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October Featured Rescue
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Don't let that serious face fool you. This guy is a goofball! This sweet boy was found wandering the streets in East St. Louis, unaware that cars could quickly and easily end his young life. His rescuer opened her car door and in jumped Mr. Briggs. He immediately gave her THANK YOU kisses and curled up on the passenger seat as if to say, "I am going to a better place." He is loving his new life indoors and his foster family!
Briggs is a SWEET, loving 1 year old boy who is looking for his forever home. He has a ton of puppy loving to give you! Even though he is still young, he loves nothing more than to lay down and snuggle with his foster mom, dad and sister.
He loves playing with other dogs and is working on obedience. But as boys go, he still needs to learn some manners. Briggs is very smart and is learning quickly. He is also housebroken.
If you are interested in adopting this sweet boy, please email gatewaypetguardians@yahoo.com for an application.
Puppy smooches,
Briggs
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Letter from the Vice-President
Julia Mittelstadt
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Animal Rescue has been a passion of mine since I was a young girl. Whether it was baby birds that fell out of trees on a windy day before they were ready, kittens left at the side of the road, or dogs roaming around, somehow they found their way to me and I got them back in the nest, back with their mom or back to my house.
My first dog as an adult was Kilgore Trout. Kilgore Trout was left behind by folks who could no longer afford to keep him. They were coming to feed him but he was left alone on a chain in the back yard. It was so sad that I took him to my house until I could figure out what to do with him. After 15 minutes at my house, I knew he would never get adopted and he was going to be mine. His legs were just not working right. After 5 surgeries, he finally could walk without falling over, it was a funny walk, but he could walk just the same. He was the best, most loyal dog ever. I loved him fully. He was with me 8 more years. Based on his medical bills alone he cost me $2,000 a year. He was worth every penny. Gateway Pet Guardians was born of me and three other women who are just as crazy about rescuing dogs as I am. We got together one day, contributed some money and formed a 501c3. We figured we would be a small rescue group, just getting tax deductions for what we were already doing for nothing. One thing led to another and now Gateway Pets rescues hundreds of dogs and cats from the perils of street life. What a whirlwind it has been! Under the leadership of Executive Director Jamie Case and President Amie Simmons, Gateway Pets has moved to another level of professional excellence. What an amazing group this has become! Our shelter fund is building such that we hope to have a shelter up and running in 2011. Let's keep the momentum going. Look at what event you can volunteer for or attend. Who can you invite to the Soiree for Strays gala? Who do you know that would foster for us? Can you make a donation to our shelter fund? Are you willing to run a "Spare Change" fundraiser at your office or school? How about a food drive? Whether it is time, money or opening your home for a stray, we can use all the help we can get. Sign up today.
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Join us for Soiree for Strays!
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On November 18, Gateway Pet Guardians will host it's first Gala, Soiree for Strays. The gala will be held in conjunction with the St. Louis Film Festival screening of our documentary, Gateway Guardians.
The evening will begin with the screening at the Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster University campus. After the film, guests will be escorted to Shroer Commons on the Eden Theological Seminary campus. At this gorgeous venue, you will enjoy cocktails, appetizers sponsored by MatchMeat and an awards ceremony honoring four supporters of Gateway Pet Guardians, Lisa & Paul Boyer, Deborah Martin and Melissa Stiles. Chairing our event will be Gayle Ortyl, owner of Metro East Industries in East St. Louis.
Sponsorship opportunities are available along with individual tickets. Click the image below to view sponsorships and ticket options.
All proceeds from this event, benefit our efforts in the East St. Louis community. Gateway Pet Guardians is in the process of launching a spay and neuter clinic in that area and need your support. At the gala, we will unveil our preliminary plans for the clinic.
We hope you can join us!
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Hank (fka Julio) was rescued from the streets of East St. Louis in the winter of 2008. We just knew he was going to make a great dog! Below is his story from his new parents.
We adopted Hank (Julio at GPG) back in January of 2009, he had just been off the street about 2 weeks and was being fostered by Amie. We were looking for a Boxer mix and found him listed on Pet Finder. The whole family immediately fell in love with him. The first few months were a bit challenging, adapting to a new home, having to spend some time alone. He got into mischief a few times, but quickly adjusted and we could not ask for a better or more mannerly house dog. Hank and I have been through many obedience and rally classes and have actually earned two legs of a rally title. He has an entire repertoire of tricks, as long as he is working for some kind of really good treat (otherwise, he gives me the "I have no idea what you are talking about" look). We have 4 college age/older children who are all crazy about Hank, they love taking him for rides and to get ice cream when they are home. Of course, now he expects ice cream at every drive-up window! I have never seen such a good natured dog, we haven't seen even a hint of meanness in him towards people or other dogs, he literally loves everyone, even plays fetch in the front yard with the UPS men. He and I visit our local farmers market every Saturday, where most of the vendors know him by name, and bring him special treats. He is a very popular guy! One of his favorite past times (as you can see in the photo) is laying in the sunshine on the deck. Even when it is sweltering hot, he loves to bask in the sun.
Even though a new pet is always a bit of a challenge at first- I would encourage adoption from GPG, the rewards majorly outweighed the efforts, we cannot imagine our lives without Hank.
If you have adopted a pet from Gateway Pet Guardians and would like to share your story, please contact Jamie at gatewaypetguardians@yahoo.com.
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Volunteer of the Month
Lorrie Austin
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 The Volunteer of the Month section is created to give special thanks to a volunteer each month. Without dedicated volunteers, we could not save the number of animals that we do.
Lorrie began her GPG life by volunteering her skills as an artist for our first Art Auction in 2010, Mixed Breed Art Auction. She then offered her professional services as our very own web developer. In early 2010 she completely revamped our website. Lorrie continues to update our site regularly. We couldn't have the internet presence we do without her!
Thank you Lorrie for the creativity and dedication you share with us each day!
Lorrie Austin grew up in Saint Louis county and has always had a love
and appreciation for animals and art. After acquiring a degree in
Graphic Communications, Lorrie decided to place her artwork in the Mixed
Breed Art Auction where she became introduced to gateway pet guardians.
As an animal advocate, Lorrie found this organization to be a profound
opportunity to serve animals in need. |
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Show Me Pups Turned 1 Year
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10.10.10 - HALO's Wine & Howl, O'Fallon, IL
10.16.10- Soulard Arts & Crafts Fair, Soulard Market Park
10.23.10 - Creve Coeur PetCo
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Needs a Foster!
Keeley STILL NEEDS A FOSTER!
3rd month without a foster!
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New Section! The need to rescue feature of the newsletter will feature a dog that is awaiting a foster. This is your chance to do something incredibly rewarding!
Keeley is her name and LOVIN' in her game. She has only been with us a little while but she is such an AMAZING dog! She has never given so many kisses to people that have just met her. Keeley is approximately 20 pounds, she may gain another 5 more pounds. But she would make a GREAT addition to any household. Are you looking for that workout buddy or a hiking friend who will be able to keep up with you in all types of weather? Then look no further, Keeley is your gal! To see a video of our spunky Keeley, click HERE:
Please visit our foster page for more information and to fill out a foster application.
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Documentary DVD on sale now! | |
Click the image to order yours today.  |
TRAIN!
Trainer's Corner
Possession and/or food agression
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 I've had a few calls lately concerning possession aggression. This is when a dog guards an item, usually food, toys or rawhides by growling at their owners or another dog for approaching them while they have the item. Some dogs become very aggressive and actually snap at their owners or attack another dog over whatever it is they are guarding. Here are some very good tips for dealing with this behavior. http://www.lovemydogtraining.com/html/aggression.html If you feel you've tried these suggestions and your dog is still showing signs of possession aggression, you may have to resort to never allowing your dog to have the item they are possessing/guarding. It sounds mean to never allow them this precious item but the alternative of someone or another dog being harmed over it is much worse. Feel free to contact me, Jamie Kelly, with any questions or to set up a private training session @ 314-623-9879.
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Donate Now!
Help homeless animals by donating to Gateway Pet Guardians. | |
Gateway Pet Guardians is dedicated to rescuing homeless animals from the harsh streets, giving them the veterinary care needed and placing them in a foster home until they find their forever home.
Monthly, vet bills can range from $1000-$5000. We need your help to continue rescuing animals in need!
Gateway Pet Guardians is a 501c3 organization.
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Our monthly newsletter is received by over 1200 local opt-in recipients and is growing daily. In an effort to connect with our partners who offer pet related services with our friends who need them, we are now offering advertising space in our monthly e-newsletter. GPG is a 501c3 organization, and all payments for advertising space will be considered donations and therefore are tax deductible.
$50 donation - one month sponsorship
$200 donation - 6 month committment - get 2 months FREE
$360 donation - 12 month commitment - get 3 months FREE
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PJ Hightower started feeding dogs in East St. Louis, a very impoverished neighborhood in Illinois just east of St. Louis, in 1995 on her way to her sister's house. She began going on a regular basis from there and has not missed one single day since 2001. The dogs rely on PJ, waiting for her car every morning. They come running at its sound and most come straight up to her car door as she stops. She not only feeds, but medicates, domesticates and rescues when a home is available.
A small group of people decided to form Gateway Pet Guardians around PJ's efforts in 2004. Gateway is fast growing and excited about what the future holds for the stray dogs of the East side, or hopefully lack there of.
When we rescue a animal, we give it veterinary care and put it in a foster home where it can learn to live as an pet should live and be loved. We find that with our "virtual" shelter system, the animals tend to have better outcomes in their forever homes. Although we are saving to build a shelter, we still plan to keep our rescues in foster homes as often as possible.
We are a small group of people devoted to solving the homeless dog population in East St. Louis through education/outreach and spay/neuter programs. We would love your involvement!
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