Plainfield woman starts Joliet dog rescue shelter

JOLIET – Many rescues operate without walls: they care for dogs within an organized foster system and set fundraising goals to, one day, own and operate an actual shelter.

Jane Kohlmann of Plainfield, who began The BoneYard Animal Rescue in February, has done the opposite.

She and her husband, Rich Kohlmann, already have purchased a building at 1609 Rock Creek Boulevard in Joliet and are accepting bids to transform this warehouse building in an industrial park to a multiroom, fully functioning shelter with the capacity to hold 25 dogs.

And Kohlmann, an independent contractor control analyst for ExxonMobil, is paying for it.

“It’s our passion,” she said. “We just feel it in our hearts. This is what we want to do.”

Kohlmann and her husband grew up with dogs and their respective household’s contained dogs (theirs and strays), cats and birds. In addition to Buddy, a 2-year-old pug mix the couple is currently fostering, the Kohlmanns own two dogs, both rescues, Kohlmann said.

Maggie, a shepherd golden mix, was 9 months old when she came to the Kohlmanns four years ago from A Caring Place in Westmont. Molly, a border collie mix, was 6 when the Kohlmanns adopted her two years ago from the Will County Humane Society in Shorewood.

Although new, The BoneYard Rescue already has re-homed one dog, Fritz, a 6-month-old yorkie mix whose owner could no longer care for him. The rescue will accept owner surrenders on a case-by-case basis, Kohlmann said, and will try hard not to turn away any dog.

“When this came up, we said, ‘Absolutely, we’ll take him,’ ” Kohlmann said.

Last year, Kohlmann started volunteering for local rescues as a dog walker and then moved into fundraising. About the same time, Kohlmann and her husband decided to invest in some property and started seeking the right building.

Once Kohlmann realized the desperate need for more animal rescues, the decision to merge both projects was an easy one. The BoneYard Animal Rescue may one day open its doors to cats but, for now, Kohlmann is taking this venture one paw at a time.

“We’re very new to this,” Kohlmann said. “We’re still trying to learn the ropes.”

Kohlmann’s vision for the shelter is separate rooms for quarantine, bathing, laundry, training and food preparation, with two rooms for a play and a separate room for small dogs. Part of the remodeling will include the installation of trench drains and exhaust fans.

“A lot of work has to be done,” Kohlmann said. “It’s going to be a lot of money, but I think it will be worth it. You just won’t walk into a big room with kennels. We want this to be a nice place, an asset to the community. We want people to come in and feel that the animals are being taken care of.”

Kohlmann is uncertain of the project’s total cost she is still reviewing bids, she said. Furthermore, Kohlmann plans to use donated help – such as electricians and volunteers who can paint and lay tile – as much as possible and she is seeking volunteers for those roles.

“Once the building is up, we’ll need volunteers to work different shifts,” Kohlmann.

At that point, The BoneYard Animal Rescue will lease the facility from the Kohlmanns. At this point, any donations to The BoneYard Animal Rescue will go toward vetting the animals: spaying/neutering and vaccinations, Kohlmann said.

Even after the shelter is operating, any sick dog or dog having undergone surgery will recover in foster care. Kohlmann said. Furthermore, no dog will be adopted out unless it is healthy and fully vetted.

A five-member board and two fundraising volunteers are working hard to advertise the rescue through its website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest, Kohlmann said. In addition to saving dogs, The BoneYard Animal Shelter plans to give back to the community in several ways.

One is through educational programs featuring guest speakers discussing a variety of pet-related topics, such as spaying/neutering, therapy dogs, post-traumatic stress disorder and animal companions, and nutrition.

The other is by letting the community know The BoneYard Animal Shelter cares. Recently, the rescue hosted a fundraiser that benefited the rescue and the Madison Frost family.

Madison died in a car crash several weeks ago. The rescue’s board secretary had been Madison’s cheerleading coach, Kohlmann said.

For any rescue group, Kohlmann said fundraising is key.

“It’s what pays for the vet bills, the cleaning products and everything you need to run a shelter,” Kohlmann said. “If we don’t get donations, we have to buy those things.”

ON THE WEB

Learn more about The BoneYard Animal Rescue at http://theboneyardrescue.org/