Thank you to everyone who read our Furrever Thankful blog series during the month of November. I hope you’ve learned more about TAPS and our day to day operations as well as the wonderful group of staff and volunteers that we have to support our work. We’ve tried to share a mix of our successes, our happy endings, our heartbreak, and our long-term animals still looking for a home.
I have recently started taking my dogs to the dog park. Other than when we are the only animals there, I don’t think I’ve ever been when there hasn’t been a TAPS adopted dog there with it’s family. I love hearing how loved they are in their home, whether it has been for a month or for years, and what an impact TAPS is having right here in our home community. At TAPS, while we see a lot of sadness, we have the opportunity to create families. I know not every adoption is a success, but we give it our best and over 95% of our shelter pets are successfully adopted into their forever home on the first try. I understand that the rescue process is frustrating and that it takes time, but we ask for your patience because each and every day, we strive for 100% success for both you and your adopted pet. If you aren’t happy with the rescue process, you won’t try to adopt again and you won’t refer your family and friends.
TAPS is not about one person or one animal, it is a collective group of committed individuals, a shelter full of wonderful animals, and a community of support that makes TAPS what it is today. I love seeing the friendships formed between our staff and volunteers, the lasting connections in central Illinois and beyond, and the love for rescue that is developed in our shelter right here in Pekin, Illinois. In many ways, we are beyond friends and co-workers, we have become family fighting the fight against abuse and neglect, giving those without a voice a second chance at a happily ever after. We cry together, we cheer together, and we keep getting up every time we are knocked down, all in the name of rescue. The hope we all feel when a long-termer receives an app, the crush we all feel when the apps meets the long-termer and decides it’s not the right fit, we are all in this journey together.
No matter how you become involved in TAPS, it matters. If you’ve never been involved before, we hope you’ve read something in our Furrever Thankful blog series that will inspire you to join us in our mission to save the lives of homeless dogs and cats. Whether you put a few coins in our Gimme Shelter houses, share a social media post, adopt, refer a friend to our low-cost spay/neuter program, volunteer, or participate in any other way, you are helping us make a difference in the lives of over 2,000 dogs and cats each year, and for that I give thanks.
