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Happy Tails

The happiest part of our work is seeing the love between people and their pets, and knowing a pet has made it home. "Happy Tails" is where we try to share that feeling, because these "tails" wouldn't have happy endings without you. Whether you're an adopter, donor, volunteer, sponsor, social media follower, or friend, thank you for helping to put smiles on faces.

Please enjoy photos of adopted dogs, cats, and small animals, happy in their homes, as well as the profile photos of pets who have recently been adopted. Thank you for being a part of our pet-loving community.

If you've adopted from CCHS and would like to tell us about how your cat, dog, or critter is doing, we would love to hear your own "happy tail"! Whether you adopted one week or one decade ago, your pet is an important part of your story, and ours.

Share an adoption update with our team, and we may publish it here, on social media, or in newsletters. We may also post them in the shelter, or as updates for our staff and volunteers. We're looking forward to seeing our friends again, happy at home (and we know you have the pictures to prove it!).

Luba (Mitzie)

When she arrived at the shelter in March 2026, Luba (at the time named "Mitzie") had already been through the CCHS once. She had originally been relinquished after a major change in her owner's circumstances meant they could no longer care for her. Before long, Mitzie was adopted, and we celebrated her finding a home.

Less than a year later, she was back.

CCHS is proud to be a place where families can turn when they want what is best for their pets. Part of our mission is keeping our doors open to not only animals in need, but the families who love them as well. When Luba's first adopters could no longer keep her in their home, we were there to make sure she had another chance.

We know that second goodbye was difficult for her relinquishers. They left us detailed notes about the things she loved and their hopes for her future. They described her as a curious, affectionate "shadow", who loved to watch nature, and they hoped her next family would be her final one.

Recently, we received an update from Luba's new family, and we think both of her former homes would be happy to know that she is, once again, surrounded by love.

Her family shared:

"I'd wanted a cat my entire childhood, but due to my father's and my own cat allergies, I couldn't have one. After my first year of college, I finally felt mature, stable, and capable of caring for a pet. Unfortunately, my boyfriend was not a fan of cats... that is, until I brought him to CCHS.

We spent time with many cats, but Mitzie's story caught my attention... I decided that while I'd been denied a cat for most of my life, she'd been denied the stable home she deserved. To fulfill each other's wish, I submitted an application. Two days later, Mitzie became part of my family.

My boyfriend and I renamed Mitzie 'Luba,' short for 'Lubov,' which means 'love' in Russian.

Luba is the cat who has my cat-disliking boyfriend asking for a second cat. She's the cat who brought excitement to my senior dog back at my family's house. She's the cat who somehow has never triggered anyone's allergies!

These days, Luba spends her time looking out the windows, relaxing on the porch under supervision, and chasing bugs, though she never seems to catch them.

Thank you, CCHS, for this lovely angel. 🫶"

Thank YOU for being Luba's chance at a forever family. Stories like Luba's remind us that animals rely on their people, and that CCHS is here to be whatever support we can be. Sometimes that means helping a family say goodbye. And sometimes it means giving a wonderful cat like Luba another chance.

Cairo (Midnight) and Goose

With sunny days, we're seeing lots of people out and about with their pets. We love to see dogs exploring their surroundings and spending quality time with their families. CCHS recently got updates from two different adopters who shared the adventures their dogs are having with them, and we wanted to share them with you! May these two alums (and Cairo's brother Milo) have many more bright and sunny walks!

Milo and Cairo (formerly Midnight)

Goose

Monty

At CCHS, we care for all sorts of companion animals, not just dogs and cats. Oftentimes we work with small mammals such as rabbits and guinea pigs, but we do house animals like birds and reptiles when they need us. Monty Bird came to us from the dedicated team at Champaign County Animal Control, where he had been removed from a home with an irresponsible number of pets. He was always a social bird, much preferring to perch on people and have freedom to explore beyond his cage.

In adoption, it sounds like he's very much the same! His family wrote to us:

Good morning!

I wanted to share an update and some photos of Monty! I saw a few of your employees and updated them, but I wanted to send these.

He is absolute delight to have and has helped lots of people over come their fear of birds. He loves my daughter and throwing cat toys balls with the bells inside. He loves hanging out with the other birds and all people.

Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity.

Monty’s Flock

Thank YOU for being a loving family to Monty!

Nova (Wild Child)

Nova (formerly "Wild Child") arrived at the shelter with several siblings and fellow strays. She immediately proved to be a sweet, friendly kitten and she went home with her new family only five days after becoming available for adoption. Once home, it didn't take long for her personality to shine through! Although they expected Nova to be shy at first, they shared, "she started cuddling with us from the first day. She's very affectionate and playful."

Her favorite toys include a wand toy she carries with her everywhere, and slinky toys. But perhaps most entertaining to her family is her love of the vacuum cleaner! Here's Nova, playing with one of her favorite "toys".

Nova's family shared, "[Animals are] very individual, just like humans are. Before adopting a cat, I looked up tips online and there's so much advice out there that doesn't apply to her." While fascination with vacuum cleaners may not be found in any cat-care guide, it perfectly captures the lesson Nova has taught her adopters: every animal is wonderfully unique.

Want to see more pets at home? We'll update this page periodically, with new photos and stories. You can also catch an occasional "happy tail" on our Facebook or Instagram.

Plus, our monthly donors receive even more happy dogs, cats, or critters to their inboxes every month, to thank them for their support!

!Notes about Happy Tails Formatting!

This section is not visible on the page and is for our reference only. Each pet's feature should have a different layout, to keep visual interest on the page and so it doesn't appear repetitive. However, the overall formatting of the page should remain consistent, as described below.

On this page, please do not post photos with human faces, !!especially children!!

Here, we refer to the pet owners only as "the family", "the adopters", and "the relinquishers". Keep it plural, even if the adopter reached out as a single. Please don't use names.

Videos can be added by uploading them to Canva and embedding them with an iframe. Please ensure you either mute the audio, or listen to it thoroughly, all the way through, to ensure there is no revealing information, swearing, inflammatory opinions, etc. from any humans present.

Lines should be added before every pet name. Do not end the page with a line.

Paragraph Element. Style is Large Text (underlined)

Photos and text about the pet's story, in any grid or layout you think looks good. In terms of formatting, try to switch it up visually, story to story.

If the pet was renamed, the title of the section should be "Current Name (Shelter Name)". In the copy, the first time they're named write it as: "Name at Home" ("Name at shelter" at the shelter) or (here he was called "Name at Shelter"), etc, and then moving forward, only refer to them by their new name. If quoting a volunteer or staff favorite write up that uses the shelter name, replace it with "[Name at Home]". If quoting the family do not refer to the pet by their shelter name, even if it's the first mention of their name in the text. UNLESS you are directly quoting the family

For example:

Penny (Mrs. Lincoln)

Penny ("Mrs. Lincoln" at the shelter) was a volunteer favorite. Here's what Volunteer had to say about her: "I always look forward to coming to see [Penny] during my shifts!" At the shelter, Penny loved playing with her mouse toys, and she still does. Her adopters said "We loved Mrs. Lincoln immediately and couldn't wait to get her home. We call her Penny now..." etc

If the story features multiple pets, it should also include the shelter names (when applicable), and should not use an ampersand.

For example:

Georgia and Peach (Carolina)

"Georgia and Peach are the lights of my life," wrote their adopters. At the shelter, Peach (then called "Carolina") and Georgia.... etc

You have editorial license to separate quotes, cut sections, and/or replace a word for clarity. AS LONG as they are noted:
--Quotes where you have cut out a middle section, in order to preserve a single thought or sentiment, should be noted with an ellipsis.
--Quotes that have been separated must be indicated as such with a unique quote attribution.
--Quotes where words have been replaced for clarity should be noted with brackets.

For example, given the sample text: I love Sasha! She does the cutest thing every morning right when I wake up. It's becoming one of the happiest parts in our morning routine. Bringing her home was one of the best decisions ever.

You could say: ... She's already making herself right at home! Her adopters shared, "[Sasha] does the cutest thing every morning right when I wake up. It's becoming one of the happiest parts in our morning routine." It sounds like she's becoming family quickly, and we are so happy they found each other. Her family wrote, "I love Sasha!...Bringing her home was one of the best decisions ever."