Note: INB is collecting donations from employees and customers for the Sangamon County Animal Control and animal rescue charities in Mt. Pulaski, Bloomington, and Fairmount, Ill. We asked our employees to share their stories on providing homes for pets in distress. Here are three stories: One told by Teller Molly Kincaid of our Chatham Branch, another by Assistant Vice President and Lending Compliance Officer Caeri Chiaro and a third by Pleasant Plains Branch Manager Marsha Shomidie.
Rescued Pets Complete Family
Molly’s story:
I am so excited that INB is participating in a donation campaign for the Sangamon Country Animal Control. My family and I have always rescued all our animals, and I am so passionate about this cause. I adopted our dog, Samuel L. Jackson, from the Animal Protective League in 2012. We also rescued our cat, Marbles, from SCACC in 2012. Our other cat, Tuba, we found in the woods as a kitten and nursed her back to health.
My boyfriend and I don’t have children, but we consider our pets a part of our family. I am so happy to be part of the INB team and am so proud we are doing this wonderful thing for animals in need of love and forever homes!
Sam is the dog and he is 6. Marbles is the grey cat and she is 6. Tuba is the calico cat and she is 3 . . . I will definitely be putting some donations under the Chatham Christmas tree!
The Story of George: The Best Dog Ever
Caeri writes:
This is George.
We didn’t get him from animal control, but he was a rescue dog. He was 9 months old and our boys were 3 and 6 so they grew up together. We had just moved into our home and did not have a fenced yard, but he needed a good home, and he was such a sweetie that we had to take him. He’s now 14 and, not that we’re biased, but he is the BEST dog ever and most everyone says so.
George is a chocolate lab, and they’re sweet by nature but he’s also very smart. He had been abused from the time he was a puppy and was afraid of most everything. He’s never been a jumper and stays off the furniture, but he’s afraid of the door, the broom, and the vacuum — He jumped over the back of the couch once to get away from it — so we can’t clean the floors while he’s in the room. He knows how to knock when he wants in or out. He guards the gate when the kids leave it open, and he knows that he’s got it too good to leave the yard. He still fetches, even though he’s not as quick as he used to be, and he tries to help keep the rabbits out of the yard. He only barks at the mailman because he knows that the mailman has treats. He’ll do anything for a treat, and his favorite thing is helping me eat my midnight snacks.
As he gets older, I can’t imagine what we’ll do when he’s finally gone, but he’s still going strong and is the poster dog for the perfect reason to rescue.
Tiny Dog; Powerful Spirit
Marsha says:
I received Sophia from the APL when she was rescued from the Jerseyville puppy mill back in 2008. I had been wanting a Yorkie, and Betsy (Norvell), our teller, talked me into applying for one when the APL announced they had raided the puppy mill.
The APL called and interviewed me over the phone. Once I was chosen, I got to go to the home of the person keeping the dogs to pick one out. Sophia was the smallest one; I believe she weighed less than three pounds and was so cute I fell in love with her immediately. Sophia still sleeps with the blanket the APL gave me when I went to first pick her up.
I could not take her home for a couple months because she did not weigh enough to get her shots. … She is still so cute and everyone adores her when they see her. When I got her, I was going through a rough time just having lost my mom on April 7th of that year; Sophia was born April 1st. I think she was meant to be for me.
Join our employees in making donations to animal rescue organizations in your area.