Romeoville Humane Society volunteer wears multiple hats

In addition to family and work responsibilities, Megan Ziller has a host of duties at the Romeoville Humane Society.

She is the secretary on the board of directors for the society, as well as the intake coordinator, foster coordinator and medical coordinator, caring for up to 100 animals at a time, especially at peak kitten season.

The immensity of these roles might make some people hide like a cat under a bed. For Ziller, who once hoped to train dolphins and thrives on being busy, this is job satisfaction extraordinaire.

“I used to have more jobs,” Ziller said. “But we’ve been blessed with good, hardworking people – about 60 volunteers – that are able to help us at this point.”

It was Ziller’s husband, Chad Ziller, a lieutenant with the Romeoville Fire Department, who received a mass email in 2008 from the village of Romeoville about starting a humane society. Chad mentioned it to Ziller and she attended that first meeting.

“At the second meeting, the village manager asked who wanted to be on the board,” Ziller said. “I raised my hand.”

Ziller, who earned a biology degree in 2004 from the University of Minnesota, has always loved animals and worked jobs that involved animals. She’s a former seasonal keeper at both Willowbrook Wildlife Center and Brookfield Zoo.

“After college, I actually got an internship at the Minnesota Zoo and worked with the dolphins there,” Ziller said. “From the Minnesota Zoo I went to the Shedd Aquarium for an internship and then I moved to Brookfield Zoo.”

Ziller took time off work for back surgery. Following surgery, Ziller and Chad married and wanted to start a family, so returning to the zoo was not an option for her. The humane society filled Ziller’s need for “something to do.”

She juggles society life while caring for her sons Garret, 3 and Cole, 1, as well as her two dogs and three cats. These are Diesel, a 7-year-old labrador; Mongo, a 5-year-old English mastiff; Chance, a 7-year-old domestic short hair tiger striped tabby; Gracie, 7, a calico; and Squirt, 4, a tuxedo.

Furthermore, Ziller also helps out with the family-owned and operated Jan Electric Company in Lyons, which Ziller’s grandfather founded. Those obligations don’t prevent Ziller from running the Romeoville Humane Society as a “tight ship.”

Ziller researched other humane societies to keep her adoption fees competitive. She ensures paperwork is complete and accurate, that each animal is spayed, neutered, vaccinated, heartworm tested, fecal tested and dewormed. Cats are tested for feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus. There’s even a budget for trapping, neutering and then releasing feral cats.

“We try to adopt out as quickly as possible so we can save more lives but we’ll hang onto them as long as needed,” Ziller said. “We’ve had two black male cats for two plus years.”

Fortunately, Ziller said, generous donors step up with financially taxing cases, such as a rottweiler doberman mix that needed $4,000 worth of surgery on the cruciate ligaments of both knee caps. Such costs are never passed onto the adoptive parents, Ziller added.

“This is a heartbreaking job for someone who loves animals,” Ziller said. “We have to make decisions on euthanizing a sick or dying dog. It’s not easy and none of us like doing it but it’s a job we voluntarily signed up to do. We’ve put a huge chunk of our lives into this. We’re very supportive of each other.”

The Romeoville Humane Society works closely with both Romeoville and Bolingbrook Animal Control, Ziller said. When room is available, the society will occasionally accept an owner surrendering animal, especially when circumstances are tight and tough.

Three pets needing homes include Mavis, a 2-year-old pit bull that is crate and house-trained and good with cats, dogs and children; Midnight Poe, a 3-year-old male domestic short hair cat, shy, but also good with pets and children; and Flower, a 3-year-old tortoise, medium long hair cat that does best as the only household pet.

On this particular day, Ziller has to pick up a puppy for a foster mother, temporarily care for a cat that just was spayed and syringe feed a second cat that recently arrived at the Romeoville Humane Society in “pretty bad shape.”

“Hopefully, she just needs some TLC to get her over the hump,” Ziller said.

If You Go
What: Adoption event
When: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Feb. 15 & 16
Where: PetSmart, 2775 Plainfield Road, Joliet
Visit: www.romeovillehumanesociety.org
Contact: 877-813-7300