Through an arrangement worked out between DPOE, the Illinois Shorthair Rescue, and food giant Del Monte, DPOE will provide storage space for food donations that will benefit more than a half dozen rescue operations and shelters throughout Northern Illinois.

Bob Kuhn, who serves on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Shorthair Rescue, explained that their organization encountered a unique logistics problem, coupled with a generous offer from DelMonte, but did not immediately have a way to put the two together.

Illinois Shorthair Rescue operates as a not-for-profit breed rescue group based in Northern Illinois. The mission is to help German Shorthaired Pointers in need, to place them into responsible, permanent homes, and to educate the public about the breed. The dogs that this organization receives come from animal control organizations, humane societies, and owner give-up situations.

While awaiting adoption, the dogs are placed in foster homes where the Illinois Shorthair Rescue evaluates their temperaments and works on training. The group, which started five years ago, has no building. Dogs that are rescued are taken into residences and eventually placed in homes. However, Kuhn adds, “That poses problems for us in terms of providing food and other essentials for the dogs. We have no storage facilities.”

He continued, “We were able to work out an arrangement with Del Monte who generously offered us a number of pallets of their prize dog biscuits (Milk-Bone® Essentials Plus +™, the top of their line) but they needed a place to deliver. And we didn’t have one.”

Kuhn did not want to let this opportunity pass, and made a call to Victor Miceli, one of the principals at DPOE. The two men had been in Scouting together, both as Eagle Scouts, and soon the problem was solved.

“I told them that they could use our warehouse to store the delivery,” Victor Miceli said, adding, “This is a great cause, it’s an excellent organization, and we are happy to do our part to make this happen.”

And so, the warehouses at the 1020 Bonaventure Avenue location of DPOE will house something very special, beginning with the delivery on Monday or Tuesday of this week.

“This makes the donation of DelMonte possible,” said Kuhn, who explained that the Illinois Shorthair Rescue does not own warehouses, storage space, or the forklifts necessary to remove the donations from the DelMonte delivery truck. DPOE owns all of the necessary ingredients.

Each pallet delivered weighs in excess of 440 pounds; and, according to Kuhn, seven Chicagoland Rescue and Shelter groups will directly benefit from this cooperative venture. He further noted, “Dog biscuits sell for more than $2 per pound, so it’s easy to see that this is an extremely generous donation for our rescue organization.”

The group works with animals through the Midwest.

“Along with not being able to thank DelMonte enough, we are deeply indebted to Victor and Chip Miceli and the team at DPOE for their willingness to provide us this storage space and warehousing that will enable us to feed these rescue dogs for months to come,” he said.

This article was published on April 30, 2010.