Due to the struggling economy and many home foreclosures, numerous dogs throughout city have been left behind, becoming homeless or sent to Chicago Animal Care and Control.

According to New Leash on Life’s volunteer communications director, Mackenzie Smith, it’s been difficult trying to get the dogs into homes because of the economy.

“It’s tougher having people want to adopt,” said Smith. “I think it’s an obstacle a lot of shelters are facing right now, just trying to find people out there [willing to adopt].”

According to Commissioner of Chicago Animal Care and Control Cherie Travis, approximately 8,500 dogs will be impounded in Chicago this year and around 3,000 of these dogs will be euthanized.

However, according to Travis, the number of dogs euthanized per year have decreased throughout recent years due to many successful no-kill shelters such as New Leash on Life and other services available in the city.

“We pick up and receive stray and homeless animals every day,” Travis said. “Fortunately our impound numbers are going down each year due to the availability of low-cost spay/neuter services at clinics.”

Created in Los Angeles in 1995, New Leash on Life was started by Bobby and Kelly Dorafshar due to the deteriorating shelters throughout the city. They wanted to create a new kind of shelter where all of the proceeds went to the only dogs and their needs.

However, it was in 2005 that several people from Chicago Canine Rescue decided to branch off and start their own smaller, no-kill dog shelter. To start, they had to find a pre-existing dog shelter to open their own branch in Chicago. After hearing about what the Dorafshars were doing in Los Angeles with New Leash on Life, the group decided to open a Chicago branch. They contacted the Dorafshars, and the rest is history.

The Chicago branch of New Leash on Life decided to keep all of the same values held by the Los Angeles branch. The grassroots aspect of the Los Angeles New Leash on Life was what first attracted the members of the Chicago Canine Rescue. And being a 100 percent volunteer organization was one aspect of New Leash on Life that made it different from other shelters.

According to Smith, New Leash on Life is different from other no-kill shelters throughout Chicago because it’s not technically a shelter at all.

New Leash on Life does not own its own shelter to house their dogs. Most of the dogs they acquire stay with families in foster care or at a boarding facility paid for by New Leash on Life. This system is to help acclimate dogs to humans and get them ready for in-house living.

“[New Leash on Life] tries to get all of the dogs in foster homes,” Smith said. “It’s a great fostering program.”

New Leash on Life also tries to take in the dogs from Chicago Animal Care and Control that would most likely not be taken by other shelters in the city. Many of New Leash on Life’s dogs are pit bulls, elderly dogs, dogs that have had puppies and dogs with medical conditions.

Since the creation of the Chicago branch of New Leash on Life, it has been their mission to get as many dogs as possible from Chicago Animal Care and Control to help decrease the euthanization of adoptable dogs, which has become a topic of controversy in the past few months.

Although there are many healthy dogs being euthanized, Smith said she believes Chicago Animal Care and Control is doing its part by letting many no-kill shelters throughout the city take the dogs from the pound. However, Smith also said it may be difficult to fully stop euthanizing these adoptable dogs.

“It may take a while,” said Smith, “unless someone came in and started implementing that program. I’d like to see it happen within the next 10 years.”

Despite everything, New Leash on Life tries its best to help these homeless and sometimes abused and unhealthy dogs find homes as soon as possible. One way New Leash on Life does this is by the foster-to-adopt program.

The foster-to-adopt program lets a family foster a dog for two to three weeks before deciding to officially adopt. This program also pays for all of the dog’s expenses: the dog’s food, any medical expenses and even a dog walker. It has proved to be a sufficient program throughout the years, according to Smith.

“Our main goal is to get all of [the dogs] in foster homes so they can be in the home environment,” said Smith. “It’s also a good way to get to know the dog.”

New Leash on Life has been 100 percent volunteer-based since its start in 2005. Its numerous volunteers hold all of New Leash on Life’s events. Every Saturday an adoption event is held at one of New Leash on Life’s many dog-friendly businesses, such as Three Dog Bakery in Wrigleyville and PetCo in Lakeview. New Leash on Life also holds a raffle at the end of every year hoping to do another intake of proceeds for the dogs.

Volunteer Dan Schwartz, who has been involved with New Leash on Life from the start, is a frequent volunteer at many of New Leash on Life’s adoption events. Schwartz credits his volunteering to his love for dogs and the small grassroots feel of New Leash on Life.

“I really feel like I’m contributing when I volunteer here,” he said. “Everything is for the dogs.”

Cross’ eccentric, go-getter personality is what makes her who she is and it’s what has gotten her so far in her life at such a young age.

Cross, a journalism major at Columbia College Chicago with a concentration in broadcast journalism, was recently chosen, along with 15 other college freshman, from over thousands of applicants for Seventeen magazine’s “Freshman 15” correspondence. With an internship that many graduates could only dream of, at just 18 years old, Cross has already had her writing published several times before.

Taylor Jones, a close friend of Cross, said that although Cross likes to have fun, she is also very business oriented.

“[Bria] is a successful young woman who in my opinion has accomplished so much at her age,” said Jones.

Hailing from Dolton, a southern suburb of Chicago, Cross has already achieved journalistic success at a young age. She started her writing career on the yearbook staff at Seton Academy in South Holland. However, it was at her second school, Thornwood High School, that Cross was asked to write the opening section of her senior yearbook. It was also at Thornwood that Cross’ teacher introduced her to the creator of Chicago-based TrueStar magazine.

At the young age of 16, Cross began writing for TrueStar. It was her intense love for entertainment news and her ongoing persistence that landed Cross with numerous celebrity interviews, with hip-hop artists such as the New Boyz and Omarion.

“I told [TrueStar], ‘I like celebrities, so I’m going to write about celebrities’,” said Cross.

After these high-profile interviews and well-written articles, Cross landed her first cover of TrueStar within only three months of being hired.

“It gave me confidence,” Cross said.

However, it was last summer that Cross landed the correspondence that would upgrade her writing career the most.

While exploring the Seventeen magazine website this summer, Cross came across an “Apply Now” button and then spent two hours filling out an extensive application for the “Freshman 15” correspondence. After several months without hearing from Seventeen, Cross finally got the email telling her to submit a two-minute video about herself and why she would be a good addition to the “Freshman 15.”

Only days before her classes began in September, Cross received the call that informed her of her new Seventeen correspondence.

Seventeen features editor Elisa Benson said that Cross’ excitement for life and upbeat attitude is what earned her a spot on “Freshman 15.”

“We loved her right off the bat,” said Benson. “Her video was super-energetic and fun. We could tell she wanted to fully dive into the college experience and share it with readers.”

However, Cross admitted that she doesn’t know why Seventeen chose her over thousands of other girls for this correspondence.

“I don’t really know what set me apart,” said Cross, “but I’m glad I got noticed.”

Every week, Cross submits a blog, video blog and photos of she and her friends while also answering questions from readers. Cross frequently writes about parties and also of her complications with her roommates.

According to Cross’ blog manager at Seventeen, Kaitlyn Cubria, Cross has what it takes to be a great journalist.

“I think Bria has improved since her first blog/[video blog] entries,” Cubria said. “The journalism industry is tough to crack into. The fact that Bria will have all of these clips from Seventeen will give her that much of a leg up on her competition.”

Although Cross writes for both TrueStar and Seventeen, she has many different ideas for what her future career may be.

“I want to do everything,” said Cross. “I wouldn’t mind working for a PR firm, hosting TRL, or having an online blog. I want to do it all.”

For students and aspiring journalists, Cross offered some important advice: make yourself known.

“Put yourself out there, apply everywhere,” Cross said. “Don’t be scared to try anything.”

Mallory Sohmer, a 2006 film studies graduate, screened her documentary “The Living Documents” at the Ferguson Memorial Theatre, 600 S. Michigan Ave., to an audience of approximately 40 people.

“The Living Documents” chronicles a Nicaraguan attorney, Maria Acosta, and the death of her husband, Frank. Acosta is involved in the privatization of land for Nicaraguan natives, thus trying to stop the selling of this land over the Internet. This controversial work is exactly what led to the death of her husband.

After the screening, hosted by the Student Alumni Association, Sohmer discussed the documentary and her reasoning behind it, while also speaking about her post-Columbia career.

According to Sohmer, she got the idea for this documentary while still a student at Columbia. This documentary started out as a project for one of Sohmer’s film classes called Indigenous Film Making.

“We had to come up with stories to write a treatment on,” said Sohmer. “I found an article on Frank’s murder. I graduated and the story stuck with me. This is the kind of work I wanted to do.”

According to Sohmer, “The Living Documents” was three years in the making. During the filming, Sohmer spent a month in Nicaragua conducting interviews and gathering footage.

“It was a great learning experience,” Sohmer said.

Sohmer’s documentary was screened at the Chicago Latino Film Festival and all throughout Nicaragua. It has also been shown numerous times on the Documentary Channel.

During the discussion, students were encouraged to ask Sohmer questions about her film career, and she had much advice to offer.

The number-one advice she shared was to meet with others in your career and to gather a team.

“Build a network of people,” Sohmer said. “Find people who want to do the same projects you want to do.”

Sohmer also said that she wished she had been better rounded in other studies, such as journalism, to help her in film making.

Sohmer has been working freelance for the past year while also building her own client-base. As of now, she has no plans to make another documentary.