Hank needs your help bad

As you all know, I have been riding with PJ over the past year or more on a regular basis. One of the hardest things that I have found in riding with PJ is watching a dog go from happy, friendly and relatively healthy to scared, injured and in poor health. We usually end up pulling them before it goes too far, but today, seeing Hank, I have realized that we let him fall through the cracks. He has always had an eye infection. It never has really gone away, but I am now starting to wonder how much vision he has left. He does well with other dogs, but anytime there is a lady in heat, he comes around bloody and torn apart. Underneath that fur is a bunch of scabs and blood, PJ said after petting him today. Hank used to be the first to run up to us. Now we don't see him as often and he is a little scared of us. I would really like to get this dog off of the streets and get him to good health. He deserves it. If you have a place in your home for him, please email us as soon as possible and we will pull him. I am worried that if it does not happen soon, it is going to be too late for Hank.

Our Biggest Rescue

Thanks to everyone who has donated, volunteered, fostered, or otherwise helped out in the last two weeks. Thanks to dedicated people like you, Gateway Pet Guardians was able to rescue 25 dogs from the cold streets of East St. Louis in just 14 days.

To give you an idea of how HUGE of a deal that is, we normally rescue an average of 100 dogs a year. We've hit a quarter of our rescues in the first two weeks of the year! Stick with us and help us make 2010 the most successful year in GPG history! Come out to the Mixed Breed Art Auction at Schlafly Bottleworks on February 28th. Details and ticket pricing can be found here: http://www.gatewaypets.com/22.html

Can't wait to see you all there!

Custard and Sorbet

First, thanks to everyone who stepped up to foster puppies this week for us. We are so happy to say that by tonight they will all be in their new foster homes.

Next, PJ found Nigella's puppies today! This means a few things...We are going to need a few more puppy fosters in the near future and we are going to be able to pull the remaining three of Nigel's pack! I will keep you posted.

Finally, the real reason for this post.

I went to Hillside today to take pictures of a couple of dogs that PJ pulled earlier in the week. Here is a little caption of their personalities and their stories.

We need foster homes for both of them.

Sorbet (blonde) is very calm and sweet. She approached me slowly and softly and seemed very loving. Hillside removed a collar that was embedded in her neck (see pictures). This poor baby has known a lifetime of suffering, so if you have a loving open home, please help this sweetie.




Custard: (black) We are not sure, but we think that Custard is a dog who has been tied on a short leash to a tree outside of this one house. We never fed her because the people did not want us to. Luckily she broke away and we PJ found her roaming. Again, we are not 100% that this is the same dog, but she sure does look like her. She has a lot of energy and just wants to lick you all over. She is very happy go lucky. She wanted to be on top of me while I was taking her picture, hence the bad photos.




We think both of them are about a year and a half to two years old. We have no where to go with these dogs and they cannot stay at the vet. They are going to end up in PJ's carport if we do not find a place for them today.

GPG LIVE with Fox 2's Teresa Woodard Tomorrow Morning!

 Great news! Thanks to the combined efforts of Gateway Pet Guardians, Dent County Animal Welfare, and Boxer Rescue, we have successfully captured a skittish female boxer who was living on the side of Highway 44 near Lafayette Square for six days - and now we are going to be talking about it live with Teresa Woodard tomorrow morning at 8:40 a.m. on Fox 2. 

Monday night, we received a call from Melinda at Dent County Animal Welfare asking for PJ's expertise in dog catching after several failed attempts at catching the boxer.  Boxer Rescue had agreed to take her if someone could just get their hands on her. Neighbors had been feeding the dog and throwing blankets over the fence to help sustain her until help arrived. 

After an unsuccessful evening of rescue attempts, a crate with blankets and treats was left for the dog to seek shelter in until a trap could be brought in. The dog was still too shy to even take the bait in the trap, and eventually she warmed up enough to Melinda for her to get close enough to capture. The dog, who we are calling Waverly, has been taken to the vet and diagnosed with severe heartworms. 

Waverly was wearing a pink collar and pink and purple toenail polish. She obviously belongs to someone. Everyone tune in tomorrow (Saturday) morning for more details!

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

Jezzabell is a 2 year old pit/lab mix. She is a medium size dog at about 40 lbs.  She is brindle and such a lover!

She is good with cats, children and other dogs-she is a super friendly dog.

She is one SWEET girl. She is approximately 1 year old and is still considered a youngster.  This size dog would be great as a running companion & she could learn agility, fly ball. The possibilities are endless. She was found outside a local restaurant freezing.

Jezzabell is up-to-date with routine shots, house trained and spayed.

Donate a Kuranda Bed to Gateway!

We are in the process of working out a deal where we will have an area to house dogs that we do not have a foster home for. It is not a huge space, but it will give us a central location for us to do paper work and have volunteers come to help us out. We will be able house these dogs who desperately need to be pulled and give them a warm place to stay until we can find a foster home for them. We are really excited about this.

One thing off of the top of our heads that we could use for the space are these fabulous Kuranda beds. My dogs love theirs and it has lasted me through many, many foster dogs where the pillowy beds have been torn apart or peed on, and thrown out. If you would like to help us out, please consider donating a Kuranda dog bed. Thank you again for all that you do. I cannot tell you how amazing everyone has been in helping us to grow and rescue more dogs.

Show Me St. Louis Pet of the Week: Sonny!

Sonny is a 40 lb red-nosed pit bull, male--who is extremely puppy-like!

He loves to play with his stuffed animals and bones--and loves the dogpark. He is great with other dogs, kids and people--but likes to chase cats so it's better if he's not in a home with cats.

Sonny is a one year old pit bull terrier who is a super sweet and active boy!  Sonny is very smart and would like to be in a home that will walk him regularly, and possibly take him for runs. He is a beautiful boy with a super cute face. This dog is going to be a lot of fun for someone who is willing to put in the time and training he needs. Happy go Lucky is the perfect term for him.

Sonny's foster mom says he is a TOTAL snuggle bug and wants nothing more than to be next to you. He melds his body against yours and sits there quietly wanting lots of love. Sonny is still considered a toddler and won't be an adult until he is two years old. His favorite toys are his squeaky toys and his stuffed animals!!!

Sonny is up-to-date with routine shots, house trained and spayed/neutered

-2º on Friday. Please help us get some dogs off of the streets

We were able to rescue Chenille on Tuesday. Turns out she is not pregnant. Doesn't she look pregnant?

She is being treated for heartworm and is safe at the vet, but still needs a foster home.

Which brings me to why I am sending this newsletter. It is COLD outside and it is only getting colder. We will pull as many dogs as we have fosters for.

That's right! If YOU will foster, then we can save another dog from these bone chilling temperatures.

Some of the dogs we would still like to pull who we don't have fosters for are Malcom & Nigella (although we are still trying to confirm that Nigella does not have any puppies on the street). Nigel and Nina both have been spoken for, but we will not leave Nigella behind without them. There are MANY more dogs that we will pull if we only have a home to put them in.

If you have ever thought about fostering, now is the time. If you would need help with food we will help you. We pay for all veterinary care and typically find the dogs a home pretty quickly.

Please click the image below to fill out an online foster application now!

An Update and an EMERGENCY Rescue

Doesn't Chenille just look so cold?

Malcom is her very sweet buddy.

Do you see Chenille in the background here? She is usually all wiggles for us, but was too cold to move today.


Let me just start by saying that I just can't tell you how amazing everyone has been with helping to rescue Nigel's pack. In the past few days we were able to rescue Hooper's Girl, Albert and 9 puppies. Still left are Nigel, Nigella and Nina. Those are the three that we don't want to split up. We think that the 9 puppies included Nigella's litter, but we are not 100% sure so we are not comfortable pulling her off of the streets until we are 100%. Which means, we cannot pull Nigel or Nina yet either. We are going to keep looking to be sure and should be able to rescue within the next week or two. If you volunteered to foster one of these sweeties, please stand by.

AND NOW FOR THE EMERGENCY:

We just discovered that Tweed and Argyle's mom Chenille is pregnant AGAIN. She looks like she is about ready to pop. She hangs out with one other dog by the Ameren station in a dirt pile. We would like to get these two off the streets ASAP. Chenille is soooo cold. She barely has a coat of fur and just sits and shivers, sometimes barely moving when we pull up. We do NOT want to leave Malcom behind. He will be alone if we do that and that is never a good thing.

Both of these dogs are very sweet. A little shy, but will be fabulous once we get them.

If you have a basement that is concrete or an area that is secluded in your house, you would be the perfect candidate to take Chenille. She would be forever grateful!