Will you be part of Gateway's largest Rescue ever?

We have 6, yes 6 dogs that need to be rescued. Plus, two of them just had puppies.

Let me just start by telling you who, when, how, where and why.

We call this pack Nigel's pack. We have been feeding them for close to a year now. There is a man who says that they belong to him, although he does not care for them. On Christmas, riding with PJ, a police officer pulled us over and confronted us about feeding this particular pack of dogs. A woman had called the police crying because she felt threatened by the dogs walking her son from school.

Let me just say that this is one of our favorite packs that we feed. I don't doubt that this woman was scared of them, but I do doubt that they were any sort of threat. The police officer said that if we do not pull them she will be calling animal control and they will all be put down. Not to mention that the puppies will not make it without their moms.

We have to rescue all of them if we are going to rescue any of them. This pack has been together for so long that we are not sure what will happen if we just took one or two. So, please, look at your house and see if you have room for one of these sweeties. They are gorgeous dogs and will be adopted quickly once we get them groomed and looking their finest.


The only one who is not part of the pack is Louise (smallish black with tan muzzle and tan feet) whom we pulled today. We think Louise was dumped by her owner. She is well mannered, friendly, does well with other dogs and is super sweet. She is probably about 40 lbs and was just freezing to death out there in the cold. So, PJ took her, but she will be in PJ's carport until we find her a foster home. Please warm this baby up!


Next up we have Nigel. We call this pack Nigel's pack because he is the most gorgeous dog and stands out among the crowd. Nigel has let PJ pet him a few times and gets very excited when we pull up. Once he realizes what a loving hand feels like, Nigel is going to be a great dog. He has a wiggly body when we pull up to feed him.


Nigella is Nigel's sister. She is on the shyer side, but will be sweet once she is taught what a loving hand is. She really wants to be warm. Nigella has a litter of puppies that we will have to find before we can rescue her. We will need fosters for her puppies as well.


Hooper's Girl is very shy. We will have to trap her in order to rescue. She always stands on the outskirts and waits for the other dogs to finish eating and for us to leave before she eats. Her puppies are about 4 weeks old and will need to be found and rescued as well. We will need puppy fosters for them too.


Nina is Nigel and Nigella's mom. She is so sweet and outgoing. All wiggles when we pull up. She runs to the car and will take a pet from anyone who reaches out to her. She is playful and is the leader of the pack. Nina is going to be a fun dog.


Albert showed up with this pack about a month ago. He was very beat up and scared. He was skin and bones too. Now he is the first to the car. As a matter of fact he sometimes hears us when we are a street over and meets us there. He really just wants to jump in the front seat with me. He does well with other dogs and LOVES people. He is the coldest of all of them with that thin coat. We would be ok with pulling Albert without the rest of them since he is so new to the pack. But, we will NOT leave him behind if we pull the rest of them. We seriously love Albert and anyone who rides along with PJ falls in love with him.


Ok, that's all. We need you! Help us make Gateway history and be part of our largest rescue EVER!

Thank you for all that you do. Please feel free to forward this onto anyone you think might be interested.

If you are unable to foster at this time, please remember there is still time to make your end of the year tax deductible donation to Gateway Pet Guardians. This money will go toward saving Nigel's Pack.

Sincerely,

Amie Simmons
President
Gateway Pet Guardians

Donations are tax-exempt to the extent allowed by law. Please consult your tax advisor for information specific to your tax situation.

Show-Me St. Louis Pet of the Week: Koda

Koda is a beautiful Lab Mix. All of her siblings died in a fire in East Saint Louis when they were puppies, and she was rescued. She is around 2 or 3 years old and fully grown, well behaved, & intelligent... a bit shy and skittish around new people, but warms up quickly. GREAT with other dogs and cats!

Koda weighs approximately 35 pounds and would make a great addition to any home. She is great around other dogs and cats.

She LOVES to go for walks (and is very well-behaved on a leash) and chase squirrels/balls/her people. Rarely does she make a peep, and she is crate-trained/house-broken.

She hasn't been around too many children, especially little ones, but the neighbor kids at her foster's house are working on her. She doesn't have an aggressive bone in her body. If you have a special place in your heart for the underdog, Koda is the pup for you. WARNING: She may snuggle you to death. And she steals the covers.

Show-Me St. Louis Pet of the Week: Bomber

Hey hey, it's a new week, which means we have a new pet featured on Show-Me St. Louis! 

Bomber is a mastiff/rotweiller mix--about 9 years old.

He is a lover, loves his fellow foster dogs, and loves to lay in his favorite chair and watch TV--When the Gateway Pet Guardians found him he was severely malnourished and with mange--Now his hair is fully developed and he looks beautiful!

Bomber is currently living in St. Louis (in Soulard) with 5 other dogs. He’s been off the streets for almost a year and his heartworm is gone. He’s doing great, has gained 30 pounds and although does have arthritis walks quite well now – but not long distances. He’s really more of a couch potato that moves to the yard in the nice weather. He really is an indoor dog and refuses to go out in the rain- even after it stops – if the ground is wet. Probably too many cold wet nights.

He’s fabulous, funny, loves attention but is mellow about it. He does like to play and interact (with dogs and people) but usually from a laying down position.

He is a very good watch dog and quite defensive of his new good fortune. He also thinks along with our very small fenced yard he also controls the alley next to our house and of course the sidewalk out front. Basically – he does not want anyone coming in and ruining his perfect life. 

Basically he is an old, slow, funny, friendly dog that is a complete pleasure to have in the house. 

At the present time, it is suggested that he live in a cat free zone. He is not aggressive, he just wants to chase and that’s not safe for any cat.

He does take medicine for his arthritis, this is not an expensive medication if you purchase off the internet.

Due to his time living on the streets, he had to contend for food amongst the other homeless animals. He has come a LONG way of his eating pattern. If you have another dog, it is wise to supervise all feedings as Bomber should be allowed to eat out of his own bowl. He is not as spry as he used to be and the gentle giant deserves to know his food is not going anywhere.

Bomber is a little aloof at first but when he warms up is very affectionate (once he knows you). He is house trained and has never been crated. He does like to sleep on the sofa or the chair when we are not home. I don’t know if you could get him into a crate (it would have to be a Great Dane size) because he has never been in one. He has never needed one and sleeps a lot – at least 18 - 20 hours a day. We think he is between 7-9 years old.

Bomber would love nothing more than to become a part of your family before Christmas. That is his Christmas wish!!

He is very tolerant of small kids and is very mellow around them.

To adopt Bomber, please visit www.gatewaypets.com! 

Save Jenga's Leg

Jenga hung out in the same yard for months with a broken leg. She seemed scared of us and would run, rather limp away when we pulled up to feed her. We did not think we would ever be able to catch her, especially because she stayed in the same yard all of the time and we were unsure if they would allow us to take her. One day, she just walked right up to PJ and said, "I have had enough of this pain, please help."

How could we refuse? We are writing you today to ask you to please donate whatever you can to try to save Jenga's leg. We have had her evaluated, and one way or another we need to do something about her poor leg. They are going to try to save it, but may have to amputate. They will not know until they get in there. Jenga would like to be pain free for 2010. Will you please donate to help her get that way? The cost is about $2000, so anything you can do to help is greatly appreciated, large and small.

Show-Me St. Louis Pet of the Week: Maurice

Maurice is a beautiful boxer mix--brindle brown and black. He is a couple of years old. He has an easy going personality--loves kids, other dogs and in general is a wonderfully adapted dog to his foster home!

To Adopt Maurice, head to www.GatewayPets.com