Hey, Chicago! Donate your belongings to support animals in need.

Virtually Home Chicago, ALIVE Rescue Chicago, and Chicago Bully Breed Rescue are having a rummage sale this July. Proceeds from the sale will go to the organizations, and in turn the animals.

To donate to the sale, bring them to the drop off location located at 2001 N. Elston Ave., (at the corner of Armitage and Elston) on July 7 from noon to 2 p.m. and July 16 from 7 to 9 p.m. The rummage sale will take place in the parking lot across the street from the drop off location on July 17 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information on the event or to volunteer, call Cindy at (773) 203-0215. –Nicole Soszynski

You can take the girl out of the chicken coop …

Home-grown eggs are no longer just for the pastoral set. Thanks to the urban chicken movement, city dwellers are getting a taste of life on the farm. Yes, you read that right: urban chicken movement, and it means just what you think it does. Just visit BackyardChickens.com or UrbanChickens.net if you don’t believe me.

Poultry on the patio may be downright trendy these days. And, yes, it’s legal in most major cities, including Chicago. Slaughtering chickens is prohibited within the city, however, so don’t plan on feasting on your favorite feathered friends. And with the price of chicken wire, a coop, and feeders costing around $500, selling eggs isn’t likely to yield a profit. This is a hobby of the city-caged heart—and the ornithologically hip.      

Chicago moves to mandate sterilization

Two Chicago alderman introduced a measure yesterday that would require mandatory spay/neuter of pets within the city. Specifically, the measure states that: No person shall own harbor or keep within the city of Chicago a dog or cat over six months of ages which has not been sterilized. Them’s fighten’ words!

Let’s not kid ourselves—this isn’t about the Chicago City Council being animal friendly. After all, this is the same group of individuals that repealed a two-year ban on fois gras yesterday, almost unanimously. Nope, for the sponsoring alderman, this is about reducing dogfighting and canine aggression (a woman was attacked in April by five Pit Bulls that had gotten free). But we’ll take it. Because a wonderful “side effect” of mandatory spay/neuter is a reduction in the homeless pet population. Here’s to hoping Chicago joins Los Angeles at the forefront of this movement. Whether you rationalize it by saying it will reduce aggression, or argue that it’s a good thing because it will reduce the number of animals euthanized, either way it’s a good idea and one I’m definitely behind.