Chi Art Dogs
Chi Art Dogs is the working title of a documentary following the story of what is happening to the dogs in Chicago’s animal shelters.
This project was born when I discovered Chicago Animal Care and Control on facebook and began spending night after night falling in love with dogs, sending pictures and videos to my partner, Krzys, begging for his blessing to bring a dog into our family.
One day, I saw a dog named Pookie listed as “URGENT” on the CACC Dogs page (which is run by volunteers). Like many dogs, she had caught one of the highly transmittable illnesses floating around the facility. "URGENT" is usually followed with "NEEDS RESCUE BY 7PM TOMORROW...."
And that, my friends, is a death sentence.
I happened to be off work that day and followed the fb thread off and on, preparing myself to spite all of Krzys’ misgivings and surprise him with the dog he didn’t know he wanted. I researched foster programs. I cried. And ultimately… Pookie was saved by a rescue organization. And I was off the hook; and I felt better…
…that is until the next dog was listed as urgent, and then the next, and the next. Until I realized that every dog at CACC is always urgent. Until I saw dogs disappear off the CACC website and volunteers post videos of dogs they loved going over the rainbow bridge. Seemingly healthy dogs. I couldn’t believe it. Healthy, conscious, sentient beings were being euthanized…why?? How?? For space, I was told.
Yes, the harsh reality is that, by law, CACC MUST accept every dog that comes through their doors. There are 280-ish(?) kennels and 20-50 new arrivals daily; and despite the adoptions and rescues that do take place, I can assure you the math isn't mathing in favor of the animals. That means every day good people must make horrible decisions because they are always over capacity. I also learned that CACC only has a 7.5 million dollar budget, compared to that of Houston which has a budget of 16 million, or New York, whose budget is over 30 million. How can they operate like this? Even if they have brilliant ideas to improve things, there are so little resources. What is to be done?
Recently, I went to a city hearing on CACC. And while I was moved by all the people who showed up to voice statistics, ideas and empathy, I was left feeling…unsatisfied. Thinking, “and now what?” So many questions unanswered… What will change? Is there a unified effort for change; or are we all too scattered and struggling to scratch by that there’s no time to get together and brainstorm? What do the rescue organizations think of the current situation? What is CACC’s official stance on the situation? How do CACC employees feel? Why are vet costs so high? Why don’t landlords want dogs in their buildings? Why are there so many backyard breeders? How do we make time and energy to care about this when the whole world seems so full of horrors?
As I said in my own public comment, which you can view here, I view dogs as sentient beings capable of unconditional love, and it is unconscionable to me that we would be putting healthy dogs down. Dogs, who were bred to be “man’s best friend.”
What’s the old saying - “with friends like humans, who needs enemies?”
So, what is the story here? I need to understand. My goal is to speak first and last with Chicago Animal Care and Control. I think they could easily be turned into “the bad guys” here, but that is not my goal. I believe that most humans are good-hearted, trying to do their best within complicated and unjust systems. I would like to speak to the many Chicago rescue organizations working tirelessly and unglamourously to save as many dogs as possible, often while also working full time jobs to support their heart’s work. I would like to speak to the Mayor’s office to understand why there has not been a permanent leadership appointment at CACC in over two years. I would like to speak to the CACC volunteers who are so strong and brave; who run the facebook page that gets people like me involved. I would like to speak to vets and landlords and families facing terrible decisions. I would like to speak with my Alderman, Ruth Cruz, who I do believe cares and wants to help.
So, who will help me puzzle piece this together? As a creative human and newbie citizen journalist, I will be learning as I go.
What is the story of the real life pound puppies, the dogs of Chicago’s animal shelters, and how does it reflect who we are as a society?
My partner in life, future dog-lover, and visual storyteller extraordinaire, Krzysztof Piotrowski, is helping me to discover and share this story as a producer and director of photography. You can check out his past work at www.krzycam.com
If YOU have information to share or a story to tell us, please reach out at: gilliosophy@gmail.com
Thank you for reading and opening your heart to this story.
