Paula Fasseas, founder and chair of PAWS Chicago, revealed plans for a 13,000 square-foot adoption and humane center to be opened in 2006 at the third annual PAWS Chicago Fur Ball on Saturday, Nov. 13. Located on Clybourn Avenue in Lincoln Park, the center will be the first progressive no-kill shelter in the Midwest and only the fourth nationwide.
Bulgari, Escada, and Holly Hunt hosted the Fur Ball, featuring honorary chair Paul Harvey, Jr., the creator of The Rest of the Story, and co-chairs Jerri Hoffmann and Mary Lee Lerich. This year's gala was a tremendous success, with over 300 guests (and 55 dogs) raising nearly $200,000 to support PAWS Chicago's adoption and community outreach programs, and the free and low-cost Lurie Family Spay/Neuter Clinic.
"I am pleased to be associated with PAWS Chicago first, of course, because theirs is a no-kill shelter - but especially because in their brief seven-year history they have helped to reduce the number of homeless animals killed in our city each year by one-third," said Paul Harvey, Jr. "That particular statistic is traceable directly to PAWS Chicago's efforts. And no other humane organization in Chicago's history has come close to that accomplishment."
The Michael Lerich Orchestra provided the music that kept everyone dancing—both two-legged and four-legged guests. The "Doggie Spa," where dogs enjoyed aromatherapy massages by animal massage therapist Pam Kuhn, was a hit with all the pets. Animal communicator Carol Schultz provided complimentary consultations for owners who were curious about how their pet, cat or dog, really feels about them. The evening also included silent and live auctions, with the highest bids going for a luxury private jet weekend trip to New York City for four people with their pets.
Pets Are Worth Saving (PAWS) Chicago is the city's largest no-kill humane organization dedicated to ending the unnecessary killing of homeless pets. Since 1997, PAWS Chicago's innovative Angels With Tails adoption events, spay/neuter and humane education programs have helped decrease the number of pets destroyed annually (28,652 in 2003) by 32 percent. PAWS Chicago operates the Lurie Family Spay/Neuter Clinic, located in and serving Chicago's most disadvantaged communities, and offers free spay/neuter, vaccines and health checks. PAWS Chicago does not receive any financial support from federal, state or local government agencies and is 100 percent reliant upon the generosity of the community. For more information about PAWS Chicago, go to pawschicago.org. |
