive change. And you know, part of another big
component of the no kill model is really valuing the
life of every animal and putting in place innovative programs
(07:26):
that actually help save lives versus the old traditional methods
of cage and kill being the acceptable way of managing
pet over population. Some of our key programs that we have,
for example, you know, as we all know, the economy
has gotten better, but it's there are still a lot
of people out there that are struggling. So one of
the programs that we put in place is our Pet
(07:47):
Food Bank, and we provide free pet food for people
that are having a hard time making ends meet. And
this year we will help well over four hundred to
five hundred individual animals, distributing all over thirty thousand pounds
of food so that these animals don't have to enter
into the sheltering system.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
And you know what, I think so many people would
be people who may not be as closely related to
the pet world, but I think people would be shocked
at how many people are in need of pet food.
There's a pet food bank also in Saint Louis and
I did a story with them about two weeks ago,
and Rachelle the line was around the block for people
(08:29):
needing food for their pets.
Speaker 11 (08:32):
It is, you know, and obviously is the unemployment rates
you know, stay at a higher rate. Individuals are making
really tough decisions, you know, do they put food on
their table, do they provide for their family or you know,
as a priority over their pet. And I think it's
great when you see a lot of these local food
banks that have popped up, because it's just preventing these
animals from entering the entering our sheltering system. And with
(08:56):
using asia rates where they are, you know, it's so
much better to provide resources to save a life than
it is to have that animal turned in because they
do have a good home, they just can't. They just
have other priorities or have circumstances in their life at
that time.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Absolutely, So let me ask you this, are winter months
more challenging when it comes to and I know you
don't call pau Chicago a shelter, but are they more
challenging for animals? And do you find that you take
in more animals in the winter months or not?
Speaker 10 (09:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 11 (09:22):
Actually, I think, well, I know a lot of it
has to do with your weather. And you know, even
you've got sunny California, what tends to happen is you
have more breeding seasons. So when the weather does get
colder or you have colder winters, you see a delay
and when the cats and the dogs that are out
there start reproducing. And as much as I hate cold
(09:44):
Chicago winters, I love them because I know our kitten
season is going to start a little bit later.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
Yeah, any given time, how many pets do you have
at your facility?
Speaker 11 (09:54):
We have as you as you talked about we we
had a wonderful time up at our adoption center in
our program. At any given time, we usually have about
four hundred animals and that includes about anywhere from one
hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty animals available
at our adoption center. And it's so neat. The puppies
and the dogs all have suites and because of the
(10:15):
way the facility is designed, the center is designed that
they get to have buddies and partners. In fact, I
was up there last night. We're gearing up for the holidays,
and it's so cute because a lot of the puppies
have three other dogs with them, so a lot of
thanks going on. They do, they do, and they have
roommates that they all love exactly, so they're having a
good time. And it's great too because by you know,
(10:38):
allowing them to have friends, number one, it really shows
how social they are and how well they do with
other dogs and they're happy, and a happy dog, you know,
just shows so much better for a family that's interested
in adopting and adopting them.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
And you had mentioned earlier, you know, the suite and
this is a cage less adoption center, right, so they're
not in cages. Can you explain to our listeners what
they actually look like.
Speaker 11 (11:03):
Well, one of the things that you know, we wanted
to do with the adoption center is really create an
environment that was very warm and very welcoming. A lot
of people have been hesitant to go into shelters because
of the noise, the smell, the coldness, the cages, and
the kill factor. And what we've done is we've created
a center that's very warm, very welcoming, kind of has
(11:26):
a nice urban farm feel to it. You walk in,
there's plenty of sunlight, there's a fireplace, and in Kitty City,
the cats all have the cats and kittens all have
wonderful sweets. They're housed by like ages, so you know,
seniors are with seniors and kittens are with kittens, and
there's plenty of vertical space for them to run up
(11:46):
and you know, get comfortable where they sit within that
room or how they fit within that room. And there's
nothing more wonderful and Kitty City than seeing the cat
fuling in the sun in the morning and afternoon sun
and just totally chilling. We also have a classical music
in all the rooms so that it's really peaceful and
calm for them with big beds, and in Dogtown, it's
(12:08):
really fun because you've got we have sweets. The suites
do have windows that you know, bring in a lot
of natural sunlight, may have different shapes to them, and
they're really designed to keep the stress count on the animals.
And you know, it's a lot of these animals. As
you know, we are Animal Care and Controls largest transfer partners,
so we bring into our program thousands and thousands of
(12:29):
animals from the City Pound and we don't know what
these animals, what happened to these animals prior to coming
to us. A lot of them have lived on the streets,
some of them have been in a home environment, and
now all of a sudden, they don't know what's happened
to their world. So you want to create a place
for them where they're very comfortable and they're very relaxed
and you know, until they find their next forever home.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Absolutely and it is it's so warm and welcoming there,
and you know, the pets they just seem they seem
so at ease, and that obviously will help them when
they do get a forever home. Let's talk about senior
pets that are there, since you know this is a
show about senior pets. So often when you go to
facilities older dogs are so often some of the last
(13:16):
to be adopted out. Do you have you find that
to be the case at Pause as well?
Speaker 11 (13:21):
You know, we are we are so fortunate. One of
the things that we try to do is our mature
as we like to call them animals, is first of all,
really highlight what amazing animals they are. So for example,
our senior cat room is the first cat room you see.
It's right in the entrance way and off the lobby,
so your first impression are of these amazing senior cats
(13:44):
and the room is designed, you know, for them, so
that it's easy for them to get around. It's easy
for them with a lot of natural sunlight and dogcown.
What we do is they also, you know, we try
to put them more towards the front so that you're
able to make an immediate connection with them. And it's
really neat. Like right now we have we call it
the old Man's Room. We have a twelve year old,
(14:06):
a nine year old and a eight year old all
just chilling.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
So I love it.
Speaker 11 (14:12):
You're walking through and the puppies are you know, playing,
and the little dogs are running around. You see these
guys and you're kind of like if that's what I want.
I want someone just to be my friend and you know,
be a wonderful companion. A senior pet is just absolutely
the way to.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Go, exactly. I totally agree.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
One dog that really affected me and I've been thinking
about him since I came to Paul Chicago.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
His name was Red, and he made the headlines of.
Speaker 4 (14:40):
Chicago in fact, because he was involved his owner, I believe,
was held up at gunpoint and read ended up being
shot and paralyzed.
Speaker 11 (14:47):
Right absolutely, and it was actually pretty amazing. Red was
protecting the house and protecting his owner. When the police
got there, they thought that Red had died, and he
actually had survive this, but survived it with he's paralyzed.
So he had a severe spinal cord injury, and we
took him into our program and worked with him on rehabilitation,
(15:09):
so he learned how to use his upper body versus
using both front legs and back legs. And he is
one of our volunteer favorites. Everybody loves Red, not only
our volunteers but also our guests. On any given day,
Red will have a visitor with him probably from about
eight in the morning till about eight at night.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Oh well, if you go to Paul Chicago, you see Red,
he could use it forever home. So if you're listening,
if you're in the Chicago Land area, visit obviously all
of the animals that are available, but you know, Red
has been there a while, so it would be great for.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Him to find it forever home.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
Also, what I found really impressive with Paul Chicago when
animals are adopted out, you guys keep kind of a
database and keep somewhat of a relationship with them, don't you.
Speaker 11 (15:56):
We do, you know, And that's another component of the
no kill model that's I think really important. We do
make a lifetime commitment to any animal that's part of
our program, So at any given time, as the adopter
is no longer able to care for the animal, we
take them back, no questions asked, and we want the
ability to rehome them because we don't want these animals
ever to end up in the sheltering system. Again.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
I love that. I love that.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Okay, we're talking with Michelle Mhallick. She's the executive director
of Paul Chicago, Chicago's largest no kill organization. We're going
to take a break because when we come back, I
have to bring up the Oprah effect. So we're going
to take a short break and we're going to talk
about Oprah because Paul Chicago is one of her favorite things.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
We'll be right back.
Speaker 5 (16:47):
We'll be right back right after these messages. Stay tuned.
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Speaker 4 (20:28):
Welcome back everyone to Sassy s Here's I'm your host,
Kelly Jackson, and my guest today is Rachelle Mahollicks. She's
executive director of Paul Chicago. It's Chicago Land's biggest no
kill organization. And you had a very special guest.
Speaker 11 (20:45):
How long has it been, Rochelle, It's been about two
years before we first had the wonderful visit from our
special guest.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
And our special guest was the.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
One and only Oh Brah. Okay, can you share with
our listeners the amazing story behind that.
Speaker 11 (21:01):
Oh it was. I still get to Joels when I
think about it. Oprah had did a story on puppy
mills and it was actually really, really really neat. An
organization from the East Coast had put a billboard on
one of our major express rights that said, Oprah, do
you know about puppy mills? And you know Oprah sabbas
(21:21):
her producer's side, and they did the research and had
no idea what was happening in animal welfare, and they
decided Lisa Ling did a story and it was one
of their most watched episodes, and it really talked about,
you know, puppy mills, what puppy mills are. It talked
about animal welfare, It talked about the reality of what's
(21:44):
going on in traditional sheltering, and then really exciting she
talked about the no kill model and a lot of
the life saving efforts that are going on. After the
show aired, they had such a great response from their
viewer on this, they decided to do a follow up
and we got a call from Oprah's producers that said
they wanted to come out and shoot some b roll
(22:05):
that they could use for the next show and would
we be interested, And we were like absolutely, and lo
and behold, we're shooting the bee roll on a Friday afternoon,
and who walks in but Oprah And it was just
so you had no idea, idea, and it was just
it was just absolute. It was wonderful. And she did
(22:26):
a tour of the center, which was fantastic, and at
that time she had just lost Sophie, and she decided
to dedicate a room in honor of Sophie. So we
spent the next week working with her team getting the
room all set up, and it is gorgeous. It has
a doghouse in it with a little port, it's got
a beautiful mural on the wall, it's got a nice
(22:48):
little chandelier that hangs in there. And so Sophie has
already saved the lives of hundreds of pets through adoptions
of the animals that come through her room.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
That just gives me chills. And I agree.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
You know, all of the sweets that you have there
are so nice and warm and welcome, but that's Sophie sweet.
Speaker 11 (23:10):
And it was even more exciting. So that was the
first time we had the opportunity to work with Oprah
and you know, as we know, Oprah is one of
the most amazing business women, and she's such a smart lady,
and she really really caught on to the impact of
what no Kill needs and the importance of putting in
life saving adoption guarantee programs versus the traditional method of sheltering,
(23:34):
which is, you know, more of the Cajun kill mentality.
And we got a call. It was probably about a
year later, and she had wanted to shoot the cover
of the June issue of OH magazine. It was going
to be a pet issue at PAS Chicago with a
bunch of puppies. So had a lot of fun on
a Saturday afternoon. I think it is I do know.
(23:56):
It's the only time we closed the adoption center down for.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
I was going to say that would be that would
be kind of crazy having all.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Of that going on.
Speaker 11 (24:04):
And we shot the cover and that's how she got
her first puff from us. And she has a gorgeous
little Cocker Spaniel. And the last year we were talking
to her and she had said that she was looking
for if we ever just happened to see too Springer
Spaniel's puppies, she might be interested. And for her birthday
(24:26):
this year, she adopted two more puffs.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
Wow, and they're just adorable. And I love the cover
of that issue too, was really sweet.
Speaker 11 (24:33):
It was so much fun. We had such a great day.
She was so happy. The puppies were hysterical. She was
having a ball. And let me tell you, getting a
photo of that many puppies all to look at the
camera at one time. Her team is pretty amazing.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
I was going to ask you how did they do that?
Speaker 11 (24:49):
You know, it was funny. What you don't see is
all of us on the side saying on the Countess
three you put the puppies on her lap.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Let say, you know, I know the puppies couldn't have
been that good.
Speaker 11 (25:00):
So yeah, but it was really a fun day, a
very special, very monumental day. And Oprah has been just
such an absolutely wonderful advocate for really driving and making
people aware of a lot of innovation that can happen
through the no kill model. And because of her, we
(25:21):
have done we have worked with a lot of organizations
across the country on you know, how we were able
to do this? What are some of the life saving
programs that we've been able to put in place and
really really get people to start thinking differently and you know,
thinking about life saving programs and there is hope, you know,
it's it's every small step makes a.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
Difference, absolutely, and that is your Oprah effect. It's really
open the eyes of so.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
Many people, it really has. What about because of that?
Speaker 4 (25:50):
Do you have more volunteers and donors? How does pause continue?
How do you guys survive? Especially you know in this economy.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
How do you guys get through.
Speaker 4 (26:00):
Because so many organizations, you know, it's always difficult.
Speaker 11 (26:03):
It is in the you know, as a not for
profit in when you're you know, having when you're struggling
through financial downturns. You know, the not for profits definitely
are impacted. We've been so fortunate because of the work
that we do. First of all, we're privately funded. We
receive no government or no city funding. And for us
(26:24):
to continue to do the seventeen thousand surgeries every year
and I didn't mention we will save over four thousand
lives this year in our adoption program.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
Wow. I was going to ask you that too. Four thousand.
Speaker 11 (26:36):
Yeah. Really, we've had such a such an awesome response
from the Chicagoland community. We opened our doors on September
of seven, and in September of this year, we saved
our ten thousandth life.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
Wow, congratulations. That is wonderful.
Speaker 11 (26:54):
And what's nice too that in that same month our
Stay Nuter Clinic, which is you know I talked about
that is in one of our lower income neighborhoods, performed
its one hundred thousandth surgery.
Speaker 4 (27:05):
Wow. Now has that been since you guys opened in
ninety seven.
Speaker 11 (27:10):
Or that's been since we've opened the clinic in two
thousand and one.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Two thousand. Wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 11 (27:16):
But to your point, you know, it really does take
local support in order for us to continue what we do.
We receive no government funding, we receive no city funding,
and because we are a new organization that's incredibly innovative
and incredibly you know, as long as animals are dying, unnecessarily,
we're going to continue to you know, go forward at
(27:37):
full steam ahead putting in life saving programs and we
depend on the support of you know, of the community.
The financial support of the community. OPRAH has been just
fantastic for us and driving more of a national awareness
of the work that's getting done. So not only is
it going to impact you know, the future of sheltering,
but it also has you know, awakened people to why
(28:00):
you should adopt and why you should support some of
your support agencies that are really putting in life saving programs.
Speaker 4 (28:06):
Absolutely are We're going to start to wrap this up
for Rochelle. This is the time to let our listeners know,
especially if they're in the Chicago Land area, any upcoming
events that you all have because you have. You guys
have some really great stuff, some great events. You just
had like a black tie event, didn't you.
Speaker 11 (28:21):
We did. We just had our first ball in mid November,
which was just absolutely a lot of fun. The month
of December for US is all about saving lives and adoption.
So we just had our thirty six hour adopt us
on the first week in December, and we saved over
ninety eight lives in thirty six hours.
Speaker 3 (28:41):
You were open for thirty six hours.
Speaker 11 (28:43):
Uh yeah, ten am Saturday, It'll ten DM Sunday. And
we did our We were doing adoption Saturday nights about
three am in the morning. It was it was a
lot of.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Fun really, so people what they'd go out at night
and after dinner, Oh, you know what, I think, I
want to adopt a.
Speaker 11 (28:57):
Bet exactly or the people a lot of people got
really smart and said, you know what, we know you're
bringing in new dogs overnight and new kittens overnight. So
these people are, yeah, they are. And it was just
wonderful families coming in to save a life. So, you know,
for us, this month is really about you know, working
with the Chicago community, not only you know, to save
(29:17):
a life through adoptions and if you can't adopt, absolutely
donate so that we can continue our life saving programs
built from USTe nut or in an adoption perspective as
we move into twenty and eleven.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Absolutely, and where are you guys located in someone's to
stop by?
Speaker 12 (29:34):
No.
Speaker 11 (29:34):
Absolutely, adoption center is at nineteen ninety seven North Clyborne
and you can see all of our amazing animals online
at www. Posh Chicago dot org and you can also
make a donation online.
Speaker 4 (29:46):
Well, I salute the fabulous work that you do. I
love POSH Chicago and there's two very successful twenty eleven
for you and the hundreds of beets and the lives
that you have saved.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
So thanks, thank you so much Michelle for joining us.
Speaker 11 (30:02):
Oh, thank you Kelly. It's always a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (30:04):
Thank you, and thank.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
You all for listening to another edition of Sasey Seniors
where we truly celebrate our senior pets. And you can
also catch me on my website our dot com. Thanks
for joining us, Have a good one, happy holidays.
Speaker 10 (30:20):
Let's talk pets every week on demand only on Petlifradio
dot com
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