Each year, more than 20,000 animals pass through the doors of Chicago Animal Care and Control. Many of those will not leave alive. In 2014, nearly 6,000 animals – 30 percent – were killed by CACC. The large majority of the cats and dogs killed are healthy or had treatable conditions.

Hundreds of large and small communities in the United States have achieved No Kill status, demonstrating that they can truly fulfill the animal sheltering mission by finding homes for all healthy or treatable pets. In communities from Austin, Texas to Charles City, Iowa, all animals are saved unless they are irremediably suffering or hopelessly dangerous. Chicago citizens believe our city’s people and our pets deserve for us to join their ranks.

Now, two top leadership positions at Chicago Animal Care and Control are vacant: director and supervising veterinarian. The supervising veterinarian position has been vacant for more than two years, which has worsened the spread of disease throughout the shelter. Deputy Director Ivan Capifali has no previous animal sheltering experience and is not a suitable candidate to helm CACC.

This transition is a unique opportunity to transform CACC into a place where lives are saved. The signatories to this petition ask that the City of Chicago conduct a nationwide search and appoint a Shelter Director with a commitment to saving healthy and treatable animals. Additionally, the signatories demand that an experienced supervising veterinarian be hired immediately and that the canine influenza outbreak be adequately addressed.

The city of Chicago faces a choice. If we adhere to the current model, our tax dollars will continue to be spent to kill innocent animals. Instead, the taxpaying citizens of Chicago demand that our city’s animal shelter become a place of life, hope and love.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

This Chicago Sun-Times article describes the Chicago animal welfare community's demands for a qualified CACC Director: Advocates demand national search for new Animal Care chief

And these BGA reports recount the history of mismanagement at CACC: BGA sues city pound again, Questions abound at city pound