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INTRODUCTION
On June 26th, 2024, a devastating flood inundated our Wheeling shelter with over two feet of water, putting the lives of our 101 dogs and cats at risk. Miraculously, all the animals were  rescued, but our home was left uninhabitable.

Within days, thanks to the generosity of Signature Aviation, we relocated our shelter operations to a temporary facility at Chicago Executive Airport. Our staff and volunteers have transformed an airplane hangar into a nurturing environment for our rescued animals.

Despite this unprecedented challenge, our commitment to saving lives has never wavered. We expect to rescue about 1,100 dogs and cats. While we’re immensely proud of this achievement, it’s heartbreaking that we couldn’t help as many animals as usual.

Our journey back home is underway, but it will take several months before we can return to our Wheeling shelter. The costs of remediation and reconstruction have been substantial. We are eternally grateful to our supporters for standing by us as we navigate this difficult time and continue our lifesaving work.

The Flood
On the morning of Wednesday, June 26, a pipe burst flooded Heartland’s shelter in Wheeling. Over two feet of water filled our entire 10,000-square-foot facility.

All 25 dogs and 76 cats were saved thanks to the quick action of Waste Management sanitation worker Antun “Tony” Maticic. Tony is a familiar face to our cats who see him making his rounds each morning. On that day, Tony noticed more cats staring out at him. He looked in the windows and discovered the rising floodwaters. Tony’s immediate call to 911 prevented a potential tragedy.

“If Tony hadn’t arrived when he did, we could have lost countless animals,” said Heartland Executive Director Jenny Schlueter. “Many cats had climbed to safety, while some small dogs were floating in their beds and were in imminent danger.”

We quickly evacuated every animal and relocated them to other shelters or foster homes.

What Next?
The flood left our shelter uninhabitable, but it also brought an outpouring of community support. Fosters, volunteers, local businesses, government officials, and donors rallied around us. Within a few days, we transformed a vast airplane hangar at Chicago Executive Airport, generously donated by Signature Aviation, into a temporary shelter.

Our staff created a welcoming space for animals, complete with a medical area and an adoption nook. The newly opened Cat House Cat Lounge & Boutique in Roselle became an invaluable partner, providing shelter and adoption opportunities for our cats.

Looking Ahead
While the flood was a devastating setback, we are determined to rebuild. Construction is already underway, and we anticipate moving home to our Wheeling shelter around the end of the year.

Since the day after the flood, we have been rescuing and finding new homes for animals, and we are very proud of that work. But of course, we can’t help as many animals as we did before, and that’s the biggest loss for us.

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DONATING ITEMS DURING CONSTRUCTION
We are so grateful for the thoughtful donation of items for our animals!

With our shelter building under construction and while we are still operating at a temporary facility at the airport, our storage space is more limited than ever. We would appreciate it if you could wait to donate any of your gently used items (towels, blankets, toys, food, etc.) until January. 

In the meantime, we may still reach out for items that we need, and we will provide information on how to best get them to us. If you’d rather not wait, please consider donating to one of our Chicagoland Humane Coalition partners. Thanks again and we hope to see you soon!

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THANK YOU!

Heartland is forever grateful for the outpouring of support from the public. Here are just a few of the organizations and people who helped us following the flood.

FOSTERS  Soon after the flood, our amazing fosters jumped in and welcomed the displaced and scared animals into their homes, making sure they felt safe after a very traumatic day (heartlandanimalshelter.org/volunteer/foster)

VOLUNTEERS Many devoted volunteers helped us empty the flooded building, sort hundreds of pounds of donations, transport pets to new homes and appointments, take home bags and bags of laundry, and assist with adoptions. (heartlandanimalshelter.org/volunteer)

DONORS We put out the call for supplies and we got more food, toys, treats, and blankets than we could imagine. Blue Buffalo sent over pallets of food! We ended up needing two PODS to store it all! (heartlandanimalshelter.org/donate/our-wishlist)

LOCAL BUSINESSES  Waldmann Lighting gave us a place to work during the hectic first few days after the flood. Weber Flavors is storing a large amount of donated pet food and other goods for us. The Chamber of Commerce jumped in to find us a new home and support us every step of the way.

SIGNATURE AVIATION Signature Aviation at Chicago Executive Airport gave us a large airplane hangar where we set up a temporary shelter, providing us a place for medical and adoption operations. 

MATCHING GIFT Thank you to Don Levin and the Chicago Wolves for their generous donation.

AREA SHELTERS AND RESCUES Immediately after the flood, Tree House Humane Society, The Anti-Cruelty Society, and Animal Care League transferred dozens of cats into their programs. 4 Paw Luv provided supplies and surgeries. 

CAT CAFE  Our partnership with Cat House: Cat Lounge and Boutique in Roselle launched in the knick of time and has been instrumental in ensuring we can continue cat adoptions while the shelter is closed. (thecathouselounge.com)

PET BOARDING The Best Friends Pet Hotel  in Prairie View donated an entire wing for our bigger boys, including Abu and Sarge. Staff and volunteers have round-the-clock access to feed and walk them. We also boarded animals at Doggy Days in Round Lake and Waggles Pet Resort. We are so grateful to Meow Chicago  / O’Hare  for all of their assistance with some of our cats in need of special attention, and for giving a home to our senior cat Frank. 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT The Wheeling Police and Fire Departments were first on the scene to help our animals. Public Works also headed over to our building to help. The Village of Prospect Heights worked quickly to inspect and approve our temporary location at the airport as did the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

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LATEST INFORMATION: Follow us on Facebook to find out about adoption popups and other news.

ADOPTIONS: While the shelter is closed, we are still doing adoptions!

• DOGS: View all of our adoptable dogs here. If you are interested in a particular dog, email dogs@heartlandanimalshelter.org or fill out an application. Meets-and-greets will take place at our temporary adoption center at Signature Aviation, Chicago Executive Airport. 
• CATS: View all of our adoptable cats here. If you are interested in a particular cat currently in a foster home, please fill out an application or email cats@heartlandanimalshelter.org  You can also meet many of Heartland’s cats at the Cat Lounge & Boutique.

FOSTERS: We are in desperate need for fosters so we can keep transferring animals out of the city shelter . Please sign up today!

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: At this time, we could use help at our satellite cat adoption location at the Cat House.  More opportunities to volunteer will be posted as we get up and running in our other locations. 

VIDEO: 

•  small dogs
• water rose to about two feet
• flooded out of the front door 
• shelter building
• airplane hanger

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jenny Schlueter
Executive Director
jennifer@heartlandanimalshelter.org
847-296-6400 x1010

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OUR HERO!

None of the 101 dogs and cats at the shelter a. the time of the flood were hurt, thanks to the quick thinking of Antun “Tony” Maticic, the WM Waste Management of Illinois sanitation worker who stopped by the shelter to empty the dumpsters. Tony always greeted the cats sitting in the windows at Heartland when he made his morning rounds. On the day of the flood, he noticed more animals than usual staring out at him. When Tony looked more closely, he saw two feet of water inside the shelter and more pouring into the parking lot. Tony immediately called 911. We held a thank-you party (video) for Tony on Thursday, which was attended by his management team, co-workers, and members of the media, including ABC 7, and the Sun-Times. He seemed very touched and made sure to say on camera, “Now we need to get all these animals adopted!”