Urban Wanderers Art Exhibition Benefits Stray Rescue

The Plight of the Street Dog is the theme of this year's Urban Wanderers Art Exhibition in St. Louis, Missouri.

A partnership between Stray Rescue and Saint Louis University Museum of Art, Urban Wanderers highlights homeless companion animals each year in a unique way.

Artists paint, photograph, or sculpt a Stray Rescue dog or cat that has been abandoned, abused, or neglected.  Shelter dogs create works of art using their paws, tails, and noses.  Not only unique and unusual, Urban Wanderers attracts well- respected artists exhibiting on regional, national, and international levels.

According to Randy Grim, author, radio host and founder of Stray Rescue:

"All those we rescue have important stories to tell, and telling these stories through art has proven to be a captivating way to show the reality of what homeless companion animals face on a daily basis.  The event also draws attention to how shelter animals enrich people's lives and made the greatest companions - it's truly one-of-a-kind"

The exhibition provides Stray Rescue with the opportunity to share facts about pet homelessness with the public, as well as their accomplishments in making St. Louis a more compassionate city for companion animals and people. 

This year's Urban Wanderers Spokesdog is OP.  In late September of this past year, this dog was shot at least 12 tmes and then tossed in a dumpster and left to die with an electrical cord tightly wrapped around his neck.  

Found and rescued by Randy Grim, OP received intensive medical treatment at Stray Rescue's trauma center and Veterinary Specialty Services for weeks.  Unfortunately, due to a bullet lodged near his spine, he lost the use of the lower half of his body.  These days, aided with a custom built cart, OP enjoys a loving home with Grim.  

OP's story is exactly the kind of important story told through the Urban Wanderers Art Exhibition.

The exhibition will open on Friday, March 22, with a reception beginning at 6pm and will run through Sunday, May 5, at the Saint Louis University Museum of Art.  The closing reception, at noon on May 5, includes a special presentation with Dr. Michael W. Fox, former Vice President of the Humane Society of the United States.

All art displayed in the exhibition will be available through an online auction beginning on Friday, March 22.  100% of the funds raised will go directly to helping homeless dogs and cats.



Part 2 with some of the art work:


About Stray Rescue: A non-profit organization founded by Randy Grim in 1998, Stray Rescue's sole purpose is to rescue stray animals in need of medical attention, restore them to health, and place them in loving adoptive homes.

National Animal Shelter Check In Day is Saturday

 

Join Best Friends Animal Society and other pet lovers on Saturday, November 10 for the second annual National Animal Shelter Check-in Day, designed to shine a giant, digital spotlight on homeless pets around our country.

How do you participate?
Go to your local animal shelter and "check-in" using your mobile phone's geo-location app.  While you're there, take a picture of a dog or cat and share it.  Please use the #CheckinDay hashtag so your tweet appears in the Best Friends Twitter Ticker.  Depending on the shelter's rules, you could even volunteer by walking a dog or getting silly with a cat.

It's easy!

Click here for a list of Best Friends participating No More Homeless Pet® Network partners. Or, check in at any animal shelter near you – wherever you are - on November 10!

Join the campaign today and help spread the word.

Adopt Dixie a Basset Hound Looking for a Forever Family

Dixie is a female Basset Hound.  She's about three years old, housebroken, walks well on a leash and is absolutely adorable.  Dixie is quite a lover and hasn't met a stranger.  She is available for adoption from the Humane Society of Missouri in St Louis.    For more information about Dixie, call them at 314-647-8800

Black Pet Adoption Event

 Back in Black

August 15 - September 17, 2011

Adopt a black animal from one of the participating groups in this Best Friends Animal Society event and receive 50% off the adoption fee.

Adoption events will be held nationwide.  Look for a participating No More Homeless Pets Network Partner at Best Friends website.

Adopt Gabby a Brown Brindle Pit bull Terrier

This sweet girl's name is Gabby.  Gabby is a spayed female Pit Bull Terrier with a gorgeous brown brindle and white coat.  Animal shelter staff believe she is about 2 years old.  Gabby knows how to sit and walks on a leash very nicely.  She seems to be housebroken and has a very mellow personality.

If you have room in your heart and on your couch for a new friend, please consider adopting Gabby.  She's available for adoption from the Humane Society of Missouri in St Louis 314-951-1562.  Gabby's animal ID number is A512304.

Adopt Shortcake a Black Labrador Retriever German Shepherd Dog

Oh, what a sweetheart!  Shortcake is a female black Labrador Retriever and German Shepherd dog.  Staff at the Humane Society of Missouri's Chesterfield Valley Animal Shelter think she's about 7 years old.  She loves people and already has basic training.

If you have room in your heart and on your sofa, consider adopting this beautiful black girl.  For more information about Shortcake you can call the HSMO Chesterfield Valley animal shelter at 636-530-0805.  Shortcake's animal id number is A506088

Joplin Tornado: Over 400 Pets Adopted on Saturday

The adoption event for the pets who were homeless due to the May 22nd tornado in Joplin, MO, appears to be a real success.  According to the ASPCA over 400 pets were adopted yesterday.

The ASPCA estimated that nearly 1300 pets were housed at the Joplin Humane Society's animal shelter due to the twister.  Of that number, somewhere around 500 were reunited with their owners.  The organizations promised the Joplin community that none of the pets would be euthanized.  The adoptathon held this weekend aimed to find forever homes for all those dogs and cats.  The event continued on Sunday.

Joplin Tornado: Adopt a Dog or Cat Event June 25 - 26

More than three weeks after an EF5 tornado ripped through Joplin, nearly 900 dogs and cats remain sheltered at the Joplin Humane Society, most of them unlikely to ever be reunited with their owners according to Alan Scher Zagier of the Associated Press.

Adopt-a-thon scheduled for June 25 - 26.

Hundreds of dogs and cats peer out from their cages at the Joplin Humane Society, some with cuts, infections and broken bones from the deadly tornado that turned their lives, like of those their owners, upside down.

Since the tornado, the Humane Society has found itself overflowing with animals, with about 900 now calling the shelter home — three times its usual inventory. One way or another, the pets became separated from their owners in the chaotic aftermath of the May 22 twister that tore through this town, killing 153 people. In some cases, the owners — scrambling to find housing for themselves after 7,000 homes were destroyed, leaving nearly one-third of the city's 50,000 residents homeless — have simply given up their pets.

But the Joplin Humane Society is determined to find a home for every cat and dog. To that end, it plans an "Adopt-a-thon" the weekend of June 25-26, when animals that haven't been claimed by their owners will be given away free to good homes, after being spayed and neutered.

"The reality is, a lot of these people aren't in a position to come get these animals," said Joplin native Tim Rickey, a field investigator for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "They've lost everything."

Executive director Karen Aquino said it's not that the Humane Society hasn't tried to find the owners.

"We feel we've exhausted every avenue to get the word out," Aquino said. "We've placed 250 yard signs. We have posters at food and donation distribution points, public service announcements on radio and TV, ads in the newspaper — everything we could think of to let people know their pets might be here if they're missing."

To handle the additional cats and dogs, the organization fixed up two vacant warehouses next to the shelter into air-conditioned kennels. A gravel parking lot outside a former used appliance store has been converted into an owner's waiting room, with plastic chairs and Polaroid snapshots of unnamed animals stuffed into thick three-ring binders.

Aquino said none of the pets left homeless by the tornado will be euthanized.

"If all of them aren't adopted, we'll start looking to rescue organizations and ways to get some of them to larger cities where they have a better chance at adoption," she said.

More than 100 volunteers from across the country, many from other shelters, are in Joplin helping out — cleaning cages, providing veterinary care and exercising the animals. On most days, a half-dozen veterinarians are at the shelter tending to the wounded.

The work is exhausting, the plight of the animals sad. But spirits are buoyed by good news, such as the recent story of a cat found alive by its owner 16 days after the tornado.

"We've heard some amazing stories," Aquino said. "Animals are pretty resilient."

When Steven and Debbie Leatherman found their lost dog, Sugar, at the shelter, her back legs were paralyzed. Someone had apparently dropped off the 10-year-old cocker spaniel after finding her in a drainage ditch and about to drown. The University of Missouri says the Leathermans' son, Daniel, drove the dog to its veterinary hospital in Columbia, where veterinarians performed spinal surgery that gave Sugar back the use of her legs.

But some owners, such as 47-year-old Linda Head, still haven't been able to find their pets. Since the storm, Head has been looking for 2-year-old Isabel, a labrador/Great Pyrenees mix, and 5-year-old Puddles, a cockapoo.

Both dogs hunkered down with Head, her 23-year-old son and a third dog, Max, in and around a bathtub in their home that was obliterated by the tornado. Head lost Puddles when the dog jumped through the shattered window of a car as Head's son was driven to seek medical care. Max also jumped out in the tumult, but he turned up nearly two weeks later at a Kansas veterinarian's office. Isabel hasn't been seen since the tornado, though Head's hopes were briefly buoyed when a neighbor thought he saw the dog running loose. He was mistaken.

Head visits the shelter twice a week, hoping her dogs will turn up.

"Honey, when I left here the first time, I bawled all the way home," Head said during a recent visit to the shelter. "I'll bawl all the way home today, because I don't have my buddies."

For more information visit the Joplin Humane Society on the web.  There you can view photos and information of the pets currently in their care.

Japan Earthquake Tsunami: Homeless Dogs and Animal Rescue

The earthquake and tsunami that visited Japan on March 11 has not only created a disaster for hundreds of thousands of people, but also for their pets, forcing them to suddenly fend for themselves.  Fur caked with mud, dogs trot forlornly in rubble-filled streets along Japan's devastated coastline, foraging for scraps of food and searching for owners.

Luna, a 6 year old Beagle mix, is tied to a tree, barking for attention or sleeping in a cardboard box on a dirty cushion, two bowls of frozen water before her.

Luna, the Beagle sits in her makeshift home at an evacuee center.

  AP Photo

Still, she is one of the lucky ones.  She has food.  Passers-by pet and comfort her.  She gets walked twice a day.  And her 55 year old owner is alive.  He just can't take her into the shelter he's staying at because of a no pets rule.

Many other dogs and cats have been forced to fend for themselves since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which obliterated homes and killed more than 10,000 people.

"This is a big calamity for pets, along with people," said Sugano Hoso of the Japan branch of the US based United Kennel Club.  "Many are on their own and many more are trapped in evacuated areas where people have left."  The biggest concerns are reuniting them with their owners and getting them food, medical treatment and shelter, she said.  Her group is distributing food and supplies where it can.

Thousands of pets have been left behind in evacuation zones affected by radiation from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear facility, which was swamped by the tsunami and remains unstable.  Those animals also face radiation related issues.  Faced with life or death predicaments, many pet owners didn't have the presence of mind or weren't able to see to the safety of their pets.  "We have requested the government allow us into those zones to rescue dogs, but the government isn't listening to us," Hoso said.

Ryo Taira's pet shop and animal shelter in Arahama, near the city of Sendai, is caring for 80 dogs and cats whose owners are unable to bring their pets with them to tsunami shelters.  The pets, mostly smaller dogs, spend the nights in crates stacked on top of each other.  Volunteers and staff take them for walks to a nearby park.  "Evacuees are under a stressful situation, working on reconstruction and searching for missing family members," Taira said.  "I think they cannot really have much energy to pay attention to their pets.  So we want to do what we can to help reduce their stress."

Donated pet food outside an evacuee center.  AP Photo

Luna, the Beagle, came from the evacuated area, but her family had time to pack their things and hers before they escaped.  "When we were told to evacuate, one of the first things we did was make sure we had Luna and enough food to keep her going for a few days," said Masami Endo, a 55 year old grocer.  He lives in Minami Soma town, in the shadow of the Fukushima nuclear facility.  residents have been ordered wither to evacuate or remain indoors because of the radiation risk.  Endo decided to come to Fukushima city's main shelter, a gymnasium where about 1,400 people have taken refuge, about a week ago.

Adopt Sophie: Whippet Dog Available at Humane Society of Missouri Shelter

If you're thinking about adding a dog to your family, consider Sophie!  Sophie is a white and gray Whippet female dog available for adoption at the Humane Society of Missouri.  What a beautiful girl!



Today is a special Adopt the Internet Day blog hop.  Check out the barking good pet adoption blogs below!

Adopt the Internet Day: Help Homeless Dogs and Cats

If you're looking for a new best friend, visit Petfinder or your local animal shelter, not just today, but any day.  No more room on your couch?  Consider volunteering at a shelter:  walk a dog, socialize some puppies.  Contribute to your local shelter;  they often need routine cleaning supplies, towels, dog toys.  Actually, you are limited only by your imagination. 

Jeffie - Golden Retriever / Border Collie

We discovered our own Jeffie on Petfinder and adopted him from Dogwood Animal Shelter in Osage Beach, MO.  

This is a blog hop in celebration of Adopt the Internet Day.  Scroll down to visit lots of cool pet blogs.



 
 

Spay and Neuter Specials for Missouri Dogs and Cats

Live in Missouri and have a pet that needs to be spayed or neutered? 

The Humane Society of Missouri has a special going on right now:  $9.95 for cats and $19.95 for dogs.  These prices are good for a limited time, so make your appointment today by calling 314-951-1534. 

Spay and neuter procedures will be done at one of the Veterinary Medical Center locations.  These clinics are just one project of the Humane Society of Missouri and are open to the public,.  All pets - not just ones who've been adopted fron the HSMO - are welcome.

The HSMO clinics include:  St Louis Veterinary Medical Center at 1201 Macklind Ave, St Louis;  Westport Area Veterinary Medical Center at 2400 Drilling Service Rd, Maryland Heights;  and the Chesterfield Valley Veterinary Medical Center, 17357 Edison Ave, Chesterfield.  Emergency medical services are also available.  Visit the HSMO veterinary clinics on the web for more information, including hours they're open.

Proceeds from the HSMO vet clinics go towards animal rescue, rehabilitation and finding homes for homeless pets.

New Pet Boutique in Kansas City - Whiskers and Wags Outfitters at Wayside Waifs

Whiskers and Wags Outfitters at Wayside Waifs
in Kansas City Missouri

If you live in the Kansas City area, you have a new resource for pet food, toys, treats and training materials.  Whiskers and Wags Outfitters is a new boutique inside the Harold and Marilyn Melcher Adoption Center at Wayside Waifs.  All proceeds help homeless animals.

They carry a full line of high quality pet supplies and training items, pet inspired gifts, Wayside Waifs logo apparel and children's books.  They even have their own blend of Roasterie coffee:  The Rescue Me blend.

Shop for pet necessities, and just plain fun dog and cat fun stuff, knowing that you're supporting the largest no-kill animal shelter in Kansas City.  Wayside Waifs places more than 5,000 animals in new homes each year.

Whiskers and Wags Outfitters are located at Wayside Waifs, 3901 Martha Truman Road in Kansas City, MO.  Store hours are:  Wednesday through Friday from 2 to 8 PM;  Saturdays and Sundays from Noon to 6 PM.  Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

At For Love of a Dog we have a special place in our hearts for Wayside Waifs.  Afterall, that's where we found Sherman who gave us such joy for so many years.

Adopt Pete an Adoptable Pitbull Dog Trained by MO Puppies for Parole

Pete the Pit Bull dog
Photo courtesy of the MO Dept of Corrections
Puppies for Parole program

Not only is it Adopt a Shelter Dog month, it's also Pit Bull Awareness Day.  For Love of a Dog would like to introduce you to Pete, a pitbull dog available for adoption.

Pete is a male pit bull who is receiving his training at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center through the Puppies for Parole program.  His parole office is Mutts 'n Stuff (which means that is the Puppies for Parole shelter / rescue partner for Pete.)

Pete became homeless when his owners could not afford to keep him. According to his trainer, Pete came out front for a visit to the administration building this past week. Although most people are leery of Pit Bulls, Pete showed staff just how loving the breed is. Pete showed off for staff by sitting on command, laying down, and giving high five. The staff members in the administration building were cooing over him.

Puppies for Parole is a program of the Missouri Department of Corrections made possible through partnerships with animal shelters and animal advocate groups statewide. Selected offenders have the opportunity to become trainers to rescue dogs in the program. Offenders work with the dogs teaching them basic obedience skills and properly socializing the animals, making them more adoptable. Once the dogs have successfully completed the program they are sent back to their original shelter to be placed up for adoption. Last year in Missouri, more than 46,000 homeless canines were euthanized. Puppies for Parole hopes to reduce that number by producing loving, obedient, adoptable dogs.

Randy Grimm and the Homeless Dogs of St Louis Missouri

IAt one time Randy Grim was a one man dog rescue operation with a mission of saving the homeless pets roaming the streets of St Louis MO.  After spending years prevailing on his family and friends to place dogs he'd saved, in 1998 he founded Stray Rescue of St Louis.  Since then thousands of animals have been saved from abuse and starvation. Since starting in 1991, Grim has been credited with saving 5,000 feral dogs, all of which - through months of gentle, loving care - have been turned into house pets and adopted by new families. Some have even gone on to become therapy animals, bringing joy to people in hospitals and nursing homes.

Obviously, Randy Grim loves dogs, especially the dogs he saves.  Called the Dog Man, or as a homeless man calls him, Coyote Man, he founded Stray Rescue so fewer homeless dogs suffer and die.  His passionate crusade has evolved into two no-kill shelters with a legion of 200 volunteers.

The sole purpose of Stray Rescue is to rescue stray animals, get them the veterinary attention they need, then place them in loving adoptive homes.  Virtually all of the animals they have saved were abused and neglected.  Dumped on highways or remote country roads;  abandoned in public parks, empty houses and alleyways.  They've even rescued dogs left chained behind buildings after their owners had moved away. 

 Stray Rescue has received numerous accolades from the American Red Cross and also has received national media attention from Animal Planet, National Geographic, the Weather Channel and Forbes Magazine.  

In the National Geographic feature, Mary Ann Mott wrote: "In St. Louis, Randy Grim, founder of Stray Rescue, is out on the streets every day feeding 50 or more mutts. If these wild dogs don't die of sheer starvation, he said, diseases such as parvovirus, heartworm, or intestinal parasites usually kill them. Their average life span is one to two years. Many of the animals he sees were once "bait dogs" - smaller, passive animals used to train fighting dogs. Great Dane puppies are commonly used, he said, and wire is twisted around their legs to hold them down, so they can't run while being mauled during training sessions. "If they live, they are just discarded onto the streets," said Grim. The animals are recognizable by their missing limbs, and scars from the brutal attacks.

Grim's humor comes out in his book, Don't Dump the Dog, which tells all the reasons why an animal is turned into a shelter. He offers his own practical solutions, as well as that of an animal behaviorist, for reasons commonly offered by people including:  not having time for the dogs, having a baby, too big, too old, destructive, too playful, going on vacation, the holiday season, doesn't like my boy/girl friend, barking, unable to be housebroken, sheds too much, eats poop, digs holes, doesn't like the kitty and more. Not one to give up on a dog, Grim tells everyone why they shouldn't either.

International Homeless Pets Day - August 15

Recognized as a holiday since 1992, International Homeless Pets Day calls attention to all the animals that are homeless. There are so many that its tempting to just sigh and give up. However, it's like that old saying... if you're not a part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

What can you do? Here are just a few ideas:

• Adopt a homeless pet
• Visit your local shelter or rescue and volunteer to walk or play (socialize) the animals
• Find out what your local shelter or rescue needs and supply (some of) it. It could be as simple as they need some old towels and blankets and you have that box of them waiting for a tag sale
• Next time you're at the grocery store, pick up some extra puppy or kitten food and drop it off at the animal shelter
• If you Tweet, tweet about a homeless pet to help it find a home (easy to find those pets via Petfinder)
• Do you blog? Blog about the situation.
• Spay or neuter your own pets and encourage others to do the same

Here at our house Mama has been trying to talk Daddy into one more dog. He says his limit is 2. Well, we already have 3, so what's another woofer? Of the 3 of us canines, only Lucy wasn't homeless before she joined our family. Skeeter, our cat sister, walked the streets before she came here. We know what homelessness is like and it's not a good thing at all.

If I worry about the whole problem, I feel depressed and powerless. My goal is to do whatever little bit I can do every day. If you and I both do that, a group of us can end a lot of suffering.

Woof! woof!

Tucker