When Heather Gaut saw a picture of Duffy, a 14-year-old senior dog surrendered by his owner, on the Evanston Animal Shelter’s social media pages, she knew she had to help. That same day, she drove to the shelter to meet and foster him.

Gaut, who has two older dogs at home, said she hopes they will welcome Duffy so she can give him a loving home.

“The shelter is phenomenal,” Gaut said. “They do so many great things for the community and for the animals. Being no-kill is huge. I recommend if people cannot adopt, help out where you can, or at least volunteer time or money.” 

Beyond adoptions and fostering, the shelter also runs community outreach programs, including the Community Pet Pantry. Originally launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to distribute pet food to local pantries, the program has since evolved into an event the shelter holds twice a month.

Manned by staff and a team of volunteers, the pet pantry allows people who can’t afford to buy pet supplies to come to the shelter and “shop” for pet supplies, including food and litter as well as donated items such as leashes and toys. 

“We created a system where people can shop, to a certain extent,” said Natan Lipton-Lubet, the shelter’s operation director. “They tag team with one of our amazing volunteers, who walks through the market with them, grabbing off the shelves the amount of food and litter that we can give them again based on our rubric. (The volunteers) point out when we have extra litter boxes or extra toys, so people can find for themselves the things they need for their animals.”

This is an update from the original method, where the pantry ran a drive-by pickup format during the COVID-19 pandemic. By allowing people to come shop and interact with volunteers, the shelter ensures that pets in the community are supported with the supplies they need, Lipton-Lubet said. 

While partially supported by larger organizations that help source supplies, the shelter does most of its own sourcing for the pantry. Community members can donate food and supplies, often finding out what the shelter needs through their social media pages. 

“Several weeks ago, we posted that we had no dry cat food for the pantry. We got enough to last us two pantry dates. Something like 60 bags of cat food arrived, which is really amazing,” Lipton-Lubet said.  

In addition to the pet pantry, the shelter offers other services to keep pets with their families during difficult times, including its custodial program.

The custodial program is a free program for people who are going through unforeseen circumstances, such as financial hardships or hospitalizations in the community. The program allows the shelter to temporarily board and house a pet for up to six weeks at no charge to the family, Lipton-Lubet said. 

This way families who are going through hardships do not have to worry about their pets until they are back on their feet. If the person is not able to take their animal back, the shelter can find a new home for the pet, according to Lipton-Lubet.

Lipton-Lubet said volunteers keep the shelter running. Executive Director Vicky Pasenko started as a volunteer. 

“I have been at the shelter for 19 years,” Pasenko said. “I told my husband I’m just going to walk the dogs, I’m not going to get involved. And here I am, 19 years later, the director.” 

Pasenko said that when she began volunteering, the shelter was a high-kill shelter that euthanized dogs. Due to her frustration with this system, Pasenko and a few other volunteers went to the city and, after three years, formed its own nonprofit. 

Pasenko now runs the shelter and said her goal is to help the community as much as it can. She said while the shelter will always take animals in and find them good homes, she wants to ensure that pets aren’t losing good homes due to a family’s financial situation. 

She said she would rather help a family with the shelter’s resources and allow pets to stay in loving homes. Yet for Pasenko, the shelter isn’t just a job. 

“If you like what you’re doing, it’s not working. I never say I’m going to work. I say I’m going to the shelter because it doesn’t feel like work to come here,” Pasenko said. 

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