When Heather Owen heard about the deadly tornado in Moore, Okla., last week, she decided to do what she could to help.
As president of One Tail at a Time, the Chicago-based dog rescue center, that meant raising more than $6,000 in one week, packing a van full of animal supplies and heading to the devastated town to help with animal relief efforts.
Owen and four of her colleagues will mainly be volunteering at the Animal Resource Center in Moore.
The group will also bring five dogs back to their Chicago center and provide them with medical treatment before putting them up for adoption.
Owen said two of the dogs, Bella and Romeo, are from the humane center in Oklahoma City and in serious need of medical attention. Anna Friedman, a 32-year-old Albany Park resident and rescue manager at OTAT, said Romeo, a great Dane mix, is in need of a costly and intensive double hip surgery.
"Bella is heartworm-positive, so she will require some additional medical treatment once she is in our care, but is an otherwise happy and healthy (and adorable) girl," she added.
The other three dogs returning with the group Sunday morning are from the Second Chance Animal Sanctuary in Norman, Okla. Owen said OTAT will be taking in these dogs, which she notes are big in size, in order to make room in the Oklahoma shelter for animals displaced by the tornado and waiting to be reunited with owners.
"All of the dogs that we are bringing back were at the shelter prior to the tornado," she said.
After making sure they are healthy, the three dogs from Second Chance Animal Sanctuary should be up for adoption fairly soon," said Owen, a 30-year-old Logan Square resident.
The dogs will be listed in the adoption section of the OTAT website, with an indication that they are from Oklahoma.
Owen also said anyone interested in helping out at the rescue center can find information on the website about volunteering, temporarily housing a dog or donating money and/or supplies.
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As president of One Tail at a Time, the Chicago-based dog rescue center, that meant raising more than $6,000 in one week, packing a van full of animal supplies and heading to the devastated town to help with animal relief efforts.
Owen and four of her colleagues will mainly be volunteering at the Animal Resource Center in Moore.
The group will also bring five dogs back to their Chicago center and provide them with medical treatment before putting them up for adoption.
Owen said two of the dogs, Bella and Romeo, are from the humane center in Oklahoma City and in serious need of medical attention. Anna Friedman, a 32-year-old Albany Park resident and rescue manager at OTAT, said Romeo, a great Dane mix, is in need of a costly and intensive double hip surgery.
"Bella is heartworm-positive, so she will require some additional medical treatment once she is in our care, but is an otherwise happy and healthy (and adorable) girl," she added.
The other three dogs returning with the group Sunday morning are from the Second Chance Animal Sanctuary in Norman, Okla. Owen said OTAT will be taking in these dogs, which she notes are big in size, in order to make room in the Oklahoma shelter for animals displaced by the tornado and waiting to be reunited with owners.
"All of the dogs that we are bringing back were at the shelter prior to the tornado," she said.
After making sure they are healthy, the three dogs from Second Chance Animal Sanctuary should be up for adoption fairly soon," said Owen, a 30-year-old Logan Square resident.
The dogs will be listed in the adoption section of the OTAT website, with an indication that they are from Oklahoma.
Owen also said anyone interested in helping out at the rescue center can find information on the website about volunteering, temporarily housing a dog or donating money and/or supplies.
Want more? Discuss this article and others on RedEye's Facebook page.