Friends of Petraits

For 5 years, Da Vinci Paws jumps into Lake Michigan, in JANUARY, with the Chicago Polar Bear Club, to raise money for our favorite Andersonville local pet rescue - Friends of Petraits.

For our 6th year, we'd like to at least raise $500 or more! With this money, Sheri Berliner, founder of Friends of Petraits, can continue to rescue dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, rats, mice, gerbils, etc. in 2025! Sheri's organization provides vaccines, antibiotics, surgeries, spay & neuters, and microchipping.

When a pet is accepted into Friends of Petraits, it gets to stay in a volunteer foster's home. They will never be sent to CACC, to a cage-based facility, etc.

Running a pet rescue is expensive. While $500 doesn't seem like much, that is 20 rescued pets spayed & neutered! We all agree S&Ns are instrumental to helping empty shelters & rescues by stopping unnecessary breeding.

Hi there,

Luna was a female black feral cat that I had been feeding for the last year. I had seen her around my home since I moved here two and a half years ago, and neighbors have said she had been a presence for a while before I arrived. Mid-October of this year, I noticed that Luna was hanging around my door more frequently and getting closer to me than she would previously allow. When she would start to walk away, it was clear that she was having trouble doing so, and it looked to me as if she might be pregnant. I started to set traps for her, but she would have none of it. I asked some neighbors and the mailman to keep an eye out for her and to call me if they saw her anywhere around so I could try to figure out where she spends most of her time.

On November 5, 2024, the mailman knocked on my door to tell me a neighbor had the cat cornered in the bushes across the street. I walked over there with a cat carrier, and that neighbor was able to pick up Luna and put her in my carrier. I kept her overnight, and it was quickly obvious to me that she was not pregnant. Her condition deteriorated overnight, and she needed medical care ASAP. I have worked with Friends of Petraits on several other occasions when I've found stray/injured animals. Sheri is kind enough to take on these cases and get medical care for them. Sheri also scanned Luna for a microchip, which was registered to Cat Van Do, an organization that works out here in the western suburbs. We asked them how they wanted us to handle this situation, as it was urgent that the cat needed help. We were informed that they needed to check the microchip number to be sure this cat was actually theirs before they would offer to pay for help. We waited for a while, and when it was obvious that Luna could wait no longer, I made the choice of taking her to Sheri's vet.

Sadly, Luna was very ill. Her veins were so collapsed they could not draw blood. Tests to determine what her issue was would have cost a lot of money. The vet made it very clear that whatever the problem, based on her current condition, Luna would have a long, expensive recovery, if one at all. I made the gut-wrenching decision to put the little girl out of her misery. The veterinary office also called Cat Van Do, as this is required by law when an animal is chipped. I don't know what that conversation was, but I do know that they have yet to call us back.

Friends of Petraits does such great work and is just as overloaded with animals as every rescue organization is right now. Sheri has a full house of cats, dogs, rabbits, and guinea pigs to care for, yet she never turns away any creature that truly needs help. If anyone has a few extra dollars to chip in, I would greatly appreciate it. Copies of Luna's bills are attached. Thank you.