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Nearly one year ago, Crossroads Shih Tzu rescue formed in the New Lenox area. Since then, the organization has saved 100 Shih Tzu, Shih Tzu-mix and other small breed dogs. Seated are Crossroads board members Leann Lund, at right, and Vickie Fountain of Bloomington. Leann holds a dog named Amy, 6, who came from a puppy mill in Missouri. Amy has cataracts in both eyes. Vickie holds Pico, 10, who was rescued from a shelter in Kentucky. His owner was entering a nursing home and could not care for the dog any longer. Both dogs are available for adoption. 'To see one of these dogs adopted that was once forgotten, that is what keeps us going,' Leann said. - photos by Tracy Ahrens
At a crossroads Organization rescues dogs in crisis  Share
Blame it on Alex. The 8-year-old Shih Tzu is the reason Crossroads Shih Tzu Rescue, based in New Lenox, has saved 100 Shih Tzu, Shih Tzu-mix and other small breed dogs since July of 2008. Founder of Crossroads, Leann Lund owns Alex, a cream-colored Shih Tzu whose tongue typically dangles out of his closed mouth. Alex has come a long way after being found along a road, fur severely matted, an ulcer on one eye, a tumor on one leg, suffering from mange and toenails curled into the pads of his feet. ''There are so many dogs out there like Alex that need our help,'' Leann said. ''Yes, we sometimes get burnt out, but it's the success stories that keep us going.''
In 2001 Leann moved to Tallahassee, Fla. She owned one cat, she said, and was driving past a PetSmart store when she heard about an adoptathon event taking place there. She stopped to talk to rescue group members and signed up to volunteer with an all-breed organization. ''I fostered cats in my apartment,'' Leann said. ''Three months after I started volunteering with that all-breed organization, a member called me noting they found a little dog along a road and asked if I could foster it,'' Leann said. That dog was Alex. ''He was 10 months old and I fostered him for 6 months,'' Leann said. She decided to adopt him. A previous boyfriend introduced her to a Shih Tzu and Leann fell in love with the breed. ''Two years later that rescue group folded,'' Leann said. ''I started Gulf Coast Shih Tzu Rescue.'' That rescue group consisted of Leann and two other foster families. In 2006 Leann moved back to the New Lenox area, closer to family. ''Two friends and I volunteered with a couple rescue groups here and then decided to start Crossroads,'' she said. Leann's childhood friend, Vickie Fountain of Bloomington, met Alex and he stole her heart. Vickie became one of the Crossroads directors. She adopted a Shih Tzu named Elmo. Also on the board of directors for Crossroads is Julie Holt of Northwest Indiana. ''We chose the name Crossroads because we feel that each dog that comes to us is at a crossroads in its life,'' Leann said. ''Either we take it in to our program and help find it a better life, or its life will more than likely end. ''We want to keep the organization small,'' Leann said, noting that she works with dogs from the Chicago and Joliet area, Vickie focuses on Central Illinois and Julie focuses on Northwest Indiana. Altogether, there are now eight foster homes for dogs and five volunteers who help with fund raising, publicity, checking adoption references and more. ''We develop a personal relationship with our dogs and the people who adopt them,'' Leann said. Since 2008, Crossroads Shih Tzu rescue has taken 100 dogs into foster care. Sixty have been adopted. Some died due to illnesses. Some with chronic ailments will remain in foster homes for the rest of their lives. ''One thing that our organization wanted to do was save dogs that wouldn't otherwise be adopted,'' Leann said. Many of those dogs have special needs, are seniors or have chronic illnesses. Pico, for example, is a 10-year-old black and white Shih Tzu who was rescued from a Kentucky shelter after being surrendered by his elderly owner who had to enter a nursing home. Pico's age would have deterred him from being adopted. Amy, a 6-year-old apricot colored Shih Tzu, was rescued from a puppy mill in Missouri. She has cataracts in both eyes and limited sight, but her health problems don't slow her down. Fostering dogs with special needs requires extra personal attention from foster parents. ''I love the senior dogs,'' Leann said. She fosters most of them. Vickie cares for energetic, younger dogs since her daughters, Sierra, 16 and Skyler, 14 assist her. All foster homes are licensed and inspected by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Leann said. While fostering dogs could be a full time occupation, Leann and Vickie both have other jobs. Leann is an executive assistant at the Profit Sharing/401k Council of America in Chicago and works as a receptionist on Saturdays at Cedar Way Veterinary Clinic in New Lenox. Vickie is a business analyst for State Farm Insurance in Bloomington. Foster parents keep dogs at least two weeks to determine the dog's temperament, health and so forth. This helps place them in a new home permanently. All dogs are spayed/neutered before they are adopted and they receive microchip identification. That identification remains in Crossroads' name in case a dog is abandoned or lost. Potential adopters fill out an application online first. Crossroads checks references from their veterinarian, groomer, landlord and more. If those references are acceptable, a Crossroads member con-ducts a home visit, taking a dog the adopter is interested in to their home. ''We see how the person reacts to the dog and vice versa,'' Leann said. ''If the adoption happens, the person signs a contract with us.'' ''We know an adoption is right when a dog walks through a person's front door and doesn't look back at us,'' Vickie said. ''We just know the adoption is meant to be.'' Shih Tzu are like ''people in dog skin,'' Leann said with a smile. ''They are expressive and great travel companions. They are cat-like, showing short bursts of energy and then just hanging out.'' ''We become a voice for these dogs,'' Vickie said. ''We can't save them all but we do our best to save the ones we can. It seems like there is always one more.'' If a foster dog needs to be euthanized, a foster parent holds that dog during the process. ''We want to give them love, to hold them as they cross the Rainbow Bridge,'' Leann said. ''It's the worst feeling for us when we can't take a dog in (to foster care) because there is no room,'' Leann said. ''With the economy right now, puppy mills are shutting down and their stock (dogs for breeding) come flowing in to shelters. ''Dogs from puppy mills want so badly to be touched, but usually they are afraid of people. They don't understand human touch,'' she said. That's where foster parents come in, to handle the dogs and teach human love. All adopters keep in touch with Crossroads foster parents with pictures, e-mail and letters about the dog they adopted. ''To see one of these dogs adopted that was once forgotten, that is what keeps us going,'' Leann said. ''The satisfaction of bringing a puppy mill dog into our care, seeing it blossom ... to see a dog that was once overgrown with matted hair and then later placed in a loving home ... there's no joy like it,'' Vickie said. Crossroads Shih Tzu Rescue will offer an adoption fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., June 20 at PETCO, 369 S. Weber Road in Romeoville. They will also offer an adoption fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., July 25 at Tucker's Doggie Delights, 2011 Calistoga Dr. in New Lenox. You can view information on Crossroads Shih Tzu Rescue and their newsletters at www.crossroadsrescue.org, read a Web log of happenings at http://crossroadsrescue.wordpress.com/, see their adoptable pets at cstr.petfinder.com and e-mail them at cstr.board@crossroadsrescue.org. Tracy Ahrens is a reporter for Russell Publications.
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