PAWS Chicago's 'Animal Magnetism' breeds puppy love

It was a night of tail-wagging fun for the nearly 700 guests at PAWS Chicago's 17^th annual Animal Magnetism party at Morgan Manufacturing. Partygoers, many with pups in tow, arrived at this popular venue in the West Loop to raise funds for PAWS Chicago, the Midwest's largest no-kill shelter. Held on April 28, the event was hosted by PAWS Chicago's Professional Board and presented by Becker’s Healthcare. Co-chairs were by Sarah Atkinson, Brittany Keegan and Paige Krueger.

Many guests arrived with their dogs dressed in full party mode wearing frilly dresses, sunglasses, tuxes and more to enjoy an evening that included a VIP dinner sponsored by Avli (Chef Nikolaos Kapernaros), dancing, a silent auction and raffle, and an award presentation. A lavish buffet was also served by some of the city’s top chefs, including Cristiano Bassani (Gene & Georgetti) and so many others. Partygoers could have some fun posing on the “glambot pup-parazzi” pedestal (hosted by PetCon and The Dog Agency) and get an illustration of their pets from well-known artists onsite. Canine guests relaxed in doggie daycare and the “pampered pooch” station and enjoyed custom buffets. 

Jake Hamilton (of Fox-32) and Fred (Kiss-FM) served as the evening’s emcees. CEO Susanna Wickham welcomed guests and announced the presentation of the adoptable dogs showcase and the Animal Welfare Leadership Awards, a special recognition for members of the community who have gone above and beyond for animals in need. Susanna, along with co-founders Paula and Alexis Fasseas, presented the awards as the emcees shared the recipients’ remarkable stories.  

Suzanne LeMignot (CBS-2 weekend morning anchor) was the first award recipient. She has been involved with PAWS Chicago since the very beginning going door-to-door with Paula helping start the first humane education program in the Chicago Public School system. She would take her pit bull mix, Pixie, to school assemblies to show kids that dogs are not violent, as they might have previously learned from experiencing dog fights in their neighborhood. She now sits on PAWS Chicago’s Board of Directors and continues to help homeless dogs and cats each week through the PAWS Pet of the Week segment, which started in the 1990s, and still airs on CBS 2 to this day.

The next award recipient, Phil Brooks, aka CM Punk (professional wrestler, actor, and author), adopted his first PAWS dog in 2015 with his wife AJ Mendez. Larry was a misfit dog with a scruffy look, tough underbite and a personality that required a special adopter willing to work through his challenges. In 2017, Phil brought national attention to the cause by choosing PAWS Chicago as his charity when he was a contestant on MTV’s “The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros, “ and in 2021, he partnered with PAWS to tell his story about the transformation possible once a misunderstood dog finds the right home. He and Larry became the face of the “Underdog to Wonderdog” campaign to bring much-needed awareness to forgotten dogs and inspire people to consider adopting an overlooked pet.  

Dr. Aaron Jackson, a veterinarian surgeon who focuses on orthopedic cases, was the next honoree. He was the very first Medical Director of MedVet and has performed more than 15,000 surgeries over the course of his career. He volunteers his time to perform these types of surgeries at the PAWS Medical Center, providing care for some of the most difficult cases that come through their doors.  Dr. Jackson has also established an orthopedic program at PAWS, while mentoring future generations of surgeons to continue this important work. He has provided advanced surgical care to animals that would never have had the opportunity to recover.

The next award recipient was Dr. Paula Zdziarski-West, also a veterinary surgeon who has helped so many PAWS pets get their second chance at life. She finds surgery to be a rewarding specialty because she can literally fix problems, returning function to animals who would otherwise be disabled, or save an animal with a life-threatening illness or injury. Since starting her volunteer work in 2022, providing orthopedic surgeries to PAWS Chicago, Dr. West has performed and saved PAWS more than $60,000.

Last, but not least, the final award recipient was Eileen Johnson, a PAWS volunteer since 2015.  To date, she has put in nearly 3,800 hours. As a volunteer, Eileen has washed thousands of dishes, done hundreds of loads of laundry, and of course, given love and enrichment to the dogs and cats. Over the last three years, she has driven over 36,000 miles traveling with the PAWS Chicago intake team, driving multiple trips to disaster areas to clear shelters, allowing lost animals an opportunity to be found by their owners, and saving thousands of those lives who were already up from adoption.

Following the program, guests enjoyed dancing, dessert tasting stations, a glow bar and a photo booth.

Since PAWS Chicago’s founding in 1998, over 76,000 pets have found forever homes. (pawschicago.org)

You may also like:

Take Me Home! An adoptable dog story from PAWS Chicago