Watch: A Tour of the Naperville Area Humane Society with Christine Natarelli

In this Living in Naperville episode, host Dan Firks tours the Naperville Area Humane Society on Diehl Road with Executive Director Christine Natarelli. They talk through how the adoption process actually works, what every pet gets before going home, why microchips matter, and the many ways Naperville residents can help, from fostering and volunteering to the Dog Day Out program.

Read the full guide: adopt, foster, or volunteer at NAHS →

Video Transcript

Dan Firks: Hello everyone, I’m Dan with Naperville.com. Today I’m at the Naperville Area Humane Society, which is very dear to my heart. I’m going to meet with Christine, and she’s going to give us a tour. Super excited. Let’s go on inside.

Dan Firks: Hello, I’m Dan with Naperville, and today I have the pleasure of being at the Naperville Area Humane Society, and I’m with Christine.

Christine Natarelli: Yes, hello.

Dan Firks: Thank you for being here.

Christine Natarelli: Thank you for having us.

Dan Firks: My heart is already melting. Here I have this little girl.

Christine Natarelli: Black females, both females. So you have Karina, and I have Calypso.

Dan Firks: Okay. And approximately how old are they?

Christine Natarelli: They’re about two months old.

Dan Firks: Oh. So they actually have another sibling as well who’s not with us right now?

Christine Natarelli: She’s in the back, but I know they’re very excited to be here as well.

Dan Firks: Oh, they’re so chill and relaxed. They’re not being puppies.

Christine Natarelli: They must have known that I run a tight ship. They knew you were coming, and they’re on their best behavior.

Dan Firks: I think we got them during their nap time. So, what should somebody know before adopting a beautiful dog?

Christine Natarelli: Yeah, great question. It’s a lifelong commitment. We know that they take a lot of time, energy, and resources. So really, here at the Naperville Area Humane Society, we just ask that any potential adopter come knowing their lifestyle, knowing what they can offer a pet, to give them the best home possible. We don’t just do quick adoptions. We really take the time to get to know the potential adopter. We ask that every family member comes in to meet with that pet. We encourage them to ask us questions, take the time to get to know that pet better, and spend more time with them. And we also encourage everybody before they adopt to fill out an online application on our website. This is especially important with dogs, because we want to make sure we can set up a scheduled time with them and make sure that dog, or potentially another dog, is a good fit.

Dan Firks: So do you ever have anybody take two home?

Christine Natarelli: We do. Could it be you today?

Dan Firks: We’ll talk about that off camera. So actually three, I don’t know if you…

Christine Natarelli: You’re going to have to take them home.

Dan Firks: Okay, well, we have room at the house. So, Christine, how does the shelter care for the pets before they’re adopted?

Christine Natarelli: Yeah. So animal welfare is really at the core of everything we do here at the Naperville Area Humane Society. Anytime an animal comes in, before they go up for adoption, they have an overview medical exam, which includes vaccinations. They get microchips. Each pet also gets spayed or neutered. So we do a medical check just to make sure they’re healthy. Beyond just medical care, we also take behavioral care and enrichment very seriously, because their well-being is much more than just their health. So we want to make sure that they’re doing well physically and emotionally. We really put a lot of time into the enrichment we give them. Our volunteers and staff give them daily enrichment to stimulate their minds and keep them active here.

Dan Firks: Excellent. So people always ask me about the chip. What exactly does the microchip do?

Christine Natarelli: Yeah, great question. So we microchip all our pets before they go home, so that if, heaven forbid, they ever move or lose their pet, or the pet gets lost, we can track that number. It doesn’t directly hold their information, but the information is linked, so we can call them and say, hey, we found your pet. We hope that as long as that information is accurate and kept up to date… Typically, if a pet comes in and is microchipped, which we check every single time a new pet arrives, we can call that source and get a little more information.

Dan Firks: Makes sense. Thank you for sharing that.

Dan Firks: Christine, tell me, what is the biggest way our audience can help the shelter these days?

Christine Natarelli: So beyond adoptions, there are a lot of other ways to help us here at the Naperville Area Humane Society. Donations are obviously very helpful, both financially and in-kind. That helps us provide care throughout the year to all the pets that arrive here. Volunteering is huge, we’re always asking for new volunteers. Fostering is also huge, because anytime we can get an animal out of the shelter and into a home environment, it’s super helpful. So if anyone’s interested in fostering, ask us. And beyond that, honestly, attending events is very big. And just sharing our stories, we post every day on social media and on our website, and we send out newsletters. So sharing and liking those stories, and really just engaging with us, goes a long way.

Dan Firks: Any events coming up?

Christine Natarelli: Yes, thanks for asking. So we have a golf outing coming up this year on August 3rd, that’s one of our big ones. We also have Run Your Mutt Off, which is a 5K where you can bring your dogs as well. It’s a community event, a fun walk and run, so you don’t have to be a marathon runner or anything like that. And that is on June 13th.

Dan Firks: So many people can bring their pets for that.

Christine Natarelli: Yes, dog friendly, kid friendly. We have a lot of fun vendors there that day. It’s actually in Warrenville, right next door, on a trail. It’s just a fun morning, all in support of these guys.

Dan Firks: All right, we’ll see you there. So Christine, I have a question that I don’t know if I’m going to like the answer for, but what happens to the pets that don’t get adopted right away?

Christine Natarelli: Yeah. So not all of our pets get adopted right away, and that’s okay. The important thing is that we always continue to invest in the quality of care for them while they’re here. So we’re trying to make this place as comfortable as possible for them. Our trainers are working with them every day, working on their training plan. We also sometimes do more medical checks. There’s a lot that goes into it. So we work very closely with our trainers on site who work with the pets every single day. There’s a lot of behavioral things we analyze, and we look at their health, of course, so we’re constantly doing different medical exams to make sure they’re healthy. We really take the time to invest in their care, and again, do daily enrichment activities to make sure they’re comfortable and happy while they’re here. We also partner with a lot of community members, and we’re sometimes able to take pets off site and showcase them anywhere in Naperville or surrounding towns. We work with both national and local partners. Any chance we get to take the animal off site into a different environment is really helpful for them.

Dan Firks: I was going to say, take them to a kids event or a school.

Christine Natarelli: Exactly.

Dan Firks: And get them adopted real fast.

Christine Natarelli: Yes, exactly. And you know, we also offer a Dog Day Out program. So our volunteers will take out a dog for the day, and they get out of the shelter environment, and they can explore outside, meet new people, and see new things. So that’s always very beneficial for them.

Dan Firks: Question for you. So you take the dog for the day, what are you allowed to do with that dog? Can you take it to a dog park?

Christine Natarelli: So we don’t typically. Yes, typically we stay away from dog parks. But a lot of times you’ll take them to trails and do little hikes with them, which is also great. A lot of times they’ll take them just around the neighborhood, so lots of walks, lots of sniffs, lots of exploring. They get a lot of treats usually on those days as well. So it’s a fun day for them to just get out of the shelter and go anywhere, really, where there are a lot of people they can meet. And also, potentially, someone will fall in love with them that day.

Dan Firks: Exactly, that’s the key.

Christine Natarelli: That is the key. Absolutely.

Dan Firks: This one’s amazing. All right, Christine, one last question before we go take a tour. What makes the Naperville Area Humane Society different from other shelters?

Christine Natarelli: Yeah. So we really do specialize in individual care here at the Naperville Area Humane Society. Every animal that comes in, honestly, we take a lot of time to evaluate them, get to know them, and adjust what we need to do to give them the best care possible. We’re not here just to do quick adoptions. We truly are here to make sure it’s the perfect fit for both the family or person and the pet. We want to have long-term success with all of our adoptions. That’s really one of our big things. We have a lot of staff, volunteers, board members, and community members who care so much about these animals. It’s an honor to care for them.

Dan Firks: What an amazing job. I would love this job, getting up every morning to go.

Christine Natarelli: It is very rewarding.

Dan Firks: All right, I’m hoping we can get a tour of the rest of the facility.

Christine Natarelli: I would love to show you around. Absolutely. Are you ready to go check out the rest of the facility? Let’s go check it out.

Read the full guide to adopting, fostering, and volunteering at the Naperville Area Humane Society →