DuPage Animal Friends

DuPage Animal Friends is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the mission of DuPage County Animal Services (DCAS). DCAS is the only open-admission shelter in DuPage County and will not turn away any animal in need. The shelter cares for nearly 3,000 animals each year and does so without the support of taxpayer dollars. 

DuPage Animal Friends is dedicated to making DuPage County a community where all pets have a home.  Our board members and volunteers work to help DCAS be a model animal sheltering facility, delivering progressive care and programs.

To help our community’s animals, it takes working together with shelter staff, rescue partners, volunteers, and other members of our community with a shared purpose. This means breaking down stigmas that surround county shelters, encouraging productive conversations around animal issues, and networking to give every animal a chance.

DuPage Animal Friends is committed to building a strong and open line of communication around our operations, goals, and impact.  We want you to feel confident that our interests are aligned and we are being responsible stewards of your generous gifts.

Above all, supporting the efforts of an open admission shelter to produce positive outcomes for animals that walk through their doors is at the core of what we work for. My fellow board members and I will hold true to these principles of compassionate care, shared purpose, and transparency.

Our goal is for you to be proud to say you are a friend of DuPage County Animal Services.

Our Mission: DuPage Animal Friends strengthens the life-saving, compassionate and innovative initiatives at the county shelter. We partner with the shelter to understand the needs of our community's animals, providing financial resources and advocacy on their behalf. 

How We Help

DuPage County Animal Services receives many critically injured, sick and older animals. Expensive emergency surgery, costly drugs and exams, and long-term rehabilitation are required to help some of these animals. DuPage Animal Friends provides financial support so that the shelter won't be faced with the difficult decision to pay for costly treatment to save one animal, or to humanely euthanize one to save many.

Our long term goal is to help DCAS realize the dream of a new state-of-the-art facility. This new facility will allow DCAS to operate more efficiently, provide much-needed space for progressive programs, and allow for the compassionate care, socialization, enrichment and training for unwanted and abandoned pets. The new proposed facility will enhance the quality of life of the animals during their stay at the shelter and be a valuable resource to people in our community.

We are moving closer to the goal of a larger, better-equipped animal shelter. On May 24, 2016, DuPage County Animal Service completed a nearly $1 million remodeling project of its animal shelter. The DuPage Animal Friends contributed $337,000 of the funding. This non-taxpayer supported renovation included many needed improvements to keep the animals healthier and calmer during their stay at the shelter.

Besides funding lifesaving advanced medical care and contributing to the new project, the DuPage Animal Friends helps fund innovative initiatives at the County shelter that are beyond their normal operating budget.