A Note from Janice Brown, Founder
When
people without pets learn that I publish Tails
magazines, they always seem amazed that there is enough material
to keep producing issue after issue. I hear things like: “What do dogs do
besides eat, sleep, and bark?” “I thought cats just drank milk and lurked in
bushes outside.” “You mean people really dress up their pets and take
pictures?!?”
Our annual photo contest has been going on
for five years. Not only does the number of entries continue to grow, but the
number of high-quality photos we receive is amazing. Thank you to all of our
readers who sent in ADORABLE photos of the animals you love; we wish we could
print all of them…really! If your photo didn’t win, check our cover carefully,
and be sure to look through future issues, since we continue to use entries in
various places in the magazine all year long. There is one thing the staff at Chicagoland Tails is very clear
about: Our readers absolutely love their pets.
My recent experience with our newest
additions reinforced my belief about the lengths people will go to for animals
of any size. My 21/2-year-old daughter’s
obsession with Nemo and the Little Mermaid had sparked a lot of “fish talk” in
our home. So, what else would a pet-loving family with two dogs and two cats
do, but welcome eight African Cichlids into our lives. We were lucky enough to
adopt these fish from an uncle whose own fish family was multiplying quickly.
Our tank was beautiful and doing well. We were
leaving town during the holidays, so we prepared the tank as we needed to.
However, the automatic feeder malfunctioned, and we arrived home to a mucky
tank and eight fish who needed help fast.
Several trips to the fish store, and
numerous purchases of pumps, tubing, filters, chemicals, and test strips later,
we thought we had everything under control. But we woke up one morning, and
noticed one fish (we think it was “French Fry”) who was not doing well. We
rushed him over to Chicago Aquarium & Pond
in
The store would only allow us to bring little
“French Fry” home once they had re-tested our tank water to be sure we had
successfully eliminated any problems. When we introduced him back into the tank
with his friends, it truly was a touching moment. And I have to admit, that
while I consider myself to be an extremely wellinformed animal lover, I had no
idea that a service like this, an “emergency room” for fish, even existed. But
when we needed it, it saved our fish’s life.
Luckily, there are many people who are
passionate about saving animals’ lives. And besides shelter workers, vets, vet techs,
and others in the animal industry, there are people like Shana Belluomini, a
teenager from the suburbs who spends nearly all of her free time rescuing cats
(page 10). And while most of us have the best intentions to do right by our
pets, we can unknowingly be harming them. Don’t miss our story about pet food
allergies (page 9), and how you can improve your companion animal’s overall
health and well-being. As the snow continues to fall, and the “lake effect”
wind blows, don’t forget that at least the days are getting longer—
Janice Brown
jb@ChicagolandTails.com
