Ellen Milad is one of the most dedicated individuals the Animal Care League in Oak Park, Illinois has ever had the pleasure of employing. Her love of helping homeless animals brought Ellen to the Animal Care League as a volunteer in the early 2000’s. She walked dogs come rain or shine and was as dependable as any employee. Ellen provided invaluable socialization opportunities for our dogs during their stay at the shelter.

In 2005, Animal Care League hired Ellen. At the time, we had only 7 employees, thus Ellen was thrust into not only caring for our dogs, but also our cats and any other creature that came our way. Over the years, the shelter grew and so did Ellen’s responsibilities. She currently works as our Manager of Canine Operations and is responsible for all of dogs in our care. Under her leadership, the average length of stay of dogs in our care dropped to 13 days, which includes time for our staff veterinarian to examine the dogs and a “calming” stage that allows them to get use to their new temporary homes.

At Animal Care League, a “limited intake” facility, no animal is ever euthanized for lack of time or space. We whole heartedly support this philosophy, yet it creates certain challenges for Ellen because we also have contracts with two local villages that bring us their stray dogs. We give these dogs the same care as any other animal. Ellen must manage our entire canine population so we help as many dogs as possible, but still have room to accept those unfortunate strays picked up from the tough streets of Chicago. Under these contracts, we have to act as an “open” facility, but we have always, and always will, maintain our practice of no animal ever running out of time.

Ellen uses her heart and brains to make this happen. She also uses her (and other staff member) homes to foster our special needs dogs until they find their permanent home. I can’t count the number of times Ellen has come to work with a different four-legged friend in tow, having kept him/her at her home to help them become ready for adoption.

A hero is someone who puts their own interests and comfort aside for the well-being of someone else (or some other living creature). Ellen Milad is a true hero to our animals. She works long hours and in a very stressful environment, yet she excels at her job. We, and the animals in our care, are lucky to have her on our staff.