The Making Of "Gateway Guardians" II

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.

Questions with filmmaker Rebecca Ormond

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".

Running with Kealy

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!

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.

"Cheyenne" and Match Madness!

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.

Aaron needs your help!!!!

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!

Come to our Documentary Premier!

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