Dear Community, this past Thursday I spoke before the City Council and the mayor. I spoke virtually and was the first speaker. Due to technology glitches, I ended up testifying aurally and not visibly, so I was heard and the video part was not working.
Some who watched said that I sounded garbled the first few seconds, yet my message went through. I had three minutes to speak.
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It took all of you sending me positive energy and prayers, messaging me .
It took all of you, who have signed, shared and promoted the petition. All of you, who have been sending emails to the mayor and the alderpeople. All of you who can no longer stand the unnecessary killing of innocent lives and the suffering they endure while alive, trapped in a cage 24 hours a day…so much more that is inhumane, cruel and immoral about that place and the sloppy, chaotic, unfeeling environment that permeates there.
Thank you to those of you who are making the effort to learn about the No Kill equation, who have watched the video and have joined the No Kill Advocacy Center (www.nokilladvocacycenter.org It is a solution that is proven to work in high kill shelters across the nation. Best Friends is no solution, many dogs will die because of them.
Here is a transcript of my presentation. Speaking to the local government is only the first step. Let’s build on this momentum!
The Enemy Within:
My name is Maria Fatum and I’m a member of a No Kill Advocacy Group.. I am concerned because dog euthanasia numbers have sky rocketed from 20% to 40% since January, 2023 at Chicago Animal Care and Control.
We are requesting new leadership and staff at CACC who are caring and compassionate and will adopt the No Kill Equation.
CACC wants you to think that they are forced to euthanize dogs for space and that intake numbers are at an all-time high. This is not true. Intake numbers in 2023 are 6-7% lower than intakes in 2018 and 14% from 2019. Intake numbers are also lower than in 2022.
Most alarming is that the euthanasia rate has increased 169% between 2018 to 2023.
CACC says that there are not enough adopters, but that is not the case. There are plenty of people who want to adopt, and CACC has created many impediments which make adoption more difficult. This needs to change.
Animals are not numbers, they are feeling beings. CACC has reached a new level of cruelty as shown in the following story:
Lilibet was a two year old pup who loved to play fetch with tennis balls. The volunteers described her as sweet and outgoing while the staff described her as a behavioral risk and aggressive.
On 6/11 the staff members decided to have her spayed, a surgery that is only performed on dogs who are being adopted. The FOIA records do not Indicate that Lilibet was being adopted. After this surgery, it is standard for dogs to have rest and little activity 11-14 days after surgery. Instead, a staff member put her back in playgroup two days after her surgery. There was an altercation between two dogs that she did not start, and Lilibet was hurt. The incisions ruptured causing a hernia and swelling.
Rather than repair the wound, the staff decided that she would be euthanized.
This is an example of the sadistic behavior which CACC has lowered itself to. We ask that the acting director and staff members responsible for this heinous crime and the deaths of 1,500 dogs, be replaced by a caring, compassionate leader and staff who will embrace the No Kill equation.