The History of Tail Wagger's

The late Jean Polka was an animal lover like none other.  Owning a bar at the corner of Lonyo & Radcliff (between Warren & McGraw) in Detroit was a business she and her husband Ted enjoyed operating. The neighborhood "locals" called Taddy's Bar (named after their 6-year old son who died of meningitis) their "second home" and would often come by for lunch or dinner.  It was a fun-loving place where the customers were treated like family. So were the animals.

Jean would often take in the strays, feed the hungry, spay/neuter the wandering and care for the injured with the little money she made operating the bar.  Jean took care of everyone and everything that crossed her path.  She often dreamed of winning $100,000 so that she could give it all to local animal-welfare organizations to assist animals that were in need.  This healthy, spunky, 62-year old woman often joked about WHO would care for her animals when she was gone.  Founder, Laura Zain made that promise - Jean Polka was her Aunt.

Jean passed away suddenly on January 1, 1989 - just days after Laura made that promise - and from that day forward, the inception of Tail Wagger's had begun.

Having a fundraiser in Aunt Jean's honor was "supposed" to be a one-time event. Little did Laura know, the first Tail Wagger's Bowl (held in 1989) had 62 participants and soon became the foundation of what Tail Wagger's stands for today..... 

In existence for 20 years, Tail Wagger’s prides itself on the fact that all donations received are spent directly on animals in need, not on salaries, company cars, and expense accounts.

To further our mission, Tail Wagger’s has now begun to focus on community needs where pet food assistance, spay/neuter funding, low-cost vaccinations, emergency services and of course, investigation and rescue efforts are our priority!

Help us support our programs and make Tail Wagger’s your charity of choice. 

What an honor it has been to carry on Jean Polka's life-long dream of raising money to help animals in need. How proud she would be of all we HAVE and WILL continue to accomplish!