The South Suburban Humane Society fixes animals. It’s just what it does. So, it was just the natural reaction for the agency to do the same for the Pets on Parade artwork that was vandalized in Homewood last month.
He will participate in the auction in September
to help raise money for his living kin who need
care and new homes. (Photo by Eric Crump/
H-F Chronicle)
The South Suburban Humane Society fixes animals. It’s just what it does.
So, it was just the natural reaction for the agency to do the same for the Pets on Parade artwork that was vandalized in Homewood last month.
On Aug. 3, South Suburban Humane Society (SSHS) posted an online video, “We Try to Fix Them,” depicting agency staff taping the foot of a damaged pup.
“The overall purpose of the video was to take a negative thing that happened and turn it into something positive,” SSHS CEO Emily Klehm said. “The response to the video was overwhelmingly positive.”
The video is a reaction to vandalism of several statues in Homewood Pets on Parade, a street art project aimed at raising money for SSHS. Four of the dogs were damaged between July 15 and 17, including the H-F Chronicle’s dog.
The video can be seen on the Humane Society YouTube channel.
After some owners removed statues from the street for fear of more vandalism, Klehm said, SSHS and the village discussed the situation and came up with the idea of a video.
“We determined together that utilizing the broken statues to demonstrate the true work of the shelter would be the most positive story we could envision,” Klehm said.
The dog in the video was designed by the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District. The plan was to repair all of the broken pets, but the park district’s was the only vandalized dog the Humane Society was able to get.
Royko, the Chronicle’s entry, has also been repaired and will be available at the Pets on Parade auction next month. However, the Chronicle’s artwork will not be going back on public display before then.
“We live in an increasingly negative world where it is easy to lay blame and point fingers,” Klehm said. “Animal shelters often deal with a stigma that our work is sad and the tendency for many people is to express rage against people who surrender their pets to a shelter. At SSHS, we try every single day to show that the shelter is not a sad place.
“It is a joyful place where second chances at love happen, where families are made whole and where unconditional love is around every corner.”
The vandalism will have a lasting impact, though. Klehm said the South Suburban Humane Society likely won’t repeat the Pets on Parade project next year. It would consider something indoors, though.
“Of course, we are very sad that this vandalism occurred,” she said. “But we are determined to confront this like we confront every other issue: with hope and with perseverance.”
Mary Jane Maharry, of Brava Public Relations, said the village of Homewood isn’t aware of any more of the pets being damaged since the vandalism occurred in July. Some of the business owners are bringing the statues inside at night, though.
The humane society intends to go on with the auction of the pets at Homewood’s Fall Fest on Sept. 16. Bidding is from 4 to 8 p.m. and bidders must register with a credit card prior to the auction.
Bidders can register online. The proceeds will go to SSHS.