Looking for a bargain outfit or perhaps some repurposed furniture? Check out On Angels Wings resale shops and help support a worthy cause. On Angels Wings, Lake Zurich, a boutique shop, is located two doors down from Trader Joe’s. The Crystal Lake thrift shop is on Northwest Hwy., next to Honey Baked Ham and Avis.

Both On Angels’ Wings sites also accept donations of clean, gently used items.

Jeannette Schulz who founded On Angels Wings with her daughter, Emily Huetson, was inspired after working at Sparrow Nest Thrift Store, a Cary resale shop which funds Home of the Sparrow Homeless Shelter, said Deb Oeffling, marketing director for On Angels’ Wings (OAW).

Schulz decided to do something similar with the funds going for animal rescue.

Oeffling retired two years ago from Trader Joe's and started volunteering with On Angels Wings. She said the organization is about making connections and helping miracles happen. 

Recently, the Lake Zurich store was showcasing some blind Chihuahua/Cocker puppies that the organization had rescued from a backyard breeder. 

“Everybody was coming to see the blind puppies.  The puppies didn’t know they were blind; they were  frolicking and bouncing around,” Oeffling said. “A lady pushing a wheelchair with her 9-year-old daughter came to see the puppies. I asked the little girl if she would like to hold the puppies. This little girl took this little blind puppy  and it cuddled up in her arms and fell asleep. It was like,  ‘You’ve got a challenge; I’ve got a challenge.’ It was a miracle story they were there that day.” 

Oeffling said many of OAW’s rescues are a result of families being foreclosed on and no longer able to care for their pets. She said the organization also takes unwanted pets from Southern Illinois or Missouri. 

“We pick up the dogs with a train of volunteers that transport them to safety, like the Underground Railroad,” Oeffling said.

 Sometimes the pets have health issues and need expensive surgeries. 

OAW rehabilitates the pets and the adopts them out. See which pets are currently available for adoption. 

There are many ways pet lovers can help OAW. The organization needs foster families to care for the pets until they find forever homes. Volunteers can also transport the pets to adoption events at the Petco in Crystal Lake and the Petco in Lake Zurich, on Saturdays.  Donations of pet food and monetary donations are welcome as well.

One of the goals of OAW is to have a pet shelter to house the dogs and cats until they are adopted. OAW would also like to work with local schools to teach humane education programs, Oeffling said.