421 N. COUNTY FARM ROAD  
WHEATON, IL 60187  
DU PAGE COUNTY  
Animal Services Committee  
Final Summary  
www.dupagecounty.gov  
Tuesday, January 20, 2026  
7:30 AM  
Room 3500A  
1.  
CALL TO ORDER  
7:30 AM meeting was called to order by Chair Krajewski at 7:30 AM.  
2.  
ROLL CALL  
With a quorum in the room, Chair Krajewski made a motion to allow Member Martinez to  
participate remotely. Member Garcia seconded. A Roll Call vote was taken. All were in favor.  
Cynthia Cronin Cahill, District 5 Dawn DeSart, Grant Eckhoff, Paula  
Garcia and Krajewski  
PRESENT:  
Melissa Martinez  
REMOTE:  
3.  
4.  
PUBLIC COMMENT  
No public comments were offered.  
CHAIRMAN'S REMARKS - CHAIR KRAJEWSKI  
Chair Krajewski asked committee members to mark their calendars for the DAF Gala coming up  
on May 15, 2026 at the Marriott Oakbrook. DAF has a few new board members and recently  
awarded a $100,000 grant to Animal Services to fund the creation of a full-time Marketing  
Coordinator position.  
5.  
MINUTES APPROVAL  
5.A.  
26-0292  
Animal Services Committee - Regular Meeting - Tuesday, November 18, 2025  
Summary Minutes - November 2025  
Attachments:  
APPROVED  
Dawn DeSart  
Paula Garcia  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
SECONDER:  
6.  
PROCUREMENT REQUISITIONS  
6.A.  
26-0280  
Amendment to purchase order 7383-0001 SERV, issued to Zoetis US LLC, for the  
purchase of veterinary pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, to extend the contract from  
January 30, 2026 to February 28, 2026. No change in contract total amount.  
Change Order 7383 ZOETIS - extend contract  
Attachments:  
ACCEPTED  
RESULT:  
Dawn DeSart  
MOVER:  
Cynthia Cronin Cahill  
SECONDER:  
7.  
ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATE  
2025 Shelter Statistics have been posted on the About Us page of the Animal Services website,  
e-newsletter and socials.  
Animal intake has increased 47% over 2024. That does not include ancillary services such as  
high-volume spay/neuter, post adoption veterinary services, spay/neuter voucher program  
services, etc. Despite this population increase, DCAS maintained a 93% Live Release Rate  
(LRR) which by definition qualifies DCAS for no-kill status. To be considered a no-kill shelter,  
you must maintain a Live Release Rate of 90% or higher.  
Animal Services’ priority is always safe and responsible sheltering and re-homing. While  
euthanasia for untreatable illness is not included when calculating LRR, euthanasia for space  
and/or behavior is factored into LRR.  
There has been a substantial increase in the number of requests for owner requested euthanasia  
from the public, and from pet owners struggling with affordability of veterinary medical care.  
This is a trend that will not go away anytime soon. To help meet this need, DCAS is in the  
process of recruiting a second veterinarian that can help DCAS triage and help keep the public’s  
neediest animals with their families. In addition, DCAS was recently awarded a grant from Best  
Friends Animal Society for a veterinary medical intake diversion program aimed at preventing  
animals from being surrendered into the shelter system or suffering in their homes due to lack of  
affordable veterinary care.  
Officers responded to 406 field calls and 1,400 investigations in 2025. Education and outreach  
programs increased with the completion of the new shelter education/event space. 195 programs  
reached over 8,000 residents in 2025.  
Return to Owner rates held steady at 15% for cats and 57% for dogs. This statistic reinforces the  
consistently high population of cats and the regular struggle with capacity for care as it relates to  
cats in the shelter. For this reason, Animal Services is prioritizing programs and services aimed  
at reducing the number of cats arriving at the shelter through targeted spay/neuter.  
Laura also shared the Chicagoland Humane Coalition is looking to partner with Petsmart  
Charities to host several area-wide in-store adoption events over the next year.  
Nick provided the committee with an update on the status of resolving the outstanding HVAC  
issues remaining from the renovation.  
The new education/event space is seeing a high level of interest from outside organizations  
interested in renting the space for upcoming meetings and events including: Choose DuPage,  
DuPage County District 6, DuPage Mayors and Managers, DuPage County Bar Association,  
Rotary Clubs, etc. Several area businesses have also expressed interest in renting space for  
employee team-building and community service programs.  
8.  
9.  
OLD BUSINESS  
No old business was discussed.  
NEW BUSINESS  
Member DeSart shared about a recent bingo fundraiser she attended for Hopeful Tails suggesting  
it as a potential future fundraiser for DAF.  
10.  
ADJOURNMENT  
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.