Joliet Animal Shelter Fights Eviction

Cache Creek Animal Rescue Facebook.

When Donna Hawks received an eviction notice for her animal shelter — handed to her by a neighbor, who had already opened the letter — she was shocked.

Nearly a week later, the director of the Cache Creek Animal Rescue said she still isn’t quite sure why her landlord, a company called Knight Enterprises, is kicking the shelter out.

Meanwhile, supporters have launched a GoFundMe campaign in an effort to save the animal rescue.

“I don’t know 100 percent what’s going on,” said Hawks, who, with the help of volunteers, opened the Joliet adoption center a year and a half ago. “I really am not sure.”

She said the shelter has gotten complaints from neighbors regarding animal waste not being picked up, despite a daily “poop patrol” established by shelter volunteers. She said the shelter is current on its rent payments, and isn’t certain if those complaints led to the eviction notice. “I can’t be sure,” she said.

Cache Creek is based in Southern Illinois, but the Joliet shelter, located at 20654 Burl Court, gives her a place to house animals in Will County, where she organizes adoption events each week.

The rescue pulls animals from pounds and shelters in nine counties in Southern Illinois, and is one of the few rescues that accepts senior dogs, Hawks said.

Right now, the Joliet adoption center is home to nearly 30 dogs and 12 cats.

Hawks said after getting the eviction notice from her neighbor, she received an official notice this week, giving Cache Creek 30 days to clear out.

She said Joliet attorney Frank Andreano has taken on the case pro bono while the shelter works on figuring out what to do next.

If the Joliet adoption center closes, “It means we’ll shut down,” said Hawks, who, at 60 years old, drives 700 miles each week to bring pets to the shelter.

Last weekend, Hawks wasn’t able to pick up dogs from Southern Illinois pounds because she wasn’t sure she’d have a place to house them. “It’s hard,” she said, saying she worries especially for the senior dogs.

She said it took the rescue nearly two years to find the Joliet location. ”This gave us the luxury of having our animals up here all the time,” and allowing prospective pet owners to visit them, Hawks said.

Even if the group is successful in fighting eviction, Hawks believes Cache Creek will eventually have to move. The rescue’s lease is up in July, and she doesn’t imagine it will be renewed, she said.

Shelter volunteer Anna Pec this week established a GoFundMe campaign in the hopes of saving Cache Creek.

“My homeless animals and my extended family will be homeless for the holidays,” Hawks posted on Cache Creek’s Facebook page. “No later than January 10th we are out. With no location and no money we get to spend our holidays wondering what to do ... the Grinch lives.”

Visit the Cache Creek GoFundMe page: