2021 Heartwarming, Quirky Animal Stories From Illinois

ILLINOIS — The animal kingdom never failed to brighten our days or bring out the best in humans in 2021. Here are 10 quirky, heartwarming stories of courageous police K9s, cats stuck in trees, polar vortex dogs and wandering felines. Community readers rescued the animals, and the animals rescued them right back.

Owner Of Long-Lost Cat Suspicious Of Circumstances Of His Return

Sammy, a 3-year-old indoor and outdoor cat adopted from Iran, went missing from the Highland Park home of Rachel Evans on July 7, 2020. Nine months after being scolded by a neighbor for being a bad cat parent “when she has no idea what [or] who Sammy is or who I am,” Evans was contacted by an animal shelter 10 miles away that Sammy was in their custody. It also turned out that the neighbor who scolded Evans may have brought Sammy to the animal shelter. The moral of this story: get your pets microchipped.

Online Pet Sitter Loses Dog, Lies About It, Owner Says

Chicago resident Nia Morgan, who lives in the North Side Lakeview neighborhood, was apprehensive about leaving her poodle-mix, whom she described as her best friend and roommate, with the online dog-sitting service Rover.com. Unfortunately, the Rover sitter lost her dog “Jeff” in Waukegan and delayed telling Morgan. Several weeks later, a dog resembling Jeff was spotted frolicking in a New Jersey dog park, apparently after being sold to some new owners.

Lucky Bird: Police Reunite Parrot With Owner In Arlington Heights

Thanks to the miracle of social media, a 30-year-old African Gray parrot named Miko was reunited with his owner. Arlington Heights police said Miko appeared unharmed when they found him and looked like a "beloved household pet." A social media post was sent out by police with a follow-up saying that his owner had been 30 minutes after the post went up.

K9 Shot While Chasing Wanted Man Expected To Make Full Recovery

Heroic police K9 Riggs, assigned to the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department, was shot in the forehead when taking down a murder suspect from Chicago. Riggs was taken to a veterinary hospital in Buffalo Grove, where he was released a few days later. He is expected to make a full recovery and even walked out on his own.

It Takes A Village Or 2 or 3 To Save A Cat Stuck Up A Tree

An Oak Lawn homeowner, a crazy cat lady from Alsip, an Evergreen Park professional tree climber and an entire social media village saved a cat stuck up a tree in January. At first, neighbors thought it was a raccoon clinging to the highest branches of Jim Tischer’s 60-foot tree in Oak Lawn, but when they saw a flash of white, they realized it was a gray tabby recently spotted hanging around the neighborhood. It was tree service owner Tim Sluis to the rescue, who scaled the tree with rope, cat treats and a bucket. He lowered the cat in a bucket.

Dogs That Survived Polar Vortex Available For Adoption

It was a pit bull named Cookie who found two small dogs under a car in the middle of a polar vortex last February. The dogs were on the verge of freezing to death. The local animal rescue network immediately went to work, and the dogs were taken into a pet foster home. Eventually, the dogs’ owner stepped forward who surrendered Mojo, a senior chihuahua, and white fluff ball Toby. It took a while, but both boys were adopted and found forever homes.

Community Rallies To Support NAWS After Van Burglarized

When the van belong to NAWS No-Kill Humane Society had its catalytic converter clipped off, the Mokena community rallied to raise money to get the van repaired because NAWS shouldn't be stuck with the bill.
"To steal is bad. To steal from a charity is just a new level of bad."

The Eagle Has Landed: Majestic Bird Spotted In Evergreen Park

A majestic eagle was seen perching in an Evergreen Park alley in March.

A Pawfect Act: Northbrook Teen Raises $1K For Animal Shelter

Despite being allergic to cats and dogs, Mia Willentzik loves animals. The 13-year-old Northbrook resident showed her affinity for some furry friends when she raised more than $1,000 for Orphans of the Storm, a Riverwoods-based animal shelter for her Bat Mitzvah service project.

Lake County Police K9 Diesel Ends Watch

Police K9 Diesel, who started his career in 2015, will be remembered for finding dozens of missing endangered people, fleeing felons and significant amounts of contraband. Diesel’s watch ended in September when he died too soon of an aggressive form of cancer.