Loosen The Leash

Richard Red, is just one of hopefully many of Gateway's dogs who have been accepted into the Loosen the Leash Program! Loosen the Leash is a training program for kids "on the edge". The dogs go through 3 months of training with kids who are wards of the state.

The program is a win/win situation for the child and dog. The former street dog has an opportunity to be highly trained so that their chances of being adopted and remaining in their forever home is greater. The children learn how to train the dogs, thereby learning many of the life skills that they have yet to been taught. To read more about this program, please visit Loosen the Leash. We at Gateway are incredibly excited about being a part of this program. Thanks to Cindy Vickers for having and executing such a great idea.

There is a great possibility that we will be able to pull another dog from the streets to be part of this program, which always makes me so happy. I will post pictures of the candidates as we get closer to the next session, which begins at the end of March.

Far From Homeless

A few of David Carlyon's snapshots from the picture fundraiser this weekend. Don't we wish they could all be in loving families that have their portraits taken?Can you count how many?

"I scared all of those big Sheepdogs away. I'm big."

"Look at that wanna-be Giant Schnauzer below us. Who does he think he is?"

This is my goofus Floyd the Doyd. He thinks he's a pure bred.

This is my other not-so-goofus, more-like-princess, Frankie.

"I can't believe they made me wear this turtleneck to hide my beautiful curls. I love the Frenchtown Dog Park!"

Another Giant Schnauzer show off. Look how well behaved.

Aren't these two cute!

If you would like to purchase any of these or other photos taken that day, please visit this site. The proceeds go to Gateway Pet Guardians!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Get a Picture of your Pet by Professional Photographer David Carlyon

This is seriously the most inexpensive and wonderful way to get a beautiful photo of your family pet. You should really take advantage of this offer!

Have you ever wanted to get professional photography of your pets, but were not sure where to go for it? Do we have something in store for you! One of my favorite animal photographers in St. Louis, David Carlyon has volunteered to take pictures of your pets for a very reasonable price. Below, you will find all of the pertinent info.
GATEWAY PET GUARDIAN'S PHOTOGRAPHY EVENT!

Come down for the Pet Parade and enjoy a picture with your favorite furry friend!
Location: Pets in the City
1919 S 12th Street.
St. Louis, MO 63104
Date: February 15th
Time: 10:30 am-5:00 pm
Event: This is a Pet Photography event that will feature David Carlyon-Professional Photographer-He will offer several Print sizes starting at a 5x7 size for $12.
50% of Profits Go to Gateway Pet Guardians!

Dress up your Pet for the Festivities and Capture a Fun & Timeless Photograph!

Lou Lou

I just love this cat. There is just something about her that makes me melt. She is really starting to come around since the last time I posted about her. I think she will be super friendly to all two legged creatures in no time. Well, maybe not birds. Here is the problem: Since my husband has been out of town for the week, I  have been able to keep her in the basement. He is super allergic to cats and when he gets home it is going to be really hard on him to have her around. Not to mention the fact that she is being kept in a cage in our basement. I would really like to get her in a home that can work with her and integrate her into their home life. She deserves it. She is just darling. She has gone from hissing and scratching to rolling over on her back on my lap and allowing me to work her mats out of her fur. She falls asleep on my lap and purrs just like a regular house kitty. I hope someone can find it in their hearts to open up their home to her. I just couldn't resist taking her off of the streets, and now I need to figure out what to do with her. So much for planning ahead. 

We need your help, but what is new?

This is Gilda. She is Hyacinth's sister. We finally caught her. She was the last one in the litter that we had not caught yet. Isn't she beautiful. She is quite shy still, but has only been off of the streets for a couple of days now. She could really use a foster home. If you are interested in fostering her please contact us @ gatewaypetguardians@yahoo.com

Oh, and here is her shy brother Chesley. He has been off of the streets a little bit longer than Gilda. You can see Gilda in the background. Her brother is a little braver, but started off as shy as she did. These pups are still young enough to be given an opportunity to love humans. They desperately need to be in foster homes where they can get a bunch of love and attention!

And here is their brother Broderick. He is sweet, loving, outgoing and as social as a puppy can be. He had a broken leg when we rescued him, but it is healing quite nicely and he is well on his way to be able to be as active as he would like to be. Broderick would love to have a foster home too. This poor little lady is the momma of all of these pups. She is such a cutie. She is scared of us as most dogs are after a certain age. Her ears are quite torn up and she has mange that is getting to the point that she is scratching herself so bad she is bleeding. I would love to get her off of the streets. We know she gets along with other dogs. I am sure once we caught her she would love whatever human feeds her, gives her love and makes her feel better. I know she can learn to love humans. Look at those eyes, they say, "please help me."This little lady is Velma. She really is that cute in person. It is not the trickery of the camera. She is the first puppy we have ever found of her momma's litter. She is a wonder woman. She survived those cold spells that we had at around 2.5 weeks old. She was rescued today and has taken quite nicely to the pillow that I have sitting next to me on the couch. She is a lover. She is overfed now, and the suffering that her short life once was is no more. AND she hasn't had an accident in my house yet. I am shocked! Talk to me tomorrow, I am sure things will have changed. After we rescued Velma, PJ and her obsessive, lovely self went back to East St. Louis to see if she could find any more of Velma's siblings. She found her bro! We have a male version of Velma if you would rather foster or adopt a male.

The rest of these pups are still on the streets. With a facility we would be able to pull all of them and alleviate them from suffering any longer.

I could not get a very good shot of this guy, but he is so cute. He has these short legs, long body, and a big ole head. He looks like a Pitt Bull/Dachshund mix....hmmmm.

Look at those eyes! She actually has a sibling who has the same brown and crystal blue eyes, except opposite. I think they got each others eyes. The sibling would not get close enough for a good picture. These two dogs are so underweight. Baby mama again. I just love her.

That little black wisdom wrinkle on her forehead is really a wrinkle, not just a change in fur color. She has been thinking a lot about how to get out of East St. Louis.

These, again are just a sampling of the dogs we run across in East St. Louis. The ones we rescue, we have to pay for them to get better. The ones we don't rescue we would really like to rescue, but don't have a place to put them. Please help us pay our vet bills and get our facility so we can continue to save more dogs. We desperately need your donations!

I almost forgot about Hudson! Here is our newest addition. I had gone to East St. Louis specifically to take a picture of Hudson because I had heard from PJ what a sweet dog he was and I thought I might have an adoptive parent for him. When we arrived we were told that Hudson had been taken off of the streets and was going to be turned over to the Humane Society, where is fate would have been unknown. Luckily, we had a dedicated and lovely foster who was willing to step up to the plate and save this dog's life. She says that he is one of the most well behaved fosters she has has ever had. I am pretty sure that he is going to be one of those dogs that is hard to come across for some lucky adoptive parents!

Honey, Please don't kill me, but there is a feral kitten lose in the basement.

Which would not be such a big deal if my husband were not deathly allergic to cats. I rode with PJ today, and we have had this ongoing thing with this kitten. I tried to catch her once and failed, but today, PJ snuck up on her and grabbed her while she was eating. It surprised all of us. It's like, oh no! what are we going to do now? She is so adorable, and I am really hoping she will fall for the stinky food in her trap. It's even organic. She got away from me when I was trying to transfer her into the big kennel, her new lovely mansion, equipped with a toilet, fake mice, and jingly little plastic balls, access to food and water 24/7, and a soft snuggly blanket. And all the pets she will allow, which aren't much these days. She is mad at me, but I told her that she should be mad at PJ since she is the one who caught her. I think I have someone who will foster her on Monday, so hopefully we will only have her for a couple of days. I really do not know how my husband puts up with me. He is a saint, as are all of the spouses of the Gateway fosters. Than you to all of you!

Super Bowl Puppy Shuffle

I just love this photo of T-Bone. David Carlyon took this photo and many in this post. He is so talented. T-bone is a sweet, sweet boy. He is well on his way to a new home. We have had a lot of interest in him.

Hyacinth was rescued by PJ from East St. Louis. Is she not the sweetest thing? That curly hair is not something you see on the East side very often. We are not sure where it came from. Hyacinth has been adopted already, but her sister is still running around on the streets. PJ goes every day to try to catch her. Hyacinth and all of her litter mates have mange.

Chesley is one of Hyacinth's litter mates. He is a little more on the reserved, shy side, but super cute none the less. He is a relative of Nigel. Chesley and his brother Broderick still need a foster home. No pictures of Broderick, but he looks very similar to Chesley. He is at the doctor today because he is having some issues. I will keep you posted on how he is doing. Hopefully he will pull through.

This is another one of Chesley and Hyacinth's litter mates. His name is Caian. You can see how bad his mange is. He is a very lucky boy to have been rescued when he was. Soon enough, all of his fur will grow back, his sores will heal, and he will be a healthy and beautiful puppy. I am sure he cannot wait until the day.

Ha Ha! Isn't he adorable? Another one of Mazey's puppies. Too cute for words.

This one is Ella. She is a little sweetheart.

And I think this one looks the most like Mazey. He is a tub.

We have a lot of vet bills because of these pups. I am so sorry to sound like such a broken record, but anything you can give will help us out tremendously so that we can continue to pull more puppies off of the streets. They do not deserve to live like Caian. The streets are not a safe place for puppies especially. Thank you for all you do. I will be posting about a Valentine Event we are having this weekend too that involves artist-made jewelry, hand-made chocolates, homemade dog treats and proceeds to benefit Gateway Pet Guardians. Stay Posted!