Joliet

Animals Face Homelessness As Shelter Gets Eviction Notice Days Before Christmas

Cache Creek Animal Rescue needs to raise $50,000 by Jan. 10, 2015

An animal adoption center in south suburban Chicago is asking for donations this holiday season to find a new temporary home for their animals after receiving an eviction notice Dec. 12. 

Cache Creek Animal Rescue is a non-profit no-kill shelter that rescues dogs and cats from kill shelters in 11 counties in southern Illinois. The adoption center is facing eviction because the Joliet building was not up to code during a recent inspection, according to the shelter's Go Fund Me page. The owner of the building wants them out by Jan. 10.

Cache Creek Animal Rescue Pets

"People don't understand our plight," said Donna Hawk, the director of the shelter.

Hawk said she drives 700 miles almost every weekend rescuing animals in southern Illinois and bringing them from their shelter in Anna, Ill., to the adoption center in Joliet. The shelter in Anna, Hawk said, has flooded four times, so the animals there are also in danger of losing their temporary home.

Hawk hopes to raise $50,000 to find a new home for the animals in Anna as well as Joliet. Hawk's car also needs repairs due to all of the driving she does to rescue the dogs and cats.

Hawk said she doesn't know where the animals in Joliet will go if they are evicted, and she's hoping to raise enough money to find them new homes by Christmas. Friends and family of the shelter staff have offered to foster some of the animals, but Hawk said her goal is to find a new place for the adoption center as soon as possible.

NBC Chicago Adopt-A-Pet Animals

Between the shelter in Anna and the adoption center in Joliet, Cache Creek has about 180 dogs and cats. There are currently about 25 animals in Joliet, Hawk said, but she was planning on bringing 20 more this week.

Although the majority of animals are rescued in southern Illinois, Hawk brings them to the adoption center in Joliet because there are much more likely to be adopted there, she said.

"It's just amazing what people dispose of down here," Hawk said of the animals she rescues in southern Illinois.

Through their Go Fund Me page, Cache Creek has raised more than $12,000, but they have a long way to go before they reach their goal of $50,000. Cache Creek staff are asking for donations of any size, even $1 or $5.

If you'd like to donate, visit their fundraising page. For more information about Cache Creek, visit www.cachecreekanimalrescue.com.

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