A January fire that sent 100 dogs and cats to an animal hospital with minor injuries shuttered PAWS Tinley Park for months, until the “reimagined” animal shelter opened to cheers on Sun…
A dog nibbles on the hand of a volunteer staffing a kissing booth at a ribbon cutting event Sunday as PAWS Tinley Park reopened after being shuttered for months by a fire in January. The barking of dogs never sounded so good to the volunteers and supporters at Sunday’s grand reopening of PAWS Tinley Park.
There was a sense of relief among the crowd at Sunday’s celebration. The animals were back in a bright, clean building after extensive repairs and renovations that cost tens of thousands of dollars. What insurance didn’t cover, generous donors did, shelter officials said. The ribbon cutting was a way to welcome people and animals alike back to the facility, and a chance to again thank all those who helped out during some trying months.
“Everybody was outside in less than 40 minutes,” Rahm said. “When the call came out, they called Midwest Animal Hospital and they sent every one of their staff members in their personal vehicles.” Rahm, like other volunteers, has his own menagerie of pets in his home, including a great Dane puppy recently relinquished by a breeder because of a cleft lip and cleft palate. Rahm said the breeder brought the pup and a sibling to Midwest asking that they be euthanized but staff called PAWS, instead. Rahm took one and found a foster home for the other.
Longtime supporter Pam Franckow, left, and volunteer Susan Safran tour the newly renovated PAWS Tinley Park facility during an event Sunday celebrating its reopening months after a fire in January. “They’re compassionate and dedicated and everybody who’s involved here just works tirelessly to achieve the same goals — to house the pets that have lost their homes, take care of them and pay their medical bills before they’re adopted,” she said.
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