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Gateway Pet of the Month... | |
 Everyone's heard of a love story with humans, but I'd like to tell you about a love story which stars Bea and Aaron. These two sweethearts have weathered many winters and the heat of the summers. They have been companions for four years. Aaron has had restless feet at times and wandered away from Bea. However his love for his companion always drove him to come back to his sweet Bea.
Within 48 hours after being rescued from the streets of East St. Louis, Aaron escaped. It took two days and MANY volunteers to locate this wandering soul. Aaron actually was located miles away from his foster home. Now that they have been reunited, we want the love story to continue.
Bea and Aaron want to grow old together as they've weathered the good and the bad. They have flourished in their foster home.
Bea and Aaron will be adopted together, so if you want a couple of lovebirds PLEASE apply for both!
Puppy smooches,
Bea
Interested in Fostering?
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What's on your mind?
A letter from Lauren Anderson
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 Lauren Anderson is Gateway Pet Guardian's newest board member, and is an Account Coordinator with the Corporate Sales & Marketing department of the St. Louis Cardinals, where she has also worked as a Marketing Coordinator & Editorial Associate with the Cardinals Publications department in her five years with the company. Her previous experience includes Public Relations Assistant for the City of University City and organizing several fundraising and awareness campaigns for the United Way of Southeast Missouri.
Lauren has spent the past year and a half volunteering for Gateway Pet Guardians and has assisted in the planning and implementation of several of the organization's big fundraisers including the golf tournament & trivia night. Lauren also serves as the Fundraising Coordinator for Gateway, where she consults with and assists individuals who would like to plan fundraising events for Gateway Pet Guardians and oversees an associate fundraising board. She'll be a key part in expanding and growing Gateway's fundraising operations for their future shelter and education center.
When she is not working a Cardinals' game or planning a fundraising event, Lauren can be found snuggling with her Gateway-adopted dog Ozzie (formerly known as Ronnie), playing fantasy football, watching every television show that is currently in production and running all over the city in various 5Ks, 10Ks and marathons.
Information about Gateways Board
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ADOPTED! Pet Spotlight
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 I met Fritz and his foster parent, John, at the Pet Smart on Chippewa while I was purchasing cat food.
It was definitely love at first sight for me, not certain how Fritz recalls the meeting. I thought Fritz, now named Chance, was incredibly handsome, appeared to be pretty mellow and was raised with a cat. This was a concern as I have two cats. The fact that he is deaf wasn't an issue with me as I had routinely used hand signals with my previous dogs and, because I live where there is a lot of foot traffic, I didn't want a dog that barked at every person that walked by my home.
I waited over a month before sending an e-mail to your organization as I wanted to make certain that I was making a good decision for Fritz, my cats and me. Once I contacted your organization, I received an e-mail from Erin (foster mother) asking to schedule a telephone interview.
Here is where I fall in love with Erin and John. Erin, my main POC, is absolutely amazing and made everything easy for me. She sent photos of Chance and we chatted a lot about Chance and his special needs. The home introduction went really well and we were declared a match.
Chance is a hilarious dog that is full of energy. He is smart and picks up on things really fast. The deafness is only an issue when I'm watching a favorite TV show and he decides to go to a room where I can't see what he is doing. Not a problem as I purchased a DVR so that I can pause live programmingJ He is also good for weight loss as I lost 5 pounds the first month I had him due to an increase in walking and l stay limber at age 54 getting up off the couch 100 times a day. I love him 99.9% of the time and, when I'm at the 1%, I think about how much fun he is to be around, how curious he is about everything and the way he makes people smile that we meet when taking walks in the park. Chance also has 4-5 little kids that come in the yard to visit with him. Great socialization for him and me.
I have given Chance the sunroom, now dubbed "The Man Cave" and he sits on his couch for hours looking at people/animals walking on the sidewalk or in the park across the street. It is interesting to me what determines whether he will or won't bark at someone. He doesn't do it often but when he does, I take a peek out the window so that he knows I'm responding to his "warning." Overall, I'm thrilled to have him in my home. Cats not so enamored with him, but they are coming around.
Now on to Erin and John. If they are any indication of the types of volunteers you have in your organization, then your group with be a huge success. Erin is always available to me when I e-mail, call or text with questions/concerns/photos or funny stories. We went on a picnic with all the dogs (except Jois) last month and had a lovely visit. Chance especially enjoyed the potato salad he sampled while we all had our backs turned on him while speaking with a park ranger. Goof Ball!
They had also volunteered to keep Chance for me in November when I go on vacation. But, here is a prime example of their love and dedication to Chance. My Mom, who lives in Florida with my Dad, wasn't doing well after surgery. I had to get down there fast! I had a friend stay with Chance and the cats but didn't know how long I would be gone. Erin and John were on vacation and sent a text asking about Mom's status. I told Erin what was going on and that my nephew was going to take Chance if my trip went past a few days as I didn't want to impose on my friend for tool long Erin said they would be back in town in a couple of days and would pick Chance up and keep him as long as necessary so that I didn't have to worry about him. This took such a weight off my shoulders as I worry about Chance getting away from someone when walking, etc. They kept him for 5 days and I picked up the happy boy on Friday night. Aren't they amazing?
So, my Happy Tail. I love Chance and appreciate all the fun times that I have with him. He was hopefully born with a nice personality but Erin and John did an amazing job raising him, socializing him and raising him to be flexible. I can take him anywhere and not worry.....except the dog food aisle at Pet Smart. Bad idea as the boy has a keen sense of smell!
Please feel free to call me if you have any questions!
Thank You,
Debbie Ousley
Associate Trainer
CM Training and Delivery
Arnold, MO
636.282.6422
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Dedicated Volunteer of the Month!
Stephanie Dorf |
 I currently live in Soulard with the world's best dog: my 11 year-old Miniature Schnauzer, Woody. I am a Senior Associate at The Commerce Trust Company and MBA candidate at Saint Louis University, and in my spare time, when I'm not walking with Woody around the neighborhood, I volunteer regularly for several animal shelter and pet adoption organizations. I started working with Gateway Pet Guardians earlier this year after learning about the organization through SLU's Center for Service and Community Engagement. I've really enjoyed working with Gateway Pet Guardians and helping with the event calendars, and I hope to be able to find the time to do more in the future!
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Low Cost Spay/Neuter
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Spaying and neutering your pets is one of the most important steps a pet owner can take toward making their dog or cat's life a long and healthy one.
Myths and Facts of Spaying/Neutering
Myth: Pets will get fat and lazy if they are spayed/neutered.
Fact: The only reason animals become fat and lazy is if they are overfed and under-exercised, or are diagnosed with thyroid problems.
Read Entire Article HERE
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Donate Now!
Help homeless animals by donating to Gateway Pet Guardians.
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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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Aggression in Dogs: For most of us, dog aggression is very scary and we feel helpless while trying to deal with it. We think that if we just love our dogs enough they won't need to show any aggression and that couldn't be further from the truth. First, you need to have a trainer assess what type of aggression your dog has. There are many reasons why dogs show aggressive behavior. There's territorial aggression, possessive aggression, predatory aggression and fear aggression just to name a few. Most of the time aggression can be managed but you must chose a very experienced trainer, one who specializes in treating aggression. I know just the trainer, Ouniel Perez. He owns and operates K9 Carnival @ 4501 Chouteau, St. Louis, 63110 and his numbers are w: 314-534-DOGS and cell phone is: 314-471-3824. If anyone can help you with aggressive behavior, it's Ouniel. He's the closest thing to "the dog whisperer" we have here in St. Louis! Ouniel has helped several of our GPG dogs become adoptable also by lending his services to our rescue.
Dogs are not people dressed up in fur coats, and to deny them their nature is to do them great harm.
~Jeanne Schinto
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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 an animal, we give it veterinary care and put it in a foster home where it can learn to live as a 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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