Jan. 08--They came with names like Cheddar, Freckles, Ferris and Stripe. Sixteen homeless dogs had been transported from Chicago's Animal Care and Control facility to a Chicago Wolves hockey game at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.
The dogs were there for the Wolves' monthly Adopt-A-Dog promotion, a 14-year tradition for the American Hockey League team.
"I've seen 1,170 dogs go home," says ACC volunteer Jenny Jurcak, who oversees the event and has been part of it since the start. "I know the exact count."
The day started early for the 16 dogs, a combination of timid and outgoing, bulky and wispy, who are chosen based on several criteria.
"Diversity, good behavior, can handle crowds of people, not claustrophobic," Jurcak rattled off.
There were baths and grooming starting at 9 a.m. Once properly primped, they were loaded on the Animobile, a mobile adoption vehicle and clinic. They arrived at the arena a little before 4 p.m., three hours ahead of the Wolves' game against Iowa. It was a long night; here's how it went:
4 p.m.: ACC volunteers start bringing the dogs into the South Lobby, where the adoption event is held. Larger dogs go in cages or are held on leashes by volunteers. Smaller dogs are placed in a 10-by-10 corral.
4:08: Obviously glad to be on hand, a small brown dog starts humping one of his corral mates.
4:09: The dogs are brought in one at a time. A happy pit bull here, a lab-hound mix there, followed by a small black creature.
4:40: In the corral, a min-pin named Davey is marking what he claims is his territory. At this rate, by the end of the game he will own Allstate Arena.
4:55: Cheddar, a white, medium-sized mixed breed confined to a cage, is barking. And barking and barking. She is hoarse from barking. "Cheddar loves to talk," Jurcak says. "I can't yell at her for that because I love to talk."
4:58: More than an hour before the doors open, it appears there is an adoption. A 29-year-old man who was at the arena for an afternoon skate with his hockey team sees Mikki -- the aforementioned happy pit -- on his way out and asks about her. Soon, he is filling out paperwork.
4:59: Obbie, in a cage behind the adoption desk, has somehow gotten hold of a package of Twizzlers and is enjoying them immensely.
5:05: Davey is jumping around like a hyperactive child. He is warned by a volunteer: "Stop it or you're going back on the truck."
5:07: Lacey, a friendly and peppy 6-month-old beagle mix, is banished to the corral for being a little too peppy.
5:10: The young man finishes filling out his adoption application, but there's a problem. He lives at home with his parents, and there are already six dogs on the premises. Adding another dog, even one as docile as Mikki, could result in overcrowding. Jurcak asks if she can call his mother to make sure she is OK with adding another dog. Mom says to ask Dad.
5:20: Someone asks if Mikki is OK with small dogs. To confirm it, a tiny volunteer named Darth is brought out from the corral for an assessment. Potential disaster is avoided when Mikki treats the little Chihuahua like a lifelong pal.
5:25: Chihuahua conversations. There was one potential adoption candidate who acted up and was left at the shelter. "He was having a Chihuahua moment," Jurcak says.
5:27: Mikki's adoption falls through. The young man's father doesn't think another dog is a good idea.
5:30: Activity is picking up. The dogs, each with an ACC volunteer, are placed strategically around the South Lobby where fans can get a good look as they enter. One of the volunteers is Gordon Stewart of Chicago, who walks the dogs at ACC two or three days a week and helps out at events like this. "I wouldn't expect to go to a hockey game and go home with a dog. But it works. People do it."
5:52: Wolves Chairman Don Levin arrives, carrying a box of squeak toys, which he tosses to the dogs. One large boxer mix gets confused and thinks Darth is squeakable. No harm, no foul. Levin and his wife, Kathleen Ann, are big supporters of these adoption events. They alone account for seven of the 1,170 adoptions. In addition, he sprung for the Animobile.
6: The doors open, fans pour in, dogs schmooze. Levin works his way through the canine crowd, meeting the dogs. Mikki, being attended to by volunteer Monique Moore, attracts a lot of attention.
6:25: As the crowds grow for the 7 p.m. game, the lobby is getting congested. Fans are asking questions and filling out forms at the adoption table.
6:30: Three dogs -- Owen, Hattie and Cheddar -- head off to make a pregame appearance on the ice. The idea is to give fans a look at the animals in need of homes.
6:35: The first adoption of the night: Osita, a sweet blonde shepherd mix, has a new home, in Downers Grove. Sherry Weber and Stephanie Novy are the lucky moms. "We had been talking about (getting a dog)," Novy says. "We have an 8-year-old (male shepherd mix) at home. ... I think when she has a big brother to show her what to do, she'll be just fine."
6:36: Lacey becomes the second adoption of the night. Things are off to a good start. "Some people walk in and their whole goal is to see the dogs," says Charlie Propsom, president of Friends of Animal Care and Control, which supports the shelter. "Others come in and say, 'Oh my God, dogs!' Then sometimes people come in and say, 'I adopted three dogs from you.'"
7:10: Kirby, one of the small residents of the corral, finds a home.
7:25: With the crowd thinned, Mikki and Owen, a hefty boxer-bulldog mix, playfully wrestle. Endlessly.
7:35: Stripe, Freckles and Roxie take the ice during the first intermission. Meanwhile, the lobby gets busy again and fans quiz the handlers. Among the most-asked questions: What's the temperament? Is he good with other dogs? Is he fixed? Is she friendly? "We certainly wouldn't bring unfriendly dogs here," Moore says.
7:45: Once a dog is adopted, he or she gets a Wolves bandanna, and the handler takes the animal off to the side. Osita, renamed Annika by her new owners, was ready for the break. She is zonked out in a corner, sleeping hard.
8:05: Davey becomes the fourth dog adopted this evening.
8:10: Pizzas and a fruit-and-veggie tray arrive for the volunteers. Obbie, his Twizzler jackpot just a memory, eyes the pizzas.
8:15: Mikki, despite being a sweetheart and a crowd favorite, remains unspoken for. And that bothers Moore, who has a special fondness for the dog. Moore says that when the Animobile was loading up earlier, there was room for one more dog, and she had to choose who it would be. She picked Mikki, who was approaching the end of her time at ACC. She and a litter mate had been relinquished in October. Sixty days is about all a dog gets at ACC before it goes on the Urgent list, and every effort is made to find them a home, quickly, or else. Mikki's problem, Moore says, is that she is not good in a cage. "They look for dogs that -- quote/unquote -- show well," she says. "She gets excited and jumps around her cage. If I was locked in a 3-by-3-by-6 cage all the time, I'd do everything I could do to get attention too." Should Mikki, or any other dog, not find a home this night, they'll be shipped back to the pound. "To put them back on that truck is heart-wrenching. It makes you cry, breaks my heart. They know you love them, and you're taking them back."
8:20: Cheddar, likewise, is not meant for a cage. Now on a leash, her hoarse barking has stopped and she is cheerily greeting anyone who will talk to her. She was a stray who was found in a schoolyard, playing with the children, Moore says. The principal was going to call the police, but a teacher intervened and drove her to ACC. "Somebody dumped her," Moore says. "She's the sweetest dog. When you put her back in her cage, she cries as you walk away. If you put your hand against her cage, she'll come over and lean against it. She just wants that contact."
8:25: Mikki, Darth and Obbie march off to be paraded on the ice during the second intermission.
8:30: Another near-miss. Big Boi had a taker and had packed his bags and was saying his goodbyes, but the prospective home had another dog that had not been neutered, so the adoption was off. Dogs are not just shuffled out the door. Volunteers do all they can to vet prospective adopters.
8:45: Between periods, the lobby quickly gets busy. In short order, Mia, a tiny, shaggy thing, and Big Boi, who will never be called tiny or shaggy, find new homes. That's Nos. 5 and 6 for the night.
9:18: The Wolves fall behind 5-1, and fans start leaving. But some of them are checking out the 10 dogs that are left.
9:25: Mikki's days in a cage are over. Matt Scheeleman of Zion, at the game with his daughter, Ellie, steps up. "We weren't looking for a dog when we came here today," he says. "We have two pits at home, and they're great. We watched her with the other dogs, and she was so good." Moore gets on the floor and tearfully hugs her departing friend.
9:50: Things are picking up. Roxie, a small, gentle cattle dog mix, is adopted.
10: Cheddar becomes the ninth adoption of the night.
10:09: As the last fans trickle out, Hattie is adopted. The total for the night: 16 dogs transported, 10 adopted, 6 facing the long ride back to Animal Care and Control.
The next Wolves adoption event is Saturday, Jan. 17. The adoption fee is $65 and includes spaying or neutering, all shots and a pet license for Chicago-area residents. For more information, go to chicagowolves.com/community/adopt-a-dog. The game is against Rockford and starts at 7; doors open at 6. The dogs will be waiting.
bhageman@tribpub.com
