The Capture of "Casey The Cat"

Yeah!  Casey finally made it off of the streets but now he has yet another journey.  He tested FIV positive. While this is not a death sentence by any means, he is going to need to find parents that aren't freaked out by this.  Often someone won't know their cat is FIV until he is old and getting tested for something else.  This can affect their immune systems.  They can live 3 years or 20 years.  But the most important thing is that he is strictly an indoor cat where he won't be exposed to lots of parasites, viruses, colds, outside.


If he is given a holistic diet and lots of love he has a great shot at life.  FIV is spread between cats by bite wounds.  Not general play.  I actually ended up with an FIV+ kitty about a year ago and knew nothing about it so was pretty concerned.  The other disturbing fact I learned is that if a cat has been given a vaccination against FIV,  then he will ALWAYS test positive for the virus.  To date there is no reliable test to see whether a cat has FIV or only has been vaccinated against FIV.  Most likely Casey was not vaccinated against FIV, but just a "heads up" to people that is such a "gray" issue.  I joined an FIV yahoo group and found out that pretty much everyone there keeps their FIV cats with their other cats. You generally would not keep cats together that were actually biting each other anyhow.  Just things to think about.  Of course it is just an individual decision, but just wanted people to realize that a lot of people keep all of their cats together with no problems.

And of course if you have no cats now, then this isn't even an issue!  But we do want to leave Casey's options open.  Maybe some of you have FIV kids already and would be willing to welcome him in your home either temporarily or forever.  This guy is just a doll.  He has been begging PJ for his rescue day for months now and we just want to find someone great to welcome Casey to the Gateway family.
Can you help?

And don't forget PJ's Birthday Challenge.

Help Gateway Pet Guardians "win" $90,000!!

The "Gateway Girls" were with PJ last Thursday and we had just rescued "Casey the Cat".  After breathing huge sighs of relief, (which you will be able to hear on the audio in the next few days) we were gabbing.  We are girls after all.....Well, PJ's birthday came up and we discovered that it always gets "neglected".  She has one of those between Christmas and New Year's birthdays, December 28th to be exact.  And people are always doing their hustle and bustle during this time and PJ never really gets her 15 minutes.  Well, she is a major blessing to us and all of the animals and we don't want to see her get left out one more year.



We figured that she was worth at least $1.00 for every year of her life, right?  So she will be 56 this year and so we thought that would be a great number for a donation.  If everyone of our FaceBook fans gave $56.00 then we would have $92, 512 just like that.  But we only have a few weeks to do it!  We realize some of you may be out of work, etc...You can help too.  Please use your social media to pass this along to as many people as possible to help us reach our goal.  Some people could easily give more than the 56, maybe they want to give her 2 birthdays at once!  But we would like full participation so please give something.  Five dollars, ten dollars, whatever you can.  You see, you may think that such a small amount doesn't make any difference at all.  But it does.  If we all just do a little bit then we can move mountains, and that is just about the strength we need to help these homeless animals.  We CAN do this.  But we need you.  Why do we need $92, 512??  Our immediate goal is to build a shelter so we have a place to temporarily house animals.  Sometimes we have to pull a dog quickly because they need medical attention and we don't have anywhere to take them.  You can save their lives.  You can help us. Please make a donation.  Please SHARE!!

Click on the Paw on the left hand side of blog to donate via paypal
Email Here to get address or donate in another form (checks, cash, your trust fund :)
Click Here for our website and to see all available kids!

Nigel, Nina, & Nigella

Sunday morning listening to the howling wind and seeing there is a HIGH of 18 degrees tomorrow. We really don't know if Nigel, Nina, and Nigella will be able to survive another brutal winter.


Last Thursday the "Gateway Girls" went on the feeding route with P.J.
The video below is of Nigel and Nigella taken on that morning. Do you have a garage, a basement, or some room in your home to foster one of these kids until they find a forever home. The instant we have a foster home we can work on the rescue. GPG always pays the vet bills. Maybe you have a friend that keeps talking about needing some extra company? Please help us find fosters for these pups so they don't have to fight for their lives yet another winter.



Would you ever like to go out and feed the dogs with us? We love to have new people. Let us know if it is something that interests you. We go everyday of the week, 365 days a year. So you have plenty of days from which to choose. Please email us at gatewaypetguardians@yahoo.com or call 314.664.7398 to find out more.

Desi, Dribble, and Company.

Click on right hand side to view on You Tube if video appears clipped.
You can also adjust for HD.


Desi, Dribble, the "pack", Nigella, and Mama Dog. All creatures who desperately need foster homes before the harshest cold of winter. It is imperative that we try to rescue the weaker ones as well, as their will diminishes in time. The bitter cold takes a toll on these guys and there is no guarantee that they will survive. I really want to get Nina, Nigel, and Nigella before the end of the year. We had fosters over a year ago for them, but then got flooded with puppies. So they got a little left behind. But let's give them a chance for a real life this Christmas. Desi is a newer dog that has warmed up to P.J. immensely. She is a total sweetheart. Poor "Mama dog" has already had to give birth to 11 puppies, since she has no guardian to spay her. The stray dog world has no room for feminism. Maybe we have some feminists out there who believe that this girl has been through enough and will offer her hope. Dribble has been on the streets forever and it is great he has survived this long. Problem is, that one day we will go out there and he will have disappeared. Don't let him be another Floyd. Floyd was another guy who we adored and never made if off of the streets. This hits everyone really hard, but these are like P.J.'s kids, and it really kills her. So a happy holiday for the dogs is also the best present for which P.J. could ask. Let's try to give her a good holiday.

Please don't forget to enter the Big Apple Sweepstakes. Click here for the page, then you click on "Enter Sweepstakes". This is so our shelter could win 3000 dollars! Please share with friends. There are only a few weeks to vote so PLEASE do share.
Also, check out Keeley on TV, she is decked out for Christmas. Won't you take her home for the holidays and forever after? And this Saturday, December 11, 2010 we are having a "Breakfast with Santa" so if you are thinking your kids would look cute in reindeer ears, now is your chance! Click here for the flyer. We will have lots of our foster dogs and we know your kids would like to get their photo taken as well.

"Boise the Border Collie"

"Boise the Border Collie" is a couple of years old and a complete angel.
Don't you just want to take her home with you?? We found her in East St. Louis and she was more than thrilled to jump in the car with P.J. to seek a better life. This girl is GOOD! She is "the perfect child" and we all need at least one! You know, the child that doesn't chew your mattresses up, doesn't pick fights with the other kids, and doesn't make the principal call your house after being in daycare. Yep. Click here to find out more about us and fill an application out for Boise.

"Casey the Cat" and Gateway Gifting!

You all seem to love "Casey the cat". Please share and help us find an indoor foster and forever home for him (we think he is a him :) He gives us such desperate pleas in the mornings. He is just begging for someone to give him an open invitation into their home.

Another year has slipped by and the crowds are scrambling to buy the latest toys of the year. If you are looking for some meaningful gifts to share, please read further! Why not buy all of your friends and family our new calendar that showcases some of our rescues from the past year. Not only will the recipients be touched by the beautiful photography and captions, but they might even be inspired to expand their own families. And when the year is done, use it for artwork or recycle. It's feel good, it's green and it's made locally. Another fabulous find would be our Gateway Guardians DVD. Animal lovers or not, this film is truly a testament to the change that one person can initiate. It was PJ's incredible dedication that moved others around her to create Gateway Pet Guardians. This film has to potential to inspire any person to work toward their dreams. Maybe you would just like to make a donation in the honor of a person or one of their animal children. And then we have our tees and totes. Some really cute shirts with Gateway and rescue logos. All different styles, colors, and messages. A great way to spread the word. Quit wearing your marathon and "I ran a 5k shirts" to the gym! Go to the gym with a message! If someone comes up to you asking about such a hip shirt like that, well then they might actually be worth talking to. Who knows, the purchase of a pink ringer Gateway tee just might lead you to the person of your dreams! Also available are teddy bears, baby bibs and infant sizes, baseball caps, mugs and beer steins. Another amazing offering this year are dog prints by Kay Renner. All the proceeds from these prints will go GPG. Thank you Kay!

Our Soiree was a huge success. We couldn't have done it without all of our fans and volunteers and we are so grateful to each and every one of you! Of course our photographer, David Carlyon, took some great shots from the evening. Click here to see photos. And speaking of photos, we also stumbled upon some photos from our art auction from February! After the premiere, we also received word that HSUS would like a copy of our documentary so keep your fingers and paws crossed that they will help spread the word about the work we are doing. We are also mentioned here in the SLIFF 2010 Review.
SLIFF 2010 Review: GATEWAY GUARDIANS

We are continuously raising money for our shelter. Each gift is so appreciated. We would like to tell everyone that Ashley Bertschinger is collecting cans this month and will redeem them for their cash value at a the end of December. The funds will go to GPG and we would love for you to spread the word to your friends via all of your social media outlets. So don't toss out all of those cans from your holiday parties! Get in touch with us to find out where you can bring your cans.

We also would like to ask for your support in voting for us in the "Big Apple" Pet Supply contest to help us win $3000 for our shelter fund. Big Apple is sponsoring this and voting begins soon. We will post the voting link as soon as it goes live.
And Kudos to PJ for winning $1250 from the Rams! She was a top finalist for the Rams Community Quarterback Award. Another way we are raising money is throughout the e-scrip program. You simply sign up here and then any participating business will automatically donate a certain portion of your bill to your designated charity. You can see participating retailers here. American Airlines, Schnucks, Orvis, and Sierra Trading Post are some of the ones I noticed.

A huge thank you to Donna Hummert for donating over 1300 pounds of food last month! What, 1300 pounds?? Yep. Instead of being a Scrooge on her birthday and telling everyone not to celebrate it, she had a party and told her guests to bring dog food. What a great idea! No stress of "Is it the right size?", "Does she already have one?", " Will she ever wear it?", etc.... Nope. These gifts will go to feed our kids in East St. Louis. Thank you Donna! Maybe some of our other fans will also suggest to their guests that they don't really need another pot holder, vase, or plastic trinket. Maybe you can inspire your guests to bring dog food to your gathering too! Of course we will come pick it all up! No heavy lifting required.

Another SuperHero we would like to mention is Ledy VanKavage. She wrote a great article about the meaning of Thanksgiving here about our Gateway Guardians film. Her other blog posts on change.org are here. We aren't the only ones who recognize how special she is. Click here to read about Ledy and here to VOTE for her! Please vote NOW as voting will conclude December 5th, Sunday.

Since GPG has no physical home right now, we are storing our supplies at multiple homes and it's getting crazy! On our wish list is to be able to rent a storage unit that we are able to access day or night. This will cost 25.00 each month. Tracy Lammert already stepped up to take the first month. Would you be kind enough to offer to a pay for a month or two?? We will keep you posted on our progress.

Other links we would like to share are for our Gateway Pet Gazette, December Issue.
And an "elf movement". Jamie would love for all of you to send us you and your family (of course include the dogs!) getting "elfed". If you know a Scrooge or two, you guys need to get some "Jamie energy" as she exudes an infectious joy for life. She specializes in holidays and realizes that you must celebrate these moments to create a special life. We are so thankful to have her presence at Gateway. So rarely do highly organized/focused and artistic energy merge but that's just what happened when Jamie got made and we are very thankful for all of her dedication to our four-legged creatures.
Click here to see Jamie with Boise talking about the work we do in East St. Louis on Fox2.