Gateway Pet Guardians

We've Moved....

2011-01-24T16:19:00.003-06:00

Hello faithful GPG fans! Our blog is moving - to our website! You can now continue to follow Gateway Pet Guardians adventures at www.gatewaypets.com/blog. Don't worry, our entire archive is also now a part of the Gateway Pet Guardians site so you can still see all of our previous postings. We can't wait to start writing new posts on the new blog, and we hope you can't wait to start reading them :)

- Gateway Pet Guardians

We've Moved....

2011-01-24T16:19:00.000-06:00

- Gateway Pet Guardians

"Twelve Degrees"

2011-01-16T10:06:00.000-06:00

Here is some video of the East St. Louis Feedings. A blustering 12 degrees outside and lots of pups waiting for their Angel (PJ). Still no sign of Dribble, which makes us all very sad. He was next on the list to be rescued, so keep all of your fingers and paws crossed that he will reappear. The last week has brought us 8 puppies, beautiful Goldens, and the rescue of Veronica, the mom who just gave birth to 11 puppies.

We also received a $10,000 grant from St. Louis Community Foundation, for which we are incredibly grateful. And although we didn't win the Sweepstakes, the "Blind Cat Rescue" group that did snag the grand prize donated $ 500.00 of treats and toys that they could not use to us! Thank you Blind Cat Rescue! Purina One also gave us 1900 pounds of food! We are so grateful to all of your support. Times are tough right now, and that generally filters down to rescues as well. Just when more people are "dumping" their dogs, the funds usually dry up. Thank you to all who are helping these kids get off the frigid streets. Once again, I encourage anyone who has an interest in seeing what PJ actually does every single day, to contact us for an opportunity to accompany GPG in our daily feedings. You will be inspired! And there is still time to wish PJ a Happy Birthday. Please see our Birthday Challenge and maybe you can give a little bit of your heart to "PJ's Birthday Challenge". And don't forget to mark your calendars for March 24th, "3rd Annual Pasta for Pets" event and April 30th, "2nd Annual Tees & Tails and Wine & Wags" events.

Desi and Danielle

2011-01-02T10:20:00.000-06:00

Here is a video of the last rescues of the year, Desi & Danielle. Desi is one of P.J.'s favorites and I think she would like to exchange one of her "stinker" dogs in for Desi! If you would like to meet P.J.'s pick, then give us a holler and we will arrange a time and place. Desi is full of life and a big lover. Danielle was a "surprise" child, as that morning we weren't looking for any more of Dribble's puppies. But alas, one was hanging out in this abandoned house with Dribble, Desi, Wolfgang.

In the immediate future we are hoping to rescue Veronica, who had just given birth to 11 puppies, and Dribble, who has lived on the streets his whole life and is just the biggest teddy bear you can imagine. We need all of your good energy since it's been a few days since we have seen Dribble. Once we do see him, it will take some luck and perseverance to rescue him.

Winter time is always difficult as it's really hard watching these kids be outside in brutally cold weather. If you are wondering if you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding yes. You may have a space in your home, garage, basement to temporarily house someone, you make help take kids to adoption events, you may help with vet transportation, you may help lead a "dog food drive" at you workplace, you may send our updates to all of your friends and family, you may adopt instead of buy, you may ride along with PJ so you have a better understanding of what GPG does every single day of the year, you may buy calendars and our documentary for gifts. The list goes on. But yes, you can help. Please don't feel like anything you give can be insignificant, be it time or money. The only reason we are able to do these rescues is because of our fans who help these kids find forever homes. Everyone one of us plays an integral part in the futures of these homeless animals.

Kids that STILL need homes: Kealy (to help your NY's resolution for a skinny butt), "Boise the Bestest Border Collie", Sonny the Precious Pitbull, and Casey the Cat. And of course all of our other animals are at the Gateway Pet Guardians Website. We are also extending P.J.'s Birthday Challenge throughout the month of January because we know December was a busy month for everyone! Thank you to Lindsay, Kati, Bethany, Larry, Jen, Erin, Nancy and April for giving to P.J.'s Birthday Challenge. We will updating our list soon!

The Capture of "Casey The Cat"

2010-12-19T13:12:00.000-06:00

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!!

2010-12-13T22:55:00.002-06:00

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

2010-12-12T20:48:00.000-06:00

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.

2010-12-08T23:02:00.000-06:00

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"

2010-12-05T23:22:00.006-06:00

"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!

2010-12-04T18:16:00.055-06:00

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.

P.J.'s Thanksgiving feeding

2010-11-27T11:53:00.019-06:00

You can view the video in HD also, please just adjust on bottom right.Click on "You Tube" to the right if the video is cut off.

Many of our fans have never actually been able to go out on the feeding route with P.J. This video has basically everyone that we saw Thanksgiving morning. It was a Thanksgiving morning a few years back that was my first time out with P.J. And it was a dog named "Bomber" that I thought about every single day after my first ride along experience. If you have an interest in seeing what P.J. does on a daily basis, then please contact us. We would love to have more of our fans be able to share this experience.

I am thankful this Thanksgiving for people like P.J. who confront this suffering every single day. She does not turn her eyes away from these animals. Instead, she does everything in her power to diminish their sorrows.

"The capacity to give one's attention to a sufferer is a very rare and difficult thing. It is almost a miracle. It is a miracle.

Simone Weil

Thank you P.J. for being their miracle.

Karmic Treats and Abounding Spirits.

2010-11-18T10:30:00.015-06:00

Tonight is your chance to meet P.J. and all the other stars of Gateway Pet Guardians.
Karmic Treats and Abounding Spirits.
Amazing Guitarist, John McClelland.

Drag your introverted friends out. Even your friends who insist they don't like people.
Eat, Drink, and hang with the dogs.
What else is there?

The Making Of "Gateway Guardians" II

2010-11-17T13:06:00.014-06:00

Part II of chatting with Rebecca Ormond. Goddess of Film. I found it pretty interesting even though I know nothing about film.

Below, the finished product!

It was great to hear that the Gandhi quote "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated". Mahatma Gandhi practiced "ahimsa" which is the action of "non-harming". If you read up on him at all, you will probably be inspired by the simplicity of his life and also his love for all sentient beings. He is a real SuperHero to all of us animal lovers. Another Gandhi quote: "I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man". Sometimes when the situation for animals seems overwhelming, it's good to gain inspiration from the great souls that came before us. This work will not end in our lifetime, but it does not mean that there is any less of a reason to do it.

I leave you with a beautiful video about the life of Mahatma Gandhi. It is a collage of photos put together to the music of M.C. Yogi. It is great running music and kind of makes you feel like you are running toward something greater. It is easy to think you are just repeating the same steps over and over again. A good reminder that all of the steps that we take everyday eventually add up to an entire journey. Hopefully at the end of this journey, we have been able to create some positive changes.

"Welby the Wonderdog"

2010-11-15T22:47:00.006-06:00

This sweet girl finally came inside after an hour. She was dropped off by Jamie and Shaun Case at 8:15 tonight after a gal in Imperial found her wandering around. She is a delight. Very sweet, and very nervous. She is fine with all of my other dogs. She barely noticed the cats. She would not come in the house - a clear sign that she was kept outside all the time. Of course the chain on her collar was another sign. After 3 hours and a feeding, she is now happy to accept me petting her. She will be a great and loving dog. No issues with other dogs at all - she is very submissive. Since I already have 8, yes 8 beasts at my house, she is going to boarding tomorrow - yuck! Any fosters out there who are ready to spread the love to this sweetheart who deserves a loving place to call home until she finds here forever home? Here is a picture of the collar and chain she was dragging around when she was found.

Questions with filmmaker Rebecca Ormond

2010-11-15T20:50:00.024-06:00

In September I had the great opportunity of seeing "Gateway Guardians" at Winnie Moore Theatre in Webster and hearing the filmmaker, Rebecca Ormond, answer some questions from Mike Steinberg. This is Part 1. We are so grateful to Rebecca of Matriarch Motion Pictures for sharing her love with us! As you know, our big Soiree is THIS THURSDAY, November, 18, 2010 6:30-10:00 p.m. during the Webster Film Festival. The entire party, with movie included is 50.00. And of course all proceeds go towards helping the wonderful dogs in the movie and the current ones living on the streets of East St. Louis. We are continuing work on our mission of building a shelter with spay/neuter capabilities in this under served area. Click here for all the details. If you can't make it to the whole event, please just check out the movie!! But if you can make it to the party, we have yummy treats from MatchMeats and a great guitarist, John Mcclelland who is shown on the link with his duo. We might get lucky and hear him play some Piazzolla. I am putting in my request now!

And some of our other press!!!! Which we are so GRATEFUL for! First we have our beautiful Amie Simmons, who I recognized when I saw only her feet from her adorable Hunter Boots :) promoting the grand gala this Thursday on Fox2. Click here to see Amie, Amie's boots, and Cally, an adorable dog who needs a forever home.

And we got a write-up in the Riverfront Times. Click here to read!

Our lovely Jamie with Sonny, one of our favorite pups who has had a difficult start. Click here to see Sonny on Fox 2.

Another write-up on Sonny here from "The Examiner".

It's RAINING puppies!

2010-10-26T01:36:00.002-05:00

Puppies galore! Get them fast!
Okay folks, we need fosters for these kids.
And, oh, FOREVER homes. So spread the word to all your friends that think they need to buy a puppy. To foster or arrange a meeting please email gatwaypetguardians@yahoo.com

Sonny

2010-10-25T13:06:00.009-05:00

For Previous blog posts about Sonny click here.

Sonny is getting depressed. He has been in a kennel and 2 foster homes. Both of his foster homes ADORED him but his first foster mom had to move to the East Coast quickly and his second foster home is growing in the number of people VERY soon and they worry Sonny won't get the attention he deserves. Sonny & his foster sister Maddy are the best of friends. He wonders why a lot of his Gateway friends have already been adopted and why he often doesn't get a second look.

Okay pit lovers, you know who you are. PLEASE spread the word about this guy. He wonders if he isn't handsome enough or if people just won't even give him a chance because he was born a pit. He is really great with most dogs and he even walks well on a leash. I don't know if you could find a more loyal companion.

So if you want true unconditional love then ditch the computer dating sites. Come meet Sonny.
Go out to dinner with people, have a drink, conversation and some fun.
But if you want someone who won't let ya down and who will always greet you with love when you walk in the door-this is your man.

He doesn't leave the toilet seat up or throw his socks on the floor.
This guy is good.

Running with Kealy

2010-10-12T23:05:00.013-05:00

Kealy is a wonderful kid with mountains of gratitude and good energy. While she has enough zest to get me to enjoy an hour run, she grants me much grace by her acceptance of my speed and unwillingness to run a daily marathon. No, I don't want to chase every squirrel up a tree and I am not a sprinter. Kealy takes all of this into consideration when she picks me up in the morning. While she is always awake and rearing to go, she also lets me have a little adjustment time to be groggy and adapt to the morning jogging world. A world which I truly thought would occur in an alternate lifetime. Usually I get my serotonin shots from lifting weights or an abundant amount of "breath of fire" in Kundalini yoga. But Kealy has forever changed that. Now I am appreciating the early morning sunlight and feeling the dew on the grass. After a thermos of yerba mate, slipping on my hip new KSO Vibrams, and hitting play on the ipod (Krishna Das helps as I am really in need of some powerful mantras to kick-start this process), we hit the ground running.

The first few days she was testing me to see if I was really suitable running material. After a few leash changes and myself just surrendering to the actual idea of running itself, we have both adjusted quite well to this invigorating routine. She is such a WONDERFUL girl and she really needs a foster home or to find her forever home. You see, her current foster home is more for "special needs" kids like Bea and Aaron and very shy pups who are still learning to adjust to us people. But Kealy is just a really normal dog who loves people and other dogs and we really need to find her a foster or forever home so we are able to pull another dog in dire need off the street.

Maybe you are flirting with the idea of becoming a newbie jogger.....maybe you just are pretty depressed when you walk in the door in the evening and could use a dose of Kealy's infinite joy of life. This kid will do her best to keep you out of the dumps. And if it's a skinny butt you are after, well she ensures that you will get that too. Please contact us if you would like to meet this girl in person. I really don't think you will be disappointed!

We also have two awesome events coming up. First we have a Trivia Night. Okay, we know....you don't remember any frivolous facts from years ago, heck, you can't even remember if or what you ate for breakfast. But honestly these events are about hanging out with other compassionate folk and bringing a picnic basket full of munchies. Buy the booze there but you can bring your own eats. Contact us if you want to participate but you don't already know 9 other people with whom you would like to spend a Saturday night. Maybe we can help fill out your table and you can meet new friends that give your dogs kisses when they stop by your house. These new friends won't always eagerly point out the excessive amounts of animal hair that always seem to be so prevalent on your black wardrobe.

Finally, we have what we hope to be our hugest event this year. Our DOCUMENTARY!!!! Yes, Rebecca Ormond teamed up with Jamie Case & Amie Simmons to bring Gateway Pet Guardian's movie to fruition. We all know Jamie & Amie are wonderful! And I just met Rebecca at the Tivoli film debut and discovered she is also wonderful and really brilliant. She is overly modest about her incredible talent and she really veered off from her usual style of movie by accepting this grassroots project. I got to hear her talk shop at the Webster debut and found her interview really engaging. This movie was not "easy" to shoot/produce by any stretch of the imagination. She had to rely on the PJ and the crew to use Sony ZI8 HD cams and pretty much relinquish control over what was shot and how it was shot. Scenes got to be pretty difficult to capture because a lot of the footage was during actual rescues where the people filming were also actually participating in the rescue. Add that to being in abandoned buildings with some floors some of the time, walking on rubble, and trying operate a camera in zero degree weather.....well we surely presented her with a challenge. All the girls did an amazing job of taking all of those hours of footage and telling GPG's story.

We want to pack the house for the Webster Film Festival showing on November 18, 2010. You are able to just buy a ticket for the film only but if you can we would love for you to buy a ticket to the "Soiree" afterwards. This is going to be a really great gathering of our fans & supporters. All the money made goes to helping the kids that you see in the movie and also making our other dream, the shelter, begin to materialize. Rumor has it that some stars from the film, four-legged and otherwise, will also be making appearances. We will also be serving animal friendly treats (food for the peeps that didn't harm the animals in the making). And apparently some good live music which we will announce shortly!

And one last note.....We are wanting to get Kenya/La Roja this week but need to find a foster home FAST!!!! She is adorable and also seems to be really well adjusted. All of our dogs are adorable of course, but some have obviously had a lot more social experience with us people. She doesn't seem to possess any fear of people and she should be an easy kid to foster. At least it appears that way from her behavior on the street. You can see for yourself. If you have a space anywhere, basement, warm garage or of course your house-please consider making a difference in her life. You can also see some other kids that are still waiting for a foster. It will be getting cold soon and it would be great to rescue some of the kids that just might not make it another winter. These include Lloyd, Malcolm, Nigel, Nigella, Nina, and countless others.

Documentary Free this Sunday!

2010-09-24T12:56:00.012-05:00

Don't forget to tell your friends about our Sunday, September 26 showing of the documentary at Webster. It is a great opportunity to bring all the kids out since this is a FREE event. Please cross post! We love to have new fans and hopefully some new "fosters" as well. Click here or on our Documentary Page to know more about our screenings.

And our friends at at the dog park are hosting a really fun event tomorrow. Registration starts at noon and proceeds go to our great doggie playground in Soulard.

Frenchtown dog park (Soulard) Pup Crawl tomorrow Saturday, September 25.

A hundred and one million thanks to all of the kind souls that were trying to help us keep track of our little rescue rascals, Bea & Aaron. These two are going to take a little while to adjust. I just went to visit them yesterday at Hillside Animal Hospital, and they were in "resting" phase. They need to complete their heartworm treatment and get a little more used to socializing with human mammals. Their eyes conveyed so much history, surrender, and a sort of "peace" yesterday. They have struggled long and hard on the street for years, so it is going to take more than a few days for them to calm down and learn to trust people. Aaron let me pet him a lot, while Bea was pretty much knocked out and was napping during our visit. These dogs have a lot of depth to their personality. They may take awhile to socialize, but they seem to be forever loyal companions.

Salting the wound?

2010-09-18T23:14:00.019-05:00

You can watch this in HD if you like, just click on the 720 on the right hand side.

I started "missing" Bea & Aaron so couldn't help but look at some old video footage. This video was taken in late August 2010, before P.J. rescued them. Of course, they were rescued Thursday, September the 16th, and then they decided to bolt from P.J.'s backyard the next day Friday, September 17th. I just wanted to post a little bit of video of Bea & Aaron in East St. Louis, on a day we were considering trying to rescue them. Unfortunately, that day there was a truck with a flat tire right next to us and Bea and Aaron didn't want to share their "special day" with any spectators. Look at how Aaron let's P.J. pet him. Please help us find them!
To find out the current situation with them (and everything else we are up to) be our friend on facebook.

Wine and tears...........

2010-09-17T21:15:00.018-05:00

What a trying day.....have been up since 5:00 as I tried to drink some strong coffee prior to meeting P.J. to feed the kids. When I saw her, Aaron had only managed to jump her fence, into her neighbor's yard. Well 2 minutes later he was gone and just after that there was no sign of Bea either. So that incredibly happy rescue of yesterday, the joy of knowing these kids were safe now, all vanished. Just vanished into thin air. It was like being back at square one, except the kids weren't even on their own turf. Now Bea and Aaron are in a busy city, a city where there is a lot of traffic. We briefly look around before going to do the feeding on the East Side.

The rest of the day there are sightings of Bea. At one point 5 of us tried to corner her on Lafayette Street, just 1/2 a block east of Broadway. She was just laying there but once she knew what we were up to, she took off southeast. Apparently earlier in the day Bea made it to the Soulard Farmer's Market area and I think she might have even had a sandwich in her mouth at one point.

And I was SO happy to hear that Aaron had been seen. Our WONDERFUL fosters, Ann and her husband Greg, had seen the facebook posting and decided to "make a night of it". Miraculously they spotted Aaron and kept tabs on him until P.J. arrived. I got a phone call that Aaron was at 2nd street and Marion, only one block away from where Bea had been earlier. He and P.J. were just staring at each other. He was lying down and she was standing with her big gloves on, just in case an opportunity presented itself. He really wanted to go with P.J., but he was just too afraid. He was wagging his tail and almost playful. We tried to feed him some food with some "sleepy pills", but he just wouldn't eat enough of them to really make a difference. After that, the four of us were waiting and watching. P.J. and Greg made a move for it and Aaron split. He ran only a little bit before he thought he would like to toy with us again. He plopped down on the sidewalk and more of the same.

Eventually P.J. had him in a HUGE fenced in area, but he managed to escape the "temporary" fence part of it. I think we ended up on Choteau, but east of Broadway/7th. In a very industrial, overgrown area. It was getting really dark and we were going through the brush hoping.......We apparently weren't the only ones out in this kind of spooky area, P.J. was shining her light everywhere and it landed on a van with people smoking something. We decided to "wrap it up" for the night. P.J.'s gas tank was on empty the entire time.

So around 3:00 p.m. Bea was at Broadway and Lafayette (she was actually on Broadway), and then Aaron was all around the 2nd and Marion area (and north of there) in the night time. So please send us all of your good energy, prayers, meditations and mantras; we will take whatever we can get :) And I am really hoping that they will be down there this weekend since it will be very quiet there the next couple of days.

Such a long day of hope and now.....I realize it it night and we have no dogs. So that is where the wine comes in. And really I think a lot of tears for all of the hope that they would be with us again tonight and then the disappointment knowing that we have to wait another day. But I am grateful that they are both still with us and maybe they are staking out an area. So second and third streets and Broadway area.......

I just have to stay detached from them a little bit. If I even think about their personalities and how long P.J. has known them and been feeding them, it is just too painful to think they might not return. If you want to help look, please "like" our facebook page, where you can see the current situation with these kids.

So I am hoping this weekend. Keep your fingers & paws crossed.

"Cheyenne" and Match Madness!

2010-09-12T13:57:00.045-05:00

Meet Cheyenne. She is a bundle of sweet little goodness and she really wants a home.

As you can see, she gets along with other dogs and with people. She is crate trained and proves it by exhibiting she knows how to do number 1 & 2 outside and not on your wooden floor. P.J. found her in an abandoned lot and couldn't leave her there to fend for herself. If you would like to meet Cheyenne in person please email gatewaypetguardians@yahoo.com

Next, I want to tell everyone about our documentary screening and Gala on November 18th.

All of the details later but save the date! Come out and see our movie and attend an awesome party afterwards. And a huge thank you to Allison Burgess. Allison, the founder of "Match", has graciously donated some great eats for this event. If you have never had Match, you are in for a treat. Match Meat (and the recent addition of Daiya cheese) has in my husband's words, "totally changed my repertoire". Yes, with Allison's incredible eats, our house is now like a 24/7 diner. We are talking biscuits and gravy, a mean chili, scrambled sausages, baked nachos loaded with the fixings, slingers, all this and more and ZERO cholesterol. My husband had a baked ziti addiction during our "Netflix" summer with "The Sopranos". It seemed that all that mafia activity and Italians cutting garlic prompted him to make his own version of "Baked Ziti" (sin animales). Ours consisted of Organic Brown Rice Pasta, Match Meat "Beef" style, a basic organic jarred tomato sauce, loads of garlic, and Daiya cheese. I think even the Sopranos could have "flipped" after indulging in such a delicious version of Baked Ziti. For holidays there is the "Match Meat Roast". You can do St. Louis's own "Slinger" with scrambled tofu, Match Meat "burger", hash browns, and chili. Stuffed Peppers with Brown Rice and Match Meat of your choosing. Nachos with baked corn chips, Match Meat beef, Daiya cheese, sliced black olives, Eden canned Pinto Beans (Eden cans do not have BPA in their lining), and salsa. And no animals harmed in the process. A win for everyone. You can find her products at Whole Foods and Dierbergs in the frozen section. We have tried nearly every single type of "meaty" product since we ditched the meat, cheese, casein, etc....over a decade ago. Seriously, I remember my mom buying "Loma Linda" veggie hot dogs in a can, and that was a long time ago. I think I was 10 when those came out and we have come a LONG way! And I personally recommend Match Meat for the most "traditional", comfort food type of feel. When people tell me they have tried some other veggie meat, I always tell them to try Match. It's so real it even scares vegans! But we will get over it quickly and praise Allison for creating a wonderful product that is totally "mainstream" and I truly think everyone can love. Give it a try at home and her site has lots of recipes and pointers for newbies and old hats alike. This Chez Bettay blog also has Match Crab Cakes and other delicious eats. Or look for it at a restaurant. The Match website also has a list of places that serve Match products. And if "being green" is your thing, well there is a link on her website about how your diet and the environment are intertwined. In addition to recipes, she has videos also. Since Match doesn't have lard or saturated fat, we use a little olive or coconut oil and also usually use cast iron cookware. You can use non-stick cookware as well.

Oh, did I mention a fringe benefit of using Match instead "regular meat", is that you might accidentally melt those inches away. Yep, it seems that you might be able to totally binge on all of your favorite traditional foods (my favorite time is 1:00 a.m.) and you won't wake up a few pounds heavier.

Not only is the product great, but Allison is a great gal also. I had been hearing her name for years, for she is an incredibly gracious and compassionate soul. She is also our future foster for Bea & Aaron. Some of P.J.'s favorites who have been waiting for what seems like forever to be able to come home with P.J. I will post some video of those two kids and maybe you will decide that you might need Bea & Aaron in your home to make your world a little brighter.

So come out and see our awesome documentary and try Allison's treats for yourselves!

Match Meat "Pulled Pork Barbeque" recipe

Yield: 4 – 4oz. Portions

Ingredients
1 lb. MATCH Pork
2 cups your favorite BBQ sauce
1 Tbls. canola oil or pan coating spray

Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Oil baking sheet with canola oil or spray. Spread Pork MATCH onto oiled baking sheet till 1 inch thick. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges start to get crisp. Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle. Pull apart by hand, you may freeze at this time for use later. Add your favorite BBQ sauce. Serve warm or room temperature. Serve on Kaiser roll with fresh cole slaw.

La Roja, Malcolm, and Lovable Lloyd

2010-08-30T12:53:00.004-05:00

Double click on post to view on you tube if you can't see full video. Let me know if videos do not appear correctly on your viewing device!! Thanks!

Rode along with P.J. today and here are some of the kids that REALLY need someone. Malcolm has been living on the streets forever. Usually he is in the same location so he is easy to find. We love him but we aren't necessarily a big fan of his unsnipped "baby" makers, as this means more & more children. He is the beautiful "masked man". Lloyd has also been around for a long time. We all adore him but there seems to always be someone in more "dire need" than him, so he waits. He has a lovely personality. And La Roja is just a doll, as you can tell. These guys are gems.

Any takers?? All of these guys would love to go home with P.J. You can make a difference by helping us find "foster" homes.

We were not able to get Nina, Aaron or Bea today. I was thrilled to hear that Bea & Aaron have a foster. Allison Burgess, the founder of MatchMeats, is their guardian angel. Much more on her and her incredible work in a post soon!

Gateway Guardians Promotion

2010-08-26T20:27:00.000-05:00

The news release about Gateway Pet Guardians' documentary, Gateway Guardians, received a couple features in a national dog lover publication, Bark Magazine.

http://www.thebark.com/content/gateway-guardians-premieres-sunday

Our feature story will appear in the September, 2010 issue.

Take your Dog to the Drive-In

2010-08-26T08:18:00.002-05:00

Dogs at the Drive-In???? I was just thinking of how much fun it would be to go to a Drive-In when I saw that HALO is sponsoring a "Take Your Dog to the Drive-In" night September 5th, 2010. So quintessentially Midwestern, let's bask in our "open space" and take our furkids to the movies. And for those of you with younger dogs, yes we are playing "nice" movies so no bad language or naughty pictures that might corrupt your pooch. And all the plata goes to our own little street kids that need it the most.

Forte and Legato "The Dynamic Duo"

2010-08-24T14:46:00.004-05:00

These puppies are adorable. Forte & Legato will be 4 months old on August 28th, 2010. They were part of a litter of 8 pups. P.J. searched daily, for 2 weeks, until she was sure that she had found all the babies. Their siblings were lucky enough to find fosters and permanent homes. Can you help us find some people for these dogs to love? They are just spilling over with joy and they need to be able to spread that joy to some loving people. They promise a lifetime of loyal love. Now how many people in your life can fulfill that? P.J. has given them a head start in life. And the usual story.....we can't take in any more kids off of the street until we find some homes for our current rescues.This "octet" of puppies was very lucky. P.J. knew when they would be born and made sure she found them all. Not all the kids on the streets are able to come home with their guardian angel. There is a lot of dog fighting in our area and an unfortunate number of dogs are either used as "bait" or used in fighting. They are exploited to make a buck. Or sometimes they have bullet wounds, etc............Please speak up for these animals. We are their voices www.gatewaypets.com

Emergency Rescue.......Fosters we need you!

2010-08-18T21:12:00.005-05:00

Our lovely Julia has a heart of gold and today when she saw this starving pup on Cherokee Street she rushed the poor little guy to the vet. He weighs only 25 pounds and was wandering around, extremely malnourished. He was so emaciated that he was stumbling in the street, oblivious that there was traffic speeding by. A guardian angel rescued him and immediately took him to the hospital. Now he will begin to heal, but we are bursting at the seams with dogs and really need to find a foster. If you or anyone you know may be able to help, please contact us. GPG pays for the vet bills, etc....We ask that you provide food and lots of kisses and help take him to adoption events. We even have help with transport to events if your schedule conflicts with the adoption days.

He is a Shepard mix that is 2-3 years old.

Please help Show-Me!

2010-07-26T17:46:00.006-05:00

Show-Me has been living on the streets her whole life. She is about 40 pounds and currently has a bone sticking out of her body. We want to pull her and get her the medical attention she desperately needs but we need to have a foster first. Show-Me is a wonderful gal. Do you have a home, basement, garage area, somewhere with a decent temperature to help Show-Me heal? She just needs some love & a little time and she will be a great companion. We are in dire need of a foster for this sweetheart. Can you help? GPG will pay for the medical bills. You provide the love & attention.

Aaron needs your help!!!!

2010-07-10T11:35:00.002-05:00

Aaron is a star in the upcoming film Gateway Guardians. Aaron has always been one of PJ's favorites. He is such a friendly guy. She has been feeding him for several years along with his pack that you see below.

All of Aaron's pack has either been rescued, or has disappeared. He is the last dog left in the pack.

It is so sad, Aaron has been wondering the streets for the past few weeks looking so lost. As you can see from the pictures, Aaron is very friendly. He does well with other dogs and will make a great addition to your home as a foster or as a forever dog.

We are worried that Aaron is not going to make it much longer. We are desperate to get Aaron off of the streets. He would make such a lovely foster.

Will you consider fostering Aaron?

Please contact us at for more information on saving Aaron's life.

Aaron loves you!

Will you please help my brothers and sisters?

2010-07-06T22:13:00.005-05:00

Hi, my name is Largo and I am writing you as the ambassador to my brothers and sisters.

Eight weeks ago we were born on the streets. My mom took as good of care of us as she could, but really she can only do so much. PJ knew we were born because my mom disappeared for a few days, but she was unsure if we were in a place she could rescue us. Luckily, my mom was smart and she had us in a place that PJ could find us.

Over the course of a few days, once we were located, PJ was able to rescue all of us! We were loving life, awaiting something PJ kept talking about...our foster homes. We couldn't wait! It sounded so wonderful.

Until, one day the sickness hit us. BLAM! All of my siblings were getting so sick. I didn't know what to do. We were rushed to the vet and they said that 4 of the seven of us had parvo. I didn't know what that meant, but I was pretty sure that it sounded expensive.

Gateway Pet Guardians is doing everything they can do to save my brothers' and sisters' lives. Parvo is a very serious virus.

I am here to ask you to please donate so that Gateway can continue to help my my brothers and sisters.

Whatever you can donate will be of use. Whether it is $1 or more they will be forever grateful for your generous gift. And so will I and my siblings.

We are some very lucky pups, rescued just in time.

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Largo
Ambassador to my siblings
Gateway Pet Guardians

Come to our Documentary Premier!

2010-06-26T13:29:00.003-05:00

To purchase tickets go here. Click the pull down menu to view the movies showing on the 18th.

A chance to make your life a little Sonny-er

2010-06-13T21:04:00.012-05:00

We pulled Sonny close to a year ago when a local parishioners said they were going to call animal control to have him picked up.

We could tell he was a sweet boy, and we did not want to see him put down. When we sent out the plea for Sonny, we did not get any responses, except for one, from Paul Boyer who was generous enough to pay for Sonny's boarding.

Sonny was thankful to Paul for saving his life, but it was not the life for Sonny. I would go to visit him and he would seem so sad. One of our devoted volunteers would go to take him on walks periodically, and finally just could not allow him to be caged any longer. Although, she had never fostered before and her home was very small, she just could not bare to leave him. Unfortunately, she has to move away immediately. She can no longer keep Sonny.

Poor sonny will have to go to a kennel again if we do not find a foster. Please do not allow this deserving boy to be held captive again. He is such a sweetheart and will thrive in the right home. He needs to be walked regularly, and needs someone who is willing to work with his training. He will come to his new home with extensive training and needs a loving person to follow through.

Please help our sweet boy Sonny.

If you have the space in your heart and home and are ready to be Sonny's foster, please contact us at gatewaypetguardians@yahoo.com. If you are thinking about it and are unsure, please contact us and we can set up a time for you to meet Sonny.

Things Are Changing

2010-06-13T08:18:00.006-05:00

Gateway is growing rapidly and with this growth comes more rescues and greater responsibility (I will talk more about that responsibility later).

Our movie Gateway Guardians will be making its debut on July 18th at the Tivoli. Lorrie Austin is working on our movie website to make it more interactive and informative. One ongoing feature we will be adding to the site is a section of current dogs we would like to pull if only we had a foster or adoptive home. We will be able to tell you the dog's personality and other pertinent information so that you will know what you will be getting yourself into if you are interested in helping out one of these poor adult dogs.

Aaron, above, has been on the streets for such a long time. He has gone from being friendly to becoming slightly more feral. This usually happens due to another human being cruel to the dog. Unfortunately, the work that PJ puts into making these dogs friendly is then set back. Don't worry though, that friendly dog is still in there. We will pull it out of him again.

Malcom and Show Me live on top of a hill. To the left of the hill there is large machinery that changes the structure of their home on a daily basis. We find them on different mounds of dirt everyday. They look over their city wondering when their time will come.

I have written about Blondie on other occasions. She just had another litter :( She too has been on the street for so long. She will not survive much longer. She is shy, but I can tell that she would be a fabulous dog.

Which brings me to our new found responsibility I spoke about earlier. As we were filming Gateway Guardians, the question kept being raised, "What are we doing about this problem?" Yes, we are feeding these dogs, and yes we rescue their puppies and the adults when we can, but what are we really doing about the problem.

We have decided that we are going to start a spay/neuter program in East St. Louis. It is illegal to spay/neuter and release, but at the very least we can alter dogs who are owned by people. Education and working with the locals will hopefully help to alleviate the suffering due to over population.

We will be working on the details of this program over the next few months. We will be making a plea for funds as well as people interested in contributing their brain power once we get more of a plan together. I am so excited to hopefully be able to start making a dent in the stray dogs in East St. Louis. We are hoping to be able to clear the streets once our movie premiers. The next step is spaying and neutering.

We thought the best way to reach people would be through the churches. Lo and behold, PJ was feeding the dogs the other day when a parishioner drove up to her. Before the woman could say anything, PJ began to explain to her what we do and who we are. She told her about our spay/neuter program and how we would like to get the local churches involved. She said she would take it to her pastor. The lady was very attentive and sweet. She took notes on who we are and said she would look at our rescue. This to me is very promising. It is so nice when we run into community members who are supportive of what we do and willing to listen to our ideas.

Poor Nigel is not looking so hot these days. His mom Nina has transmissible venereal tumor (TVT), which is something we could treat if we had someone to foster her. The other dog in the pack, Nigella is pregnant again. We would like to be able to rescue all three of these at the same time.

If you are interested in rescuing any of these dogs, or would like to be a part of helping to build our spay/neuter program, please contact us at gatewaypetguardian@yahoo.com

Yesterday's rescue

2010-05-15T09:42:00.002-05:00

Here is the video from yesterday's puppy rescue.

PJ Doesn't Just Save Dogs

2010-05-15T09:23:00.006-05:00

As we pulled into East St. Louis on Saturday, PJ said, "Oh, I thought that house was on fire, but I guess someone is just burning trash." Upon further inspection we both realized that the house was indeed on fire. As we pulled up to the house, PJ said that she thought that an older man lived there. I began to call 911 when we saw a fire truck a block away. "Oh thank goodness", we both exclaimed, as the fire truck went the wrong way. So, I called 911 and told them there was a house fire at 13th and Boismenue. She said that she already had fire trucks on the way. I told her that they made a wrong turn and the the fire was getting bigger.

We waited for about 10 minutes, all the while PJ was honking her horn to try to wake the man up if he was inside. The neighbor came out and told us that he definitely lives there still. PJ could not sit in the car any longer. At this point the fire had moved from the front and side porch to the inside of the house. We could feel the heat inside of the car. PJ ran out to knock on his window. She yelled, "Your house is on fire!", as an explosion sent her running back to the car. She could hear him making noise and yelling inside.

It had been 15 minutes since my initial phone call, and still no fire trucks. At this point, it has completely taken over the house. I frantically called 911 again. The same lady answered, nonchalantly, "911, what's your emergency." With panic I told her that the fire trucks had still not arrived and there is someone in the house and the entire house is on fire now. She asked me to spell the street. After doing so, I paused and said, "So someone will be coming?"

She hung up on me.

PJ and I pulled around to the other side of the house and thankfully the man somehow made it out. He was empty handed. Not able to grab any personal belongings. At this point the fire was so hot that we could not even stay parked in the street. I told the man he needed to move away from his house.

He turned to me and said with anger and fear, "I am homeless now!" His eyes were crazy with grief. I said, "I'm sorry." With all of that he actually turned to me and said, "That's okay." Almost as if he felt bad for yelling I'm homeless.

The fire trucks finally showed up about 20 minutes after my original phone call. They put the fire out in 3 minutes.

Had that 911 dispatcher listened to me in the first place this man would still have a home.

Had PJ not honked her horn incessantly and run up to the house to yell for the man, he may not have woken up to get out of his house.

It looked to us that since the fire was in two different spots on the house to begin with that someone had to of set it. If this man does not have home owners, I am sure there will be no investigation. He will be left with nothing.

I have a phone call into the fire station. I am going to try to find his information and see if we can't raise some money for this man. I don't want to put anything together unless I know for sure we will be able to find him.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: News Channel 4 was investigating this and just notified me of the man's name. They spoke to him and he asked them to thank us, but did not want to give any further contact info. He said that PJ's horn did wake him. The Red Cross put him up in a motel. I am going to see if we can figure out some way to donate through the Red Cross if anyone is interested in giving a helping hand. Stay tuned again.

Puppy Rescue

2010-05-14T13:08:00.003-05:00

Today, Gateway Pet Guardians' volunteers ventured to East St. Louis to rescue a mama (Show Me) and puppies. We weren't sure exactly how many puppies there were. Show Me is the mom of the puppies that were rescued on last spring's Show Me St. Louis show. About 6 months ago, she started hanging out with Malcom across the street from AT&T. Shortly thereafter, Lloyd began hanging out with them as well. Sure enough, our little Show Me was pregnant AGAIN!

This morning, we loaded the trap and crate in the car and headed over with 2 other volunteers. We thought the rain may be an issue, but it cleared up just as we were ready to dive into the brush. After making our way through thick brush, around mounds of dumped tires and over barbed wire, we finally found what looked like beaver den, piles of strategically placed sticks and tree limbs. Show Me's bark showed us exactly where they were.

PJ finally found an opening in the limbs to investigate. After seaching on her hands and knees, she spotted a small white fluff ball.

I ran to the other side and was able to pull her out from under the sticks and limbs. One by one, we pulled the 6 puppies out from their wooden home. We were not 100% sure about how many puppies there were so we decided it would be best to leave Show Me behind today. PJ will track her for the next few days to be sure there are no more pups. If all clear, we will work on getting this little girl off the streets.

Now, on those puppies. There are 3 females and 3 males, and boy are they adorable. The more I look at the photos the more I see Mr. Lloyd in their little faces. (He has been checking on Show Me every day).

We are still working on naming each of them and still need fosters for all of them. They are approximately 4 weeks old.

Why do we rescue litters of puppies? Well, its simple really. Everyone wants a puppy! They are easier to foster and adopt out than adult dogs. We also want to rescue them while they are still (relatively) easy to catch. If they get too big, we have trouble catching them and then again, more females on the streets having more litters of puppies.

Please consider becoming a foster parent! Puppies get adopted quickly and are tons of fun to have around.

We still have volunteer spots open!

2010-04-29T10:24:00.007-05:00

We still would love your help this weekend! Sunday, May 2nd, will be our inaugural golf tournament and wine tasting event at Clinton Hill Golf Course in Swansea, IL. Is anyone available to help out?

All volunteers will receive complimentary appetizers from 4-6pm and will have the option to purchase a wine tasting ticket (dinner included) at cost-$15. So for 2 hours of helping out, you get a great dinner for $15.00.

We would love to see you!

11:30am-1:30pm: Golf Registration

12pm-1pm: Marshmellow Driving Contest

3pm- 7:30pm: Sell Raffle and 50/50 tickets

4pm-6pm: Wine Serving

7:15pm-8pm: Silent Auction Check Out

Don't forget to rally your friends to attend the Wine & Wags event! It will be fun. $30 gets the wine tasting, appetizers and dinner! Rain or shine. We have the inside available if the weather is bad. However, the event will be under the pavillion!

Tees & Wine. Earth day love.

2010-04-23T11:01:00.012-05:00

First, PLEASE share with your peeps! We have a great Golfing event to benefit GPG. Today is the last day to register. It's about helping these kids out, so even if you are a timid golfer, golfer"ess", come & let your inner golf diva shine because you are always more beautiful when you are helping others out! And if you just can't bring yourself to golf, join us for Wine & Wags the same day. Wine & lots of hanging out with lots of folks with big hearts & love of wine. Links to both events with flyers/registration information below on "events" page of website.

http://www.gatewaypets.com/events.html

For the non-golfers-Wine & Wags, wine and cheese event at 4pm in the golf course pavilion. $30 includes wine tasting, light appetizers, dinner and tournament after-party. Order your tickets today!

Date:Sunday, May 2, 2010

Time:1:00pm - 8:00pm Location:Clinton Hill Golf Course

Join us for our first annual Golf Tournament and Wine Tasting Fundraiser at Clinton Hill Golf Course in Belleville, IL! For the golfers-Tees & Tails, 4 person scramble at 1pm. $80 per person and includes: 18 holes of golf, cart, range balls, dinner, drink tickets and after-party. We have great prizes so far!

EARTH DAY!! This Sunday GPG will have a booth in the Wildlife area & we should have some pups to meet. Also, probably some Bhakti Bones, organic animal friendly cookies for your kids with all proceeds going towards a future shelter for the kids that haven't found their forever homes yet. The kids that are still outside, struggling for survival each day. Please come visit our booth. This event is this Sunday, April 25th in Forest Park.

VOLUNTEERS!! We need some volunteers to help at all of our events. The next one up is Earth Day in Forest Park. We are also looking for people to help organize adoption events. There are many places we have regularly occurring events, in which case you would need to set up times/dates for future ones & be a "Question & Answer" type of person at the event. Even if you are only able to do a "Petsmart" or other venue near your home, this would be extremely helpful. We have events all over St. Louis area, and it would be great to have volunteers from a diverse group of areas also. Always check out our event page also, as usually we need help with the listed events. Would you like to help out for a few hours at the Golf Tournament or the Wine Tasting event??

Would you like to write a story for your school newspaper about GPG? Your local newspaper? Your local church newsletter? Do you think that in the course of this day, that you could let one person know about GPG and the heartwarming work they do? Could you share a story about one of the rescued dogs? Could you share a story about a pup who is still on the street, waiting for his/her foster home?

You never know........someone might hear you & be willing to try fostering. They might be willing to ride with P.J. to see the where these dogs live. To see the love they have for her. Even though they have been living on the streets, they have an infinite capacity to learn to love. Love seeks love. They know that she comes every single day to give them food and water. They know she doesn't let them down. Eventually, they warm up to her develop a bond. After being rescued, they usually learn pretty quickly that there are some pretty amazing people out there. They are a testament to the resilience of sentient beings. Sometimes you save their life, and sometimes they save yours. Post us on your facebook page! Put a link in your email! Call us and ask about "riding" along.

Bhakti Bones at Pets in the City

2010-04-10T21:20:00.026-05:00

P.J's Organic Butternut Squash & Pumpkin-Flax (no gluten) cookies.

P.J.'s Gingerbread People (all organic ingredients)

Pets in the City, 1919 South 12th. 314.772.7387.

Pick up your organic goodies from Pets in the City. GPG has a cookie tray there & has lots of organic goodness. Bhakti Bakery uses organic ingredients, first cold pressed organic olive oil, filtered water and nutritional ingredients. Stock up on your karma points and come buy some treats for your kids.

Our tray is the one furthest on the right (if you are facing the cookie counter).

100% proceeds go to helping these sentient beings on their journey to their new lives in doggie "shangri-la" (a house with loving folks, heat & air conditioning, & good food. :)

Lexus raffle

We really need everyone to pass the word on this raffle! This is an incredible opportunity for GPG to get the needed funds to create a shelter. P.J. has been feeding & caring for these animals for over a decade. She has devoted her life to care for these kids who are in constant danger and always battling the outdoor elements. Her past and present crew at GPG are incredible and also devoting countless hours to help this dream come to fruition.

Please email our posts about the Lexus to 10 people today! :)

Even if they can't buy a ticket, or are not interested at this time, please ask them to send to as many more peeps as possible. We can't do this without your help. Also, the car does not have to be a Lexus. The winner can choose from any car on the lot.

fostering

2010-03-17T22:09:00.002-05:00

Hi Folks!

As a perpetual foster, I am asked again and again how I can give up a foster dog to a new forever home. It finally came to me. It is not because I don't love the puppies or dogs that are in my home. It is because I realize that not only are these fosters better off in another home than my own. but also, that if I am able to allow myself to be a conduit for stray to forever home that I can help exponentially more dogs get rescued than I could ever do on my own.

Please consider fostering, you are not the only one who can be a perfect home for that puppy or dog, Think about all your friends who have dogs and who would be great for many of our foster babies. Maybe there is another out there who would be great for this dog...tell them or any other you know to foster...or maybe you could foster!!!

Fine Art, Furry Animals, and Fabulous Ale at Schlafly Bottleworks

2010-02-19T12:32:00.003-06:00

Don't miss our first annual Mixed Breed Art Auction, February 28th. It is just around the corner. If you would like to purchase tickets for the preview party, we would love to see you there! There will be hors dourves and an open bar for for the preview party from 3:30 to 4:30. General admission is at 4:30 with a cash bar. There will be over 20 local, super talented artists as well as some beautiful pieces created by some of our very own rescued dogs. Strawfoot will be playing from 5:00 to 6:00. A special thanks to Schlafly Bottleworks for donating their space and to KDHX for giving us a fabulous deal on underwriting. Can't wait to see you there!

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

2010-02-01T13:09:00.000-06:00

Bailey is approximately a 1 year old lab/shepherd mix. She weighs around 35 pounds.

Bailey was rescued off the street during that bitter cold snap we had a couple weeks ago. She has adjusted so well to living in a house. She is almost housebroken, and is already learning basic commands. She loves her foster dog sisters, and is great with young kids. She was recently introduced to cats and seemed interested but didn't chase them.

Bailey can still be a little shy at first, but give her a minute to sniff you and then she's your best friend. She has a lot of energy and would be a great running/walking partner. Once play time is done, her favorite nap spot is under the coffee table. If you are looking for a sweet, fun-loving dog to add to your family, Bailey is your girl!

Hank needs your help bad

2010-01-26T11:50:00.002-06:00

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

2010-01-16T08:58:00.002-06:00

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

2010-01-15T13:50:00.005-06:00

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!

2010-01-15T12:04:00.000-06:00

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

2010-01-14T12:51:00.000-06:00

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!

2010-01-07T18:06:00.005-06:00

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!

2010-01-06T12:47:00.000-06:00

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

2010-01-06T12:01:00.006-06:00

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

2010-01-04T12:18:00.002-06:00

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!

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

2009-12-29T15:39:00.008-06:00

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

2009-12-14T12:45:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-08T15:38:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-02T15:28:00.004-06:00

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

2009-12-01T12:18:00.000-06:00

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

Beware: This post is going to make you angry.

2009-11-20T11:42:00.003-06:00

STORY #1

You may remember this guy from our Show me St. Louis segment. We have been feeding him for a few months now. The photos are a snapshot from the Show Me piece (I did not have any pictures of him). Anyway, this morning, while riding with PJ she informed me that he had been shot. I immediately went into rescue mode, "Well we are taking him then. The guy will let us take him if he has been shot." PJ didn't seem so sure.

So we pulled up to the house and he was lying in front. He got up and sure enough, there was a hole on the inside of his leg. He could not set his leg down and it looked swollen. PJ fed him some soft enticing food. We were planning to just take him, but he won't come near us unless his owner is around.

PJ knocked on the door, the guy came out and we explained that his dog had been shot and that we would like to take him for veterinary care. The guy argued with us, saying that he had not been shot and that he had just been in a fight. PJ assured him that she had seen a bullet wound before and that is what it was. He asked us why we cared about his dog. I explained that we just don't like to see him suffer. He said, "Don't worry about my dog. He's my dog, I'll take care of him." Which we all know will not happen.

I left with tears in my eyes. Feeling helpless I decided to call Animal Control, thinking that at least they could go out there and help the dog. The lady said, "Is he on the guys property, ma'am?" My answer was yes, but not all of the time. She said, "Well, there is nothing we can do then." What? I said, "Do you go out to help dogs that are starving and chained if they are on someone's property? I would assume a bullet wound to the leg is just as pressing as starvation." She took my name and I think just appeased me saying they would check it out.

STORY #2

Next stop, our beloved Maggie. Maggie was laying by the garage out back today, which is unusual for her. We had to whistle quite a few time before she came. This is a dog who is normally waiting on the sidewalk for us, sitting patiently, before our car even pulls onto her street.

Maggie came slowly moving from the back area, limping and looking very somber. My heart sank. Not Maggie. She can't be hurt. "PJ, we're taking her." PJ said that we could not take her because the man inside the house will see us and he will be very angry.

"But what are we supposed to do, just leave her here?"

She had some fairly large punctures on her legs, I am sure due to a fight and she seemed quite sore. She has so much hair that it is hard to tell if there was anything else wrong. Although I have seen injuries much worse than these, it was heartbreaking to see Maggie injured.

I don't really know what my point is in writing about all of this. Most days with PJ are fairly easy and on the up side. We feed the dogs, they do their thing and we are on our merry way. Of course we would like to rescue all of them, but at least we know they are getting fed.

Here we have two animals that we cannot rescue because they are "owned" by someone. I wish we could change laws. I wish that animals were not considered property. There is something wrong with a people who disregard the pain, hunger and needs of those who are unable to help themselves. The problem that exists with the stray population in communities like this is a direct reflection on all of the other negative things that happen there.

What can be done?

UPDATE: I just spoke to the Humane Society of Belleville and they went out to look at Yeller (I think that's what the guy calls him). Anyway, they confirmed that it is definitely a gunshot wound and that there are flies all around it and it is very swollen. The rate of infection for these types of wounds is very high. He said they are going to go out there every day to feed him and hopefully be able to rescue him. I am hoping that they will be able to talk some sense into this guy. He wants to meet us out there this week. Unfortunately time is not on our side with this one, so send some good vibes.

Pet of the Week: Chi Chi

2009-11-19T09:49:00.003-06:00

The response we received from the Show-Me St. Louis segment was so overwhelming, thanks to everyone who donated, adopted, or got involved from seeing the segment. Even more exciting is that they have agreed to continue featuring us on their show with a "Pet of the Week" segment! So without further adieu, Chi Chi is ready for his close-up!

Chi Chi is a 4 year old chihuahua/rat terrier mix. He loves his sweater. He also loves to be on anyone's lap. He is a sweet boy who does well with children. He is kennel trained, house trained, neutered, up to date on shots, does well on a leash, and loves to play fetch. He will drop the ball right in front of you every time. His adoption fee is $150. To adopt Chi Chi or find out more information head to www.Gateway Pets.com.

Fundraiser

2009-11-16T14:18:00.001-06:00

Here's another great way to help raise money for Gateway Pet Guardians. Click the photo for a larger view. Click here to get the order form

Contact Jodie Galyon @ 314-420-1178

or jojorockstar@yahoo.com

Text Santa!

2009-11-13T12:40:00.001-06:00

Hi there! I'm Ashley, the new public relations specialist with Gateway, and this is my first blog post. I wanted to tell everyone about the new partnership that Gateway Pet Guardians has with TextSanta.net this Christmas.

Text Santa allows you have personalized text messages sent to the mobile phone of anyone you wish, and they will recieve a custom message from Santa! For every order placed through Text Santa with the promotional code PAWS, one dollar will be donated to Gateway Pet Guardians. Just visit the site, fill the order form, and don't forget to enter PAWS. Send messages to your kids, husband, boyfriend/girlfriend, mom, dad, anyone you want. If you can't think of anything to write, they have pre-written messages available as well.

So place your order, tell your friends, and help us raise some money for a good cause!

SHOW ME ST. LOUIS TOMORROW!

2009-11-03T11:46:00.000-06:00

I know I mentioned in the last blog that we would be on Show Me St. Louis sometime in the near future. Little did I know that it would be tomorrow! We filmed this morning and it will air at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday Nov. 4th. Above is one of the dogs we saw this morning. This poor little girl is one that PJ has seen for quite a while now, but anytime we even pull the car on the street she disappears. Believe it or not she is looking better now than she did a few months ago. Her skin is still quite raw, but there is fur growing back in. She has trouble walking because her skin is so bad. I am ordering a kennel today. We need someone to foster her, so please let us know if you are interested. She will be a very rewarding pup to watch heal.

I took some pictures of Argyle and Tweed (below) at PJ's today. They are ADORABLE. Seriously, look at that little face. And look at the wiry hair on Tweed. We know who the dad is of Tweed and he is a VERY handsome fella. These two were the starving, dehydrated pups that were on the second floor of the falling in on itself building. I'll have to get some pictures of the building to show you what PJ goes into to do these rescues.

INSANITY.

These two need fosters as well. That was our major plea on Show Me St. Louis. FOSTERS! There are about 20 pups on the street right now that need rescuing. We knew where eight of them were and had made the decision beforehand that we were not going to rescue them today due to the fact that we have no where for them to go. But then the news lady said that she wanted to adopt one and said she would also foster another. After that we decided we could not leave the other six just in case the mom got a bright idea to move them, or in case one of the locals saw us and might want a new puppy. These guys are safe now, but we desperately need fosters for them.
Camera broke as I was taking pictures of them, so I will have to get back to you on pictures of them.

Thanks everyone, and don't forget to watch tomorrow at 3!

Argyle & Tweed

2009-11-02T14:17:00.002-06:00

Few quick notes...Tomorrow we will be filming to be on Show Me St. Louis. They will be riding along with us as well as filming our little designer pups. Super excited about this and we will notify you of the air date. We have a TON of events coming up. Please go to our website calendar to check everything out and if you are not signed up for our newsletter, please sign up while you are there, so you will be automatically notified of all of the Gateway happenings.

On another note, we rescued two little sickly puppies named Argyle and Tweed from the second story of a building in East St. Louis. We went in looking for these pups a little over a month ago with no luck. The building is completely dilapidated, so I stayed outside with a camera (since I am pregnant) and PJ went in to do the searching. She was in there for about 45 minutes with no luck. We knew the mom was running out of milk, so we continued to leave food and treats thinking they would come out and get them. They never did, but the mom would bring the treats in, so we knew she must have been feeding her babies with them. It finally dawned on PJ that they were probably on the second floor and could not get down. We were unsure how sturdy the steps were since the entire building is collapsing on itself, but our brave PJ, along with our wonderful cinematographer Rebecca Ormond went in and were able to rescue these starving, dehydrated puppies. They have been given fluids and are recuperating at PJ's. They are tiny for 13 weeks due to malnutrition, but will surely catch up with themselves now that they are getting regular food and water. We need you to foster these puppies. Please let us know if you are able to.

Prada, Maggie & Gertrude

2009-10-26T13:15:00.004-05:00

We have been feeding Prada for about 2 months now. She is a playful, but shy, little wiggly girl. Definitely a gem of a dog, she just needs the love and affection that a stable home will give her. She is 10 months old and about 18 lbs. She is staying in PJ's carport right now because of her age and the fact that PJ has had parvo in her house. We just don't want to risk it. Please email us if you are interested in fostering Prada, or better yet giving her a loving, fantastic home.

I have spoken about Maggie before on this blog. She takes her bones from us everyday. She loves the pets she receives more than her bones. She is ready to come home to someone. She is going to be the PERFECT dog. I have a great amount of affection for this dog. If I had an open spot in my home she would be my foster for sure. Please consider fostering Maggie. I want to get her off of the streets before she has to live through another winter of icicles hanging from her long, beautiful fur.

Gertrude is the last of the kitties that we want to rescue from the area. She meets us everyday and asks for food. The house she used to live in was knocked down (thankfully she was not in it). The one next store to it burned (thankfully she was not in that one either). She did disappear for some time after those incidences, but is back and begging for food everyday again. Please help us rescue this kitty before she is burdened with the freezing winter months. She is a lover. If you are interested in any of these pets, please email us at gatewaypetguardians@yahoo.com

Pierre

2009-10-08T19:50:00.003-05:00

Pierre was owned by an older woman who lives in East St. Louis. She had Chi Chi too (who is now my foster). We pulled Chi Chi first and then found out she had another dog that she was not taking care of and letting run around the neighborhood. She said that she did not want him anymore and wanted to know if we could take him too. PJ brought him home immediately. Pierre is about 7 months old, is a small dog and is so incredibly sweet. He is a lover. He is at PJ's right now, unfortunately cannot come into her house due to the Parvo that she had a few months ago. Pierre has to be kept in a kennel because he has to be separate from the other two puppies that are still with PJ. Pierre is going to be an easy one to adopt out, so should not be a long term foster. The picture does not do him justice. He was still wet from his bath. Please help us find a loving foster home where Pierre can be kept indoors and given the love he deserves.

Designer Pups

2009-09-30T16:47:00.002-05:00

These cuties are going to be featured in our upcoming film, Gateway Guardians. They are Designer Puppies, from left to right we have: Ellen Tracy, Bill Blass, Bob Mackie, Coco Chanel, Vivienne Westwood, Oscar de la Renta and Vera Wang. They are super sweet and still need fosters. Please pass this along. Thank you!

Help us Save this Sweetie!

2009-09-25T12:50:00.003-05:00

We have seen this little sweetheart out on the streets for the past week. You can see her spine, she is so thin. You can also see her injured leg in this picture. It is healing, but it was really bad, whatever it was. I am wondering if there was bone damage with the way it looks. We would like to rescue her if we can catch her. Unfortunately, we will have to raise about $400 in order to be able to get her treated. Please help us save this sweet boxer face. She seems pretty scared on the streets. Whatever small or large amount you can donate will help. Thank you!

Puppies and a Purple House

2009-09-25T12:18:00.003-05:00

We were draped in puppies today after the rescue. Seven puppies total from two separate houses next door to one another. We have been leaving notes for this woman asking her if we could take the puppies that have been staying on her front porch, but have not gotten a response. Luckily, PJ is persistent. Today the little boy that lived there was home. PJ asked him to get his mom and he disappeared. PJ knocked again asking him to get his mom again, explaining that we would like to get care for the pups. He shut the door and never came back. PJ knocked again. He came out and his mom followed. She was very nice and said we could take all of the puppies but one :( I will be thinking about the one until we are able to rescue her. The rescue went pretty easy. All of the puppies let us pick them up with a little coaxing except for one. Again, lucky for PJ's persistence. She had him cornered, but he escaped. He went under a car and she swept him out gently with a broom. Finally, he ran onto a mostly enclosed porch and PJ was able to trap him with all of the junk that was on the porch. Trapping him, and picking him up are two different things though. PJ went and got her gloves while I played defense in the doorway with the poor, frightened pup. This puppy cried like it was the end of the world when PJ picked him up. He snapped and struggled and screamed. It really sounds like we are hurting them, but she was not. I saw it with my own two eyes. The scared pup is already allowing us to pet him now. Just goes to show how quickly they come around once they are touched by a gentle human hand. We need fosters for all of these pups. Please tell all of your animal loving friends.

At the end of the rescue, as we were getting ready to drive away, I saw another small dog running around. I decided to try to go get him. What's another one after you already have 7, right? As I approached, he ran away, but a head popped up from the back yard of a purple house without making a peep. It was a very underweight, brindle pit mix tied to a 2 foot kinked up chain. I went to get him a couple of treats and my camera so that I could take a picture of this atrocity. As I was walking back to give him the treats, a woman was walking toward me. "What are you doing over there?" I explained that I was trying to catch the little white dog, but then was going to give the brindle dog some treats. She said that was her dog. I asked if I could give it treats and she said yes, but she better, because he isn't very nice. She was very well spoken, well dressed and seemed like a nice person. I thought about asking her about the too short chain, but decided that it was a matter for animal control. So, I called animal control on the purple house with the brindle pit tied to the fence on a two foot chain. Hopefully tomorrow, that dog will no longer be tied up. And if he is, hopefully he will have been given a longer lead. Wish we could save them all.

Sonny & Deacon are Saved! (but still need a foster)

2009-09-19T15:33:00.005-05:00

Thanks to Paul Boyer, of Civil Engineering Design Consultants, we were able to pull Deacon and Sonny Friday. Paul offered to sponsor their stay at a kennel until we can find them a foster. We have one potential foster, but are still in need of someone for the other. They are both very sweet. Deacon (brown guy) is about two years old and is the more laid back of the two. Nothing much bothers him. I think that is why he got so beat up the other day. I don't even think he knew what hit him. Sonny (smaller and tan), on the other hand is about a year old and is all puppy. While Deacon laid quietly in my back seat on the way to the vet this morning, Sonny stepped on his head, back and forth from window to window, trying to get into my front seat, licking my neck, chewing his leash, etc. Sonny seems like he would be a lot of fun for someone who would like a dog with a lot of energy. They both seem to do well with other dogs. Although, Sonny might be too hard of a player for some types.

So, these two sweeties are being kept in a kennel, and although it is a nice kennel, it is a kennel, none-the-less. Their lives have been saved and they are not only safe from attacks from other dogs, but they are living the lap of luxury chewing on their $12 cow arms (sorry little cow) in their very small cage that they will be in until we find a foster for them. Remember, these two are used to running free, so this is going to be a crazy adjustment for them. Since I have never used the kennel before I asked to see the facilities. They are clean and decent, but the barking is killer and I would imagine extremely stressful for all of the dogs there. Not to mention the fact that they will be living in a 3 x 4 cage until we find a place for them to go. Please pass the word along that we need a foster home for these guys. My mission was to save them from being euthanized, and now my mission is to get them out of those tiny cages. It will be haunting me until I can get them into a home.

Sonny & Deacon Need Help Desperately!

2009-09-16T14:48:00.002-05:00

Deacon (in front) & Sonny (lighter color) hang out around Richard's Mom and Manifred. I just will never understand dogs, because Manifred and Richard's Mom won't let them eat. Deacon and Sonny run away with their tails between their legs when we feed them because Richard's Mom and Manifred growl at them. It is so sad. There is a girl in heat around the area, and I guess Deacon and Manifred got into it over her. Deacon, being the lover he is, got the short end of the stick in the fight. To put it lightly, he lost. His face is so torn up. On top of that, there is a local church across the street and the people were outside and saw the whole thing. It scared them and they are saying that they are going to call animal control on these two dogs. Deacon and Sonny will surely be euthanized if they end up in animal control. We need fosters for these lovers. Deacon runs up to me when we pull up and hops on top of my lap. He is such a friendly guy. The two of them seem to get along with other dogs just fine, unless there is a lady in heat, that is. If you know anyone willing to foster, or if you know of another rescue that would be willing to help us out with these guys, please pass this along. These two are way too sweet to be put down. PLEASE HELP!

A question for you

2009-09-12T08:27:00.002-05:00

The other day I received an email from a woman who was extremely upset about the post about Bruno. She thought that we were horrible for leaving Bruno's friend behind and would have preferred to not have read that story. It has left a terrible mark on her that she can't seem to shake. Firstly, I would like to thank all of you because we did raise enough money to rescue Bruno's friend when we come across him again. Secondly, I think I explained it in that post but would like to reiterate how we actually do regret leaving his friend behind, but we made what was a split second decision in a situation where we were unsure who was watching, and whether we would get in trouble by a local or not. I would also like to reiterate that his friend was not the least bit upset that we took Bruno. He was just thrilled to be untied from Bruno. He did not even look back at us as we drove away. I write this blog to give readers a glimpse into what we do on a daily basis. Animal rescue is not always a pretty thing. Decisions have to be made on who to rescue. We encounter dozens of dogs on a daily basis. Unfortunately, we have to make our decisions on who we feel is the most in need and who we know we will be able to place in a foster home, since we do not have a shelter.

My question is, as the reader, how heavy do you want this blog to read. I write this blog for you, so I want it to be something that you will continue to read in order to relay to you what it is we do. However, I do not want to turn people away by talking about things that are too hard to read. I know what it is like to go to bed and have an image or a thought in my head and not be able to get rid of it. That is one of the reasons that I do not post the super graphic pictures of these dogs. I do not want to see that, so I am pretty sure that the readers of this blog do not. The last thing I want to do is offend you. We do have happy stories, and I try to post them too, but for whatever reason, I get all fired up with writing about the insane, sad and tragic. We are human, and we make mistakes. I have never thought about trying to hide those mistakes from you. My intentions with the blog are to share the real stuff with you, our blunders, mistakes and all. Please share with me your thoughts on what you think of my posts so far and if they are too difficult for you to read. I would genuinely love to hear your opinions. Thank you.

Poor little Popeye...

2009-08-20T10:41:00.003-05:00

First, I would like to thank everyone for their quick responses to Napoleon, Josephine and Lucy. All three are either in foster homes or have prospective foster homes in their future. Thank you so much for passing these posts along and making it possible for us to place so many animals.

Next, as you can see, little Popeye was an adorable puppy. We adopted him out about 8 months ago to a family with young children who were sure that they could handle a puppy with all kinds of energy. Unfortunately, they were not able to handle him and he is now in need of a new foster home. Popeye, now called Tucker has a lot of energy and would love to be in a home with another dog so that he can play, play, play! He is sooooo cute, isn't he? I bet he is a beautiful grown dog now too. I will post pictures of him as soon as we get more current ones. Please pass this along to your friends so that we can find a place for Popeye. We are full to the brim right now with foster dogs, so finding a place for him is going to prove pretty difficult. We need your help!...again!...always! We love you!

Napoleon, Josephine and Lucy

2009-08-18T11:09:00.004-05:00

Worried that we would not be able to find/catch them if we waited much longer, PJ made an executive decision to pull the two we could find today even though we do not have fosters. So, now, again, we are in a pickle. Please pass this along to everyone you know. They put up a little fight at first when PJ picked them up, but are now, as you can see fairly calm for her. They are incredibly adorable. Please help us find fosters for these cuties!

Look who else I found today. Little Lucy was lying with her head down in the concrete looking pretty pathetic. I just could not leave her. She is skin and bones and would not have made it if I left her there on the sidewalk. She is at the vet now being treated for anything that is wrong. We desperately need a foster for Lucy as well. She let me pick her up with no problem, so she likes humans, which is a plus. Please tell all of your kitty loving friends :)

Bomber Needs a new Foster!

2009-08-17T10:25:00.005-05:00

Remember Bomber? Bomber's foster mom and dad are in the process of moving to New York. They already have 5 big dogs, otherwise, I believe they would have kept Bomber. Bomber is in desperate need of a new foster home. He is such an easy, laid back dog to have around. He really just needs a place to lay. He does well with other dogs, children and loves people. Bomber is the quintessential sweet old man. If you have a little extra room in your home, or know someone who would like to have a sweet dog like Bomber around for a little bit, please email us at gatewaypetguardians@yahoo.com.

This lady had a litter of pups a while ago. They are about 6 weeks old now and ready to go into foster homes. Getting them this early prevents them from having to suffer through all of the pains of living on the streets. Not only do they get more fearful of us as they age, they also get mange among many other horrific ailments that street life brings to dogs. Not to mention the harsh winter months that are coming up. We know that there are at least four blonde pups that look like their mama. There might be even more. Please pass this along to all of your animal loving friends so that we can rescue these puppies sooner than later!

Thanks again for all of your support.

The Dilemma

2009-08-12T09:43:00.009-05:00

When we go to East St. Louis, just about everyday, there seems like there is a dog in need of being rescued. Just two days ago, Lucky looked like he had a broken leg. We were going to put a plea out to pull him, but it seems to be miraculously healed now. And then, yesterday, Hank had a terrible puncture wound on his neck.

The dilemma comes from a few angles. First, we have to ask ourselves, do we have the money? Usually the answer is no. Next we have to find out if we can get someone to foster, which is no small task, especially for adult dogs who have lived on the streets all of their lives. I have said before that there are times where I take pictures of a dog that I really want to pull, come home, post pictures, write up a story and never find him again. That is heartbreaking. Which leads us to today's dilemma.

If you watch the video below, you will see one of the strangest things I have seen so far in East St. Louis. These two dogs were linked together with a short leash. What?! How long had they been like that? They were both very underweight, so I would imagine that it had been a while. Two dogs cannot hunt if they are tied together. As we pulled closer, PJ exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! it's Bruno!" She then went on to explain that Bruno was someone's puppy about four years ago who she vaccinated and had neutered for him. She also gave Bruno his monthly heartguard. PJ was smitten with Bruno. One day, about three years ago, Bruno disappeared. He was gone for quite a few weeks when PJ found him and brought him back home. About two weeks later, Bruno disappeared for good. Or so she thought.

This was two and a half years ago! PJ could not believe her eyes. Would she ever see Bruno again if she did not take him now? What if whoever tied him to this other dog came along and did it again? PJ and I know that per the rules of our rescue, we are not supposed to pull unless we have all of our ducks in a row. That is unless it is an emergency. Was this an emergency? And then, there is the question, how can we just take one? It is heart wrenching to have to leave any dog on the streets, much less to choose between two that have been tied together for who knows how long. But, alas, we had to make a decision. And quite honestly, we had to do it fast, because who really knows who might be watching and what kind of trouble we will run into if someone caught us removing the leash from these dogs, much less taking one home with us. My heart broke as we pulled away, leaving the other dog alone without his buddy. I would love to rescue him too if we ever see him again (and have the money and a foster).

All of that being said, we are in a little bit of trouble for pulling Bruno. And when I say trouble, I just mean that I feel really bad because we are trying so hard to get this rescue to the point where we can buy a shelter so that we don't have these dilemmas anymore. When we pull dogs that were not planned for, our shelter plan is set back that much further. Please help us sponsor Bruno so that we can stay on track for our shelter fund. Please help us so that we can save as many dogs like Bruno and his buddy as possible. We need about $200 for Bruno's fund. In order to pull Bruno's buddy, we would need about $300 more. Whatever you can donate is so useful, whether it is $5, $10 or $100. We can't tell you how much every dollar counts for a rescue like ours. Thank you for your support and thanks for listening to my long winded dilemma.

Not Exactly An East St. Louis Dog

2009-08-04T20:32:00.001-05:00

But adorably lovable just the same. Tell all of your animal loving U.K. friends about E.T.!

Egypt & C.L. (that's creative for Chocolate Lab)

2009-07-31T09:41:00.003-05:00

This morning I did my rounds with PJ and we came across the same group of dogs we have seen lately. It is a new pack that consists of a puppy named Egypt, a chocolate Lab, Pit Bull and a few other dogs. I have been meaning to send out a plea for Egypt, and then this morning the Pit Bull, although just playing, got a little rough with the puppy. Rough enough for me to say, that's it! I'm taking that puppy. I was just scared that I would show up next week and the pup would be hurt. That being said, Egypt is at the vet right now being checked out. She is in pretty good shape. One of the neighborhood ladies was taking care of her. She really wanted us to rescue her though. I have parvo at my house, so am unable to foster her. Please take a look at her sweet, sweet face and give her a place to stay until she finds her forever home. She is totally laid back. Jumped right in my arms and relaxed in the passenger seat the entire ride to the vet. Such a great temperament. I think she will be easy to house train too. She looks to be about 3 months or so. Maybe even a little older. Please help me out with this one. I will keep her in my bathroom until we find a place for her, but she is not going to be very happy with that. I have a feeling she will wonder if that was really "rescuing" her if we have to keep her in the bathroom.

On another note, there is also a pure bred chocolate lab that is too sweet for words in this pack. He is a little shy, but is coming around quite nicely with PJ. He took a treat from her today. He seems to show up with some injuries every once in a while, which worries us because he does not seem like much of a fighter. Does anyone know anyone looking for a chocolate lab? Or would anyone be interested in fostering this sweetie? We would love to get him off of the streets.

These pups need fosters!

2009-07-17T09:51:00.003-05:00

These two puppies desperately need a foster. PJ cannot keep them and they need the socialization that your home would be able to give them. We think there are other puppies from this litter, but we cannot even think about going to look for them until we find fosters for these two. Remember Nigel and Nigella? They are offspring of them. Really, the pictures don't do these two justice. They are about 5 weeks old and absolutely adorable! The fluffy one on top is going to look just like Nigel, we think. Please help us socialize and find loving homes for these pups!

Thank You!

2009-07-10T17:55:00.003-05:00

A big fat thank you to all of you who donated and forwarded the post about Sylvester. Your support is amazing and without you we would not be able to do what we do. I am seriously amazed and I got a little teary yesterday with how much you all came through for Sylvester and Gateway. After three hours of tracking and waiting for him to fall for the trap, (long story that I will tell later when I have more time) he is safe and sort of relaxing in his kennel. Ok, he is still scared to death, but I see a sweet and lovable dog in there. I just know he is going to be fabulous. He has a long road of recovery ahead of him with the antibiotics, skin infection, heartworm, fleas, ticks, among many other things, but thanks to you, we have the money to treat all of his issues. I will post pictures once he settles in a little. He is definitely in no mood for a photo session.

We need to Save Sylvester

2009-07-09T09:54:00.009-05:00

Sylvester has been one of my favorite dogs on the street for a long time. He is a little timid, but I can tell he will be so sweet once he realizes how nice we are. He reminds me a little of Clarence. And he reminds me a little of my old dog Bailey, my first dog, whose death kind of threw me into rescue work. Anyway, we have been planning to rescue Sylvester for a while, but had to order a trap in order to be able to catch him. (the trap was donated by PJ). Yesterday, we had to put a hold on rescues because we are in over our heads with vet bills. Sylvester has a terrible eye infection and he has been on the streets for over a year now. The lifespan of a dog on the streets is typically a year and a half, so we are pushing it with Sylvester. We have pretty much rescued everyone else in his pack, Eartha, Eartha & Sylvester's pups, Julio, Sherlock and Sherlock's brother. I am sure there were more. Well, there is one more, RaRa. She is mean to Sylvester and will not let him eat. He just lies down and lets her eat and does not try. For whatever reason, he still hangs with her.

Whatever you can donate will go toward being able to save Sylvester. We probably need about $400 for him with his eye infection, he most likely has heartworm, and his shots and neutering. I am going to foster him because my husband said that I could :) Love you honey! Love you all too for your generosity and making it possible to save sweet Sylvester. Thank you.

Urgent! Need fosters today!

2009-06-29T15:26:00.002-05:00

These two boys were found wondering the streets, emaciated and in pretty poor condition, this weekend. The person who found them cannot keep them and will have to take them to the humane society very soon if someone does not step up to the plate to foster. Gateway Pet Guardians will pay for all the medical care and will supply a big bag of food for them. Please email us at gatewaypetguardians@yahoo.com if you are able to foster one or both of these cuties. Please forward this to all of your friends. Thanks!

This is the older boy of the two. He has very poorly cropped ears that are full of fly bites.

His skin is in bad shape, he is very itchy and has patches of infected skin.

Won't you give me a home?

This is the younger boy, he follows his buddy everywhere! What a sweetheart.

His ears are all eaten up by flies.

How can he be so sweet after such poor care.

Some Good News and The Next One on My List

2009-06-22T09:35:00.003-05:00

Well, it is bitter sweet news. First of all Mabeline was adopted on Saturday. Holy cow! I could not believe it. Not that I did not think she would ever be adopted, I just really did not think it would be that quickly. Christa, Mabeline's new mom emailed on Friday. She just fell in love with her picture. I told her about all of Mabeline's little idiosyncracies, and after I was done with my dissertation, Christa said, "she sounds perfect!" When she came over to meet her that night, Mabeline hid upstairs the entire time. Christa just sat patiently and said that she would work with her and have her as her best friend in no time. I knew there was someone out there for Mabeline. There is always someone for every dog. They are doing quite well already. She has had her out walking all weekend and she runs to the door when she gets the leash out. Already progress leaps and bounds beyond what we were able to accomplish here. I am so happy for Mabeline! The pictures above and below were taken by my husband. Mabeline did not sit still, ever, unless she was in her kennel. So, Steve decided to move the camera to try to get a focused shot of her. There are several blurry messes of pictures of her before he captured this one. Just so you understand, Hooper is laying still in this picture and Mabeline is dashing across the floor nervously, saying, "stop looking at me people."

Next, the bitter sweet. Hooper, our foster for many months is going to his forever home today. I have not talked about him much because he was adopted very shortly after I took him from PJ. The nice lady who is adopting him was moving and unable to take him right away, so I said I would hold onto him for her. He is one of the best dogs I have ever had in my house. He is what I would say is close to a perfect dog. I have already cried once and I have not even left the house to take him to his new home. It is a great home though and he is going to get so much one-on-one attention there. He is going to be so happy. I just have a lump in my throat talking about it. But, I am sure it will go away.

And now for Maggie. I love Maggie. She is a sweet, sweet lady that deserves a forever home where she can have shelter from the cold and the horrible heat. Where she does not have to wedge herself under a car during thunderstorms, resulting in her beautiful white fur being caked in mud for days. She has such a great temperament. She comes to the car and insists on being petted before she takes her biscuits. Sometimes she won't take the biscuits because she knows it means the pets will stop and we will leave her until the next day. When she knows it is time for us to go, she will hesitantly take PJ's offerings and wait faithfully for us until the next morning. Until tomorrow Maggie.

An Update and a little Doggy Drama

2009-06-19T09:06:00.006-05:00

Do you remember Bomber? Do you remember Bomber's lady that would not come near us? We were worried to pull Bomber because we were not sure what would happen to Bomber's lady if left alone. Bomber got so bad that we decided we had to pull him. By the way, he is doing great, still looking for a home, but doing 100% better. He is a sweet boy. I have a story I'll tell you about him after I am done with this story. So, we were so worried about Bomber's lady, but still decided to pull Bomber. Lo and behold, and I am not exaggerating, the very next day, Bomber's lady had picked up this handsome boy above. They have not been apart since. They live in this abandoned house together. I don't know any other dogs in East St. Louis who only hang out with one other dog of the opposite sex. She definitely has a hold over her man and has no problems moving on if given the shaft. What I really want to know and I bet Bomber would love to know is, was this going on before Bomber left? What a floozy. These are the Days of our Dogs. End with theme song.

Bomber Story: As told by his foster, Mia Jameson:

I'm traveling and Dan is in charge of all 6 dogs at home. Today they all wanted to eat (around 6:30am) but Dan was still sleeping. They tried to wake him very forcefully by barking, jumping on the bed (not Bomber - he can't get up on the bed with those legs) and poking their faces into Dan' face to wake him. He got mad, yelled, pulled the covers over his head and retreated back under the covers. Then Bomber grabbed all the bedding and dragged if off the bed and across the room! Dan said it was a mad house with all 6 dogs carrying on very loudly. He got up and fed them......they all celebrated their success. I hope Bomber's new family find his resourcefulness as funny as we do!

One more thing! We are looking for volunteers for our movie, as well as for our Art Auction. We need fundraisers for the movie so that we can afford all of the movie type things that come along with making a movie. We need volunteers to do research for us for the movie. We need people to help coordinate as the time gets closer to the art auction. I am going to need several people to help with setup. Anyway, I am unsure how to find volunteers. Does anyone have any suggestions on outlets to find good, animal loving, ambitious folks to help out with these projects? I want people who are genuinely interested in helping, because if their hearts are not into it, then I find that it usually does not work out. Your comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

My Crazy Foster Dog

2009-06-18T16:37:00.002-05:00

Why are you crowding the door way? There is no way I am coming near you.

Ok, I really want to come inside, please step aside, because I cannot AND WILL NOT walk past you.
I am serious about this. I need you to put the camera down, go inside and hide somewhere so that I cannot see you and so that I can scaddadle to my kennel as quickly as possible . (Can you see the little colic on top of her head? I think that is soooo cute.)

Forget it! I am not coming inside until you go away. Now GO AWAY!

I think I have already introduced Mabeline to you. She was not my foster at that time, but we had to do a little switch-a-roo and I got Mabeline. Have you ever met someone who you really did not care for at first? Who you thought was extremely strange and so quirky that there was no way you could ever be friends with them? But, then over time, whether it is due to exposure, or the two of you getting more comfortable with one another you end up loving that person? This is how Mabeline is for me. When she first arrived at my home she was so insanely terrified of everything, I was not quite sure what to do. I thought, "Well, I have dealt with fearful dogs before and she is not aggressive, so I will get her to come around." Week one passed and she still urinated every time I looked at her. I had never had a dog like this in my house. She was like a wild beast. I would put her on a leash (as she urinated out of fear) and she would buck like a wild bull. Even still, if I went upstairs and closed the door, guess who was outside crying. I would open the door to say hello, and she would pee, run away and hide in a corner.

Week two passed and the urinating lessened, but was still there and she still would not come near me. Tail between legs, scuffling to the corner like a cartoon trying to get a running start. Eventually, I just started ignoring her, because I was so sick of cleaning up the pee from going near her. Ignoring was also a bit of a plan, thinking she might get sick of being ignored by me.

At the end of week two I decided to take her to the vet to have her evaluated. I have never put a dog on drugs before, but I thought, jeez, a human would never live like this without drugs, why not try that for Mabeline. I was shot down by Dr. Diesel. He said that some dogs are just a little off and that drugs will probably not work. He said give her more time and the fact that I have seen a little progress is progress none the less.

The day after the trip to the vet, something clicked in Mabeline. Don't get me wrong, she is still off her rocker crazy, and always will be, but she started asking for my attention. And now she approaches me and I can pet her. She is actually quite funny. I am thoroughly entertained by her quirky and hilarious personality. She has become my quirky little friend that I thought I would never like. It just goes to show that not everything fits in the little box that we have decided they should fit into.

I think Mabeline is going to make a very rewarding dog for someone who is very patient, albeit a little quirky themselves. Maybe someone who likes the rewards of training a dog that is capable of learning, but needs a little extra attention and work. Someone who likes long walks in the park, hikes, adventure...well, maybe not a whole lot of adventure at first, but maybe adventure in the long run.

Here is a kinda long video of her. She was being extra hilarious, of course right before I started taping. In the video, she is just being kind of hilarious. Notice her bent tail if you can. Just another quirky thing about Mabeline.

Have you ever worked with a dog with crippling, non-aggressive fear? How did you handle it? Do you have any tricks in your pocket that might be useful for me? I would really like to hear them, so please feel free to leave your advice and comments for me below.

Another Unexpected Rescue...

2009-06-13T18:57:00.008-05:00

Some days, even though we are not planning to do a rescue, a rescue just falls in our lap. Even though we don't have the money, and we don't have the foster homes, rescue we must. PJ had a little run in with a local today who is not very happy about having dogs running around the neighborhood. He is upset, and I think rightfully so. I don't want stray dogs running around my neighborhood either. Unfortunately, he has threatened to eliminate the dogs on his own; not necessarily the solution we are looking for. In the middle of having the altercation with the man, PJ heard some pups in the background who were also in danger of being killed by this man. We have footage of all of this as well, but most likely it will be saved for the movie. I will post it if I am given permission. Here are the three puppies who were rescued today. We need a foster home for the two blonde ladies. The little black guy is already spoken for. They seem to be very friendly and already adjusting quite nicely to their new human integrated world. What would you do if there were hundreds of stray dogs running around your neighborhood? How would you handle it? Click on the comments below. We would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

Good News!

2009-06-12T09:58:00.003-05:00

We pulled Maurice today. He is safe and at the vet being checked out. Thanks to Cathy Enlow for offering to foster Maurice and allowing us to rescue him! The rescue went fairly smoothly. If he is around when PJ pulls up, he runs up to her, takes two bones and runs off to avoid any conflict with the other dogs. This time we did not give him his bones so he would not run off. PJ easily slipped the collar around him. At that point he got a little nervous and tried to pull back. He was not the easiest to get into the car and he is a heavy boy for being so underweight. He is going to be so beautiful and happy once he realizes what life is supposed to be like for a dog. What a good looking boy! Thank you Cathy! Anyone have any guesses on his breed? We were thinking Boxer/American Bulldog mix. What do you think?

Maurice's Last Chance

2009-06-10T22:05:00.003-05:00

I know that I sound like a broken record, but I have a sixth sense about these things. It seems as though every time I have such a strong desire to rescue a dog from the streets and am unable to take them into my home right away, they end up disappearing. Maurice is so thin now that I just don't think he is going to make it much longer. Those two bones he got from PJ are probably the only thing he will have to eat that day. The other dogs will not let him eat and he is such a sweet, submissive boy that he does not push it. After seeing so many dogs on the streets, you know the good ones. You know when a dog is going to just be fabulous and Maurice is one of those dogs. My stomach hurts to think about him getting rained on and starving tonight. We have a couple of fosters who have said they can take him once they adopt out their current foster, but I am afraid Maurice is not going to make it that long. Please help us and pass this along. We want to find a foster home for Maurice now!

Get your Gateway Paraphernalia!

2009-06-10T11:00:00.006-05:00

Proceeds from your purchase go to Gateway Pet Guardians, so stock up!

There are plenty more options at our store if none of these products float your boat. Thank you for your support. If you do not find what you are looking for, shoot us an email and we will see if we can't come up with something to fit your needs.

Getting to Know Snuffy Cletus Hightower

2009-06-09T12:54:00.010-05:00

An Up Close View of Snuffy:

As you can see Snuffy is looking much better. We are still looking for a foster home for him. He is currently admitted at the vet until he is feeling better and should be ready to come home by the end of this week. Please pass this along so we can find a loving foster home for this deserving guy. He is so sweet.
If you are unable to foster, but would like to contribute financially to Snuffy's recovery fund, click the donate button below. Thank you so much for everything you do.

We Heart Kitties too!

2009-06-06T09:47:00.005-05:00

Although we predominately rescue dogs, we still love those kitties. PJ carries cat food with her too when she goes to the streets. If there is anyone out there who is unable to foster dogs, but would like to foster a cat, notify us and when we find a sweet baby like this one who we could catch, we would pick her up for you. In order to pull we need foster homes lined up. Rarely do we see the same cats over and over, with the exception of this group below. The one on the right is the infamous Lou Lou Modelo. Infamous because of this incident. The kitty on the left is still out there. Always in the middle of the road waiting for PJ to pull up. She leads us in front of the car to her spot where she likes to be fed. She just had a litter of kittens. We have not seen them yet.

Do you like the kitties as much as the dogs, or are you strictly a dog person? I am personally both, but my hubby is deathly allergic to the cats, and only slightly allergic to the dogs. He is a saint for letting me bring all of these animals into our home.

The Craziness of the Craziness

2009-06-05T12:34:00.007-05:00

As you may have read in the last entry, rescuing dogs out of East St. Louis is a tricky business. There is always one person with each pack of dogs who claims that ALL of those dogs are his. Sometimes they will tell us that we can take a particular dog. Sometimes they forget that they told us we could take a dog and come out yelling at us the next day. That is precisely what happened when we rescued Nancy. The next day that PJ showed up to feed the dogs, the guy came out yelling at her. "How come ever since you started coming 'round here, my dogs have started disappearing?" PJ responded by saying that she never takes someone's dog without permission, which he did give to her and one other person. So, there are at least 4 dogs that still hang out around this guys house, not to mention the one that is tied to a dog house in the fenced in back yard. I am pretty sure that one is Sherlock's relative. We call these guys Martin's pack. They all have eye issues, which is really strange considering what happened to Martin. It is unfortunate because it seems that this guy is not going to let us save any of these poor dogs anymore. We have to consider PJ's safety first.

And then there is the guy at the house where we rescued Snuffy yesterday. There are about four dogs who hang out around his house. He claims them all to be his. He came out and talked with us yesterday before we set up to rescue Snuffy and was incohesively telling us about how much he loves these dogs, but he doesn't love them as much as he loved the one he used to keep chained in the back yard. "But someone poisoned the one in the back yard and it died". He continued to say, "You know, I love them, but not that much." PJ asked him about a bunch of puppies he put collars on a while back. She told him that she removed one of the collars from one of the pups because she was growing and the collar was choking her. He proceeded to tell PJ that all of the other puppies from that litter died because "he could not catch them to get those collars off." Yet he really wants to get at least one more litter out of his girl (the one facing sideways in the picture above) before he lets us spay her.
I am not one to mince words. I feel like what we see over there should be known. I would love to come up with a solution to this. I just don't know where to start. I understand that possession of these poor, neglected and suffering creatures is a power struggle for some of these people. Unfortunately, people treat those below them the same way they are treated by those above them. I don't think many people know what the living conditions are like in East St. Louis. I don't think too many people know of the corruptions the government has allowed and that businesses have created their own zip codes so as to not have to give their taxes to the East St. Louis community. I have said it before, but so many things need to change before the stray dog problem is solved.

A lighter post tomorrow. I promise :)

Snuffy Cletus Hightower is rescued!

2009-06-04T14:08:00.003-05:00

We have been tracking Snuffy for almost a month now. The problem is that he would hide under this house every time we tried to get near him. PJ spoke to the person who lives there and he gave us permission to stake out his house and set up a trap for the pup. It was a little scary to say the least. We waited for about 3.5 hours for Snuffy to show up. Meanwhile, a lot of sketchy cars were coming in and out of this house. It was a dead end street which made the situation a little scarier. I am pretty sure there was some sort of drug situation going on with these people. It did make me feel better that we had the guy's permission, but who knows what people are capable of when they are on drugs. After waiting for what seemed like forever, and seeing so many shady characters go in and out of the house, PJ and I decided it was time to pack up and leave. I stayed in the car with a phone for emergencies, while PJ went between the houses to get the cages. Lo and behold, here comes Snuffy limping down the street. I tried to "whisper hollar" PJ's name, but she did not hear me. As she walked out with the cages in her hands I stuck my body out of the window and pointed behind me. She is amazing! She ran back to the area, set up the cages and snuck out of the way, all in about 1 minute. Snuffy tried to go back to his crawl spot and we were able to trap him between the cage and ourselves. He was scared, but, hey so were we. We could hear the guys inside of the house cussing and being belligerent. We closed Snuffy into the cage and got out of there. Snuffy is at the vet right now. Dr. Diesel is going to call me after his lunch break to let me know the laundry list of things that are wrong with him. We need a foster for Snuffy. He will need to be kept in a quiet area to heal, away from other pets for a while. Watching this boy transition from where he is now to the beautiful dog I am sure he is going to end up being is going to be an amazing experience. I am sure he will be forever grateful to whomever gives him the love he has never had. Please help Snuffy Cletus Hightower!

Animals Just Want to have Fun

2009-06-03T08:54:00.002-05:00

With all of the heavy posts, I thought a little pick-me-up was in order. Enjoy the article :)

Help Save Maurice!

2009-06-02T09:25:00.004-05:00

You may remember Maurice from this post. My heart is heavy seeing him so sad. He was much skinnier this time and seemed depressed. I think he used to have hopes that he would get to come home with us, but seems to have lost hope. He is such a sweetie and gets picked on by the other dogs. I wish so badly that we had a foster for this one. I would pull him in a heartbeat. As soon as we have the money to pay for another dog, as well as a foster home for him, we can pull him. If you would like to foster Maurice, please contact us. If you are able to contribute financially to his rescue, please donate below.

Support us at the Annual Wine Tasting event!

2009-06-01T20:24:00.005-05:00

Sunday, June 7, 2009
11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
1806 Kennett Place
St. Louis, MO 63104
$25

ENJOY Tasting Franco inspired wines and hors d'oeveres at this delightful Lafayette Square Townhouse.

ENTER the raffle for a 24 bottle wine rack with 24 blottles of Gateway Pet Guardians "Private Label" Sauvignon Blanc.

A familiar face

2009-05-31T10:13:00.003-05:00

This poor lady has almost completely lost her hair. She is one of the dogs in this pack that will approach us and wants to be petted. Unfortunately, there is a man who lives around where she hangs out that claims her as his own. He will not let us spay her because he says that he wants a male puppy like her, which really does not make any sense because there are plenty of male dogs that look like her in this pack. There is also a young pup that hangs out around this house. PJ saw him for the first time about three weeks ago. The poor guy is almost hairless and his skin is so raw that he can barely walk. It is so sad. We cannot catch him, but PJ has a plan in place and I am going to ride with her to execute it next week. Wish us luck, because this poor puppy is not going make it much longer without some medical intervention. The poor thing is beyond uncomfortable. We will need a foster for him once we catch him. It is going to be a very rewarding experience to see this poor guy go from the horrific situation he is in to a healthy dog and whoever steps up to the plate to bring this to fruition will be his angel.

Let's Save Nancy!

2009-05-29T10:18:00.003-05:00

Meet Nancy, little lady blue eye. Nancy has been on the streets her entire life. She is approx. 35 lb Shepherd/Husky mix (we think). She is probably a little over a year old. She is so sweet. She wants so badly to come in the car with us when we go to feed the dogs. She chases PJ's car every day. You can tell she knows that there is a better life out there for her. It is so sad to see her in the the rear view mirror. We need a foster for Nancy. Although she looks fairly healthy here and is doing ok on the streets, there are so many times that we want to rescue a dog and the next day they are no longer around. There is so much that happens in East St. Louis to these dogs. I just hope that we are able to find a foster home for Nancy before she falls victim to the cruel streets of East St. Louis. She gets along well with other dogs and is so incredibly sweet to humans. We think that Nancy will get adopted very quickly. These pictures do not do her justice. That blue eye is crystal clear. It is so cool looking! Please help Nancy!

UPDATE: Nancy has been rescued by our wonderful foster Melissa Weingart. Nancy has heartworm, but will be ready for adoption after her 6 week treatment. Thanks to everyone who cared about this lovely lady.

Artsy, fun Volunteer Opps.

2009-05-22T11:15:00.003-05:00

This is Dixie, that puppy with the grumpy face that I want. She does not look so grumpy anymore. I think someone cheered her up. Or maybe she just needed to go potty really bad in that last photo.

There are a lot of fun things coming up with the rescue. We are planning an Art Auction at Schlafly Bottleworks for February 28, 2010. I will be posting the call for art at the beginning of June. I am really excited about this event. It is still in the beginning planning stages, but I can just see how fabulous it is going to be. It is going to be an annual event for Gateway Pets from now on. Stay posted for the call to art and tell all of your artsy, animal loving friends about it.

The other thing that we have in the works is a documentary. We have just landed a professional movie maker to work on the documentary that we have been throwing around for years now about PJ. This is one of those things that I have dreamt about happening, but really did not know how to make it go. I am so psyched about this. We are going to be having a "Call for Videos" fundraiser to peeps who have adopted from us. We would love to see you and your Gateway Pet in action. It will be your chance to be in the documentary. I will be posting the official Call for Video soon along with all of the rules and format, techi info. Just couldn't wait to tell you about these things.

We are going to need volunteers for both of these happenings. If either of these seems like something you would be interested in helping with, please email me at amie@amieking.com. Thank you for all of your support. We love you!

Lola revisited

2009-05-21T11:38:00.002-05:00

Thanks to all who posted and passed on the information on Lola. Here is the cutie now. She is a very calm and sweet dog. I don't know why that family did not want her anymore. She was so thrilled to be pet and loved on. She climbed on my lap when I squatted down to pet her. She has tennis ball size mats under her ears. Besides being a little neglected, Lola is in pretty good shape. She got along just fine with all of my dogs, even the growly one, Floyd. Lola's foster mom says she is doing very well in her home. I think that Lola is going to be the perfect pet for someone. It is just unfortunate that she had such a rough start.