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This is Koda. Koda was an East St. Louis dog. Sometimes, in E. St. Louis, people who live there will claim the street dogs as their own. Sometimes they are well taken care of and sometimes they are not. Let me reiterate, sometimes. There are plenty of people who take good care of their pets in the area. Unfortunately, Koda's owner did not. We respect the people who live E. St. Louis, and if someone says that a dog is theirs, we do not take it. Koda, along with two other dogs were claimed by a man. The dogs were malnourished, had mange, and had never seen a vet in their lives. We tried to talk the man into surrendering the dogs to us. He refused. One day the man disappeared. The next day his house caught fire. Unfortunately, two of the dogs were in the house when it burned down. Koda was not. We rescued Koda. She is a very special and sweet soul. She is looking for her forever home.
I would like to try to keep this blog as light and fun as possible. And there is a lot of fun and gratification in dog rescue. It is truly the most gratifying thing I have done in my life. We have saved so many dogs in just this year alone, but the fact remains that there are so many homeless dogs on the street that are abused, neglected starving and lonely. There are also thousands of dogs who are put down every day in shelters across the world. You see the cute pictures of the animals on the side bar to the left and, yes, they are adorable. Many of them did not come to us like that. We give them proper food, veterinary care, love and attention. Many of them have never been in a house before. They are so confused and nervous at first. Usually within a quick day or two they begin to warm up and understand that they are safe. Something really changes in their eyes once they know they are safe.

When I send a foster off to his forever home, knowing how happy he will be for the rest of his life, knowing that because of the training, love, and attention he received in my house, his life will be forever changed. Unfortunately, this love and attention is only something that can be given to a homeless pet if our rescue has the money to pull a dog. There are times where we would like to rescue a dog off of the streets, but we don't have the money to do so. So, we wait. Sometimes it is too late. The average lifespan of a dog on the streets is about a year and a half. There are just too many variables that make living on the street nearly impossible for these dogs. They are not wild animals, they are domesticated dogs who would prefer to be in a home. Some of them jump into PJ's car when she gets out to feed them. It is heartbreaking to see those who somehow know that there is something better out there for them. Like I said, because of lack of finances, we are unable to take most of these dogs.

Will you please consider donating to our rescue, or sponsoring a pet as a gift for Christmas? We desperately need your help, and so do the animals.

I apologize again for the dark and heavy post. I will try to keep it as light as possible and will give warning when a post might be sad or ugly, just in case you do not want to read it. I thank you for taking the time for caring about what we are doing.

***SIDE NOTE: Many of you may be thinking, "How do they get such beautiful pictures of their foster dogs?" Koda is David Carlyon's foster. David is such a talented photographer. It just so happens that he has volunteered to do pet portraits and donate the proceeds to our rescue. I will post more on this when I have more information. It is seriously going to be such a great opportunity to get artsy photos of your loved ones! I know I will be first in line with my own monsters.