Business & Tech
Highland Park Animal Shelter Fundraising for Survival
Tails of Hope has helped thousands of animals find homes in the North Shore. With donations down, the no-kill shelter is struggling to stay open.
By Jacob Nelson
Kelly Moyer's day, which begins at 5 a.m. and goes until 10 p.m., starts and ends with the same activity: kennel-cleaning.
The owner of Tails of Hope, a no-kill animal shelter in Highland Park, Moyer works around the clock, seven days a week to take care of homeless animals and find them new owners.
"It's my life work, it's my passion," she said, "or I wouldn't be able to do it."
Since opening in 2003, Tails of Hope has found homes for more than three thousand dogs and cats. About 300 of those have been placed since 2012 alone.
But the shelter has fallen on hard times. Donations are way down, and if it doesn't raise about $50,000 soon, Tails of Hope will be forced to close.
"I'm determined for the place not to go under," Moyer said. "It's so needed, there's so much need out there."
Tails of Hope is a unique shelter. It doesn't euthanize, even when it gets animals at the end of their lives. For example, a 13-year-old dog was brought to the shelter when its owner died. Now, the dog is one of the shelter's 15 permanent residents.
The shelter also goes through a thorough process to match animals with the right owners. This begins with Moyer meeting with the family looking to adopt, doing a home visit and then introducing them to personally selected dogs based on their preferences and household.
"People don't come here and pick out a dog," she said. "Our return rate is so incredibly low because we work hard to create a match."
Moyer worries that, were Tails of Hope to close, these families might not get the perfect animal. Worse yet, many more animals would be brought to shelters that don't share Tails' no-kill philosophy.
"I think that it will be… incredibly sad," Moyer said. "(Tails of Hope) is a resource that Highland Park and the North Shore will no longer have, which means more dogs will be euthanized."
So Moyer is working a new activity into a daily schedule already filled with vet visits, home visits and adoption hours: she's fundraising.
"What I'm trying to drive home is if everybody just gives a little we wouldn't be in this financial situation," she said. "There are 29,000 people in Highland Park. If half gave ten dollars we would be in a much better position to continue our work."
The shelter is planning two fundraisers this month. The first was a happy hour held Thursday at Vibe.
The other fundraiser will feature author David Rosenfelt, who will be discussing his two new books and his 29 dogs. That event will be held on July 28 at 5:30 p.m. at Port Clinton Square. There will be food and adoptable dogs available. Tickets cost $25.
Since beginning to fundraise more actively, Moyer says she's seen the community start to step up and help.
"People have been so nice, making donations online stopping by the shelter to give us checks," she said.
But there's still a long way to go before the shelter can be worry-free.
"We need a lot more of that," she said.
Donations can be made online or at Tails of Hope, which is located at 1628 Old Deerfield (behind Bluegrass Restaurant) in Highland Park.
The owner of Tails of Hope, a no-kill animal shelter in Highland Park, Moyer works around the clock, seven days a week to take care of homeless animals and find them new owners.
"It's my life work, it's my passion," she said, "or I wouldn't be able to do it."
Since opening in 2003, Tails of Hope has found homes for more than three thousand dogs and cats. About 300 of those have been placed since 2012 alone.
But the shelter has fallen on hard times. Donations are way down, and if it doesn't raise about $50,000 soon, Tails of Hope will be forced to close.
"I'm determined for the place not to go under," Moyer said. "It's so needed, there's so much need out there."
Tails of Hope is a unique shelter. It doesn't euthanize, even when it gets animals at the end of their lives. For example, a 13-year-old dog was brought to the shelter when its owner died. Now, the dog is one of the shelter's 15 permanent residents.
The shelter also goes through a thorough process to match animals with the right owners. This begins with Moyer meeting with the family looking to adopt, doing a home visit and then introducing them to personally selected dogs based on their preferences and household.
"People don't come here and pick out a dog," she said. "Our return rate is so incredibly low because we work hard to create a match."
Moyer worries that, were Tails of Hope to close, these families might not get the perfect animal. Worse yet, many more animals would be brought to shelters that don't share Tails' no-kill philosophy.
"I think that it will be… incredibly sad," Moyer said. "(Tails of Hope) is a resource that Highland Park and the North Shore will no longer have, which means more dogs will be euthanized."
So Moyer is working a new activity into a daily schedule already filled with vet visits, home visits and adoption hours: she's fundraising.
"What I'm trying to drive home is if everybody just gives a little we wouldn't be in this financial situation," she said. "There are 29,000 people in Highland Park. If half gave ten dollars we would be in a much better position to continue our work."
The shelter is planning two fundraisers this month. The first was a happy hour held Thursday at Vibe.
The other fundraiser will feature author David Rosenfelt, who will be discussing his two new books and his 29 dogs. That event will be held on July 28 at 5:30 p.m. at Port Clinton Square. There will be food and adoptable dogs available. Tickets cost $25.
Since beginning to fundraise more actively, Moyer says she's seen the community start to step up and help.
"People have been so nice, making donations online stopping by the shelter to give us checks," she said.
But there's still a long way to go before the shelter can be worry-free.
"We need a lot more of that," she said.
Donations can be made online or at Tails of Hope, which is located at 1628 Old Deerfield (behind Bluegrass Restaurant) in Highland Park.
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