DANVILLE — Like all good animal lovers, Jennifer Wright and Tina Cramer want to make a difference.

“We’re trying to help make a change as far as the pet population,” Cramer said.

“It’s all about the animal — that’s the bottom line,” Wright said.

The Tilton women not only have their own households full of pets, but they take in foster dogs and cats.

Cramer, working through the Vermilion County Animal Shelter, has fostered three dogs. But, she fell in love with two of them, and now they’re part of her family.

Wright, working on her own, takes in cats and tries to find them loving homes. She has three cats who are waiting for just the right owner to come along.

Both have big hearts for all living creatures, and want to see companion animals treated well. They also stress the importance of spaying and neutering.

Wright has such a reputation as an animal lover that, in the past, people have brought strays to her at her job. She’s a supervisor at the CVS in Westville.

Last summer, she had 21 cats and kittens in her garage. Amazingly, she found homes for all of them except a black beauty named Max.

Max is a mellow guy who keeps to himself, she said. He was one of five or six cats brought to her by a landlord who had rounded up the stray cats.

She also has two others that need homes — Oreo, who is black and white, and Linda Lou, a small gray-and-white cat.

About six months ago, a friend noticed four cats in an aquarium (without water) being sold for $30 each at a flea market. The cats were skinny, had fleas and — Wright learned later — had a viral infection.

The friend bought two of the kittens just to get them away from the man trying to make a buck on the neglected felines. She couldn’t afford to rescue the others.

She brought the cats to Wright, who nursed them to health.

“They’re very loving cats. You can tell they’re grateful,” she said.

Wright is very particular about whom the animals go to. She has a new owner sign a form agreeing to keep the cats indoors, for example, and will check up on them periodically.

Both Cramer and Wright get angry when talking about people who breed dogs and cats — just for the money.

“We can’t tell people enough how important it is (to spay and neuter),” Cramer said.

“I absolutely hate breeding,” Wright said. “That is so horrible — just to make a dollar.”

Shelter dogs make the best pets, she added, because they’re so grateful.

“They give back as much love as you give them,” Cramer said.

Cramer has four dogs of her own. Two were puppies when she got them — Sweet Pea, a Chihuahua mix, 13, and Ginger, a golden retriever mix, 13.

She was going to foster Heidi, a terrier mix, who had been at the county shelter. But, she said, “When I saw her, I fell in love with her.”

In April, she took in Lucy Lou, a black Lab, as a foster dog. But Lucy and Heidi have become best friends, and Cramer can’t stand the thought of separating them.

“I bring them home and want to keep them all,” she said, citing a side effect of being a foster mom.

Cramer is still mourning the loss of Remington, a Lab-shepherd mix who died July 4 at age 14. “He was such a sweetheart, big and gentle,” she said.

Besides the dogs, she has a rabbit, Mocha, who thinks he’s a dog. He has his own room and chases the dogs out of it.

Cramer works at Danville Metal Stamping.

Wright has three dogs — Scooby Doo, 10 ½, a chow-pit bull mix who’s a big baby; Scrappy Doo, 9 ½; and Sugar, whom Wright rescued from the shelter after her owners turned her in.

Both women note that a pet’s behavioral problems can be corrected. If a dog can’t be housebroken, for example, there might be a physical problem.

With patience and love, all problems can be resolved.

“You need to teach them right from wrong,” Cramer said. “Treat them the way you would want to be treated.”

Cramer and Wright want people to realize it’s not OK to dump pets on people like them, and they should first try all other avenues. If an animal must be taken to a shelter, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, they said.

Referring to the staff at the county shelter, Wright said, “They do what they can to give animals a chance.”

She especially had high praise for Interim Director Pete Smith and worker Darla Booe, as well as foster coordinator, Connie Farrar. They and others don’t get enough recognition, Wright said.

Also, Wright stressed she’s not interested in getting people in trouble with the law — she just wants to see an animal taken care of properly.

What’s special about Wright and Cramer is they’re not just talkers. Instead, they put their love for animals into action. I hope their good examples will inspire others to get involved.

A GOOD CAUSE

Vegas Night, which will raise funds for the Vermilion County Animal Shelter’s spay and neuter program, will be 6-10 p.m. Saturday at the Knights of Columbus hall, 310 Bryan.

Cost is $50 a couple and includes food and drink. The games — blackjack, raffle and roulette — cost extra. You must be at least 21 to attend.

The Oakwood Men’s Club is organizing the fundraiser. For tickets, call Laura at 442-3914.

If you would like to have your pet featured in this column, contact Mary Wicoff at 477-5161, send an e-mail to mwicoff@dancomnews.com or write to Commercial-News, 17 W. North, Danville, IL 61832.

TO HELP

-- To adopt a cat from Jennifer Wright, call her at 446-5113 or e-mail jenyrobert1@aol.com

-- To learn more about the county’s fostering program, call the shelter at 431-2660.