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In april of 2006, we went to the Strayrescue website in search for a new family member. Two days earlier, our 15year old dog Lady, went to doggie heaven and we simply could not go a moment longer without rescuing another dog that needed us as much as we needed him. We filled out an application to meet Bart, a 5 month old shepherd mix. Within a few hours, Bart's foster mom, Ramona, was in contact with us and a few days later, she brought Bart over to our house to meet him. Bart was very nervous at first and followed Ramona everywhere she went. She kept reassuring Bart that everything was okay and before too long, Bart was playing with Lady's toys and warming up to us. Ramona took Bart home and brought him back the following weekend for us to take advantage of the rent-a-pet program. From that moment on, we knew Bart found his forever home and we found our new family member. About 1 year later, I went to Petsmart and Stray-Rescue just happened to be there with their adoption event. We were not looking to adopt another dog. We've always been a 1 dog family, but I see all these adoreable puppies in a playpen that were up for adoption and one of the puppies looked just like Bart. I immediately fell in love with this puppy. I held her for a good 30 minutes or so but eventually put her back in the pin, and sadly drove home, but could not get this puppy out of my mind. She stole my heart. Bart was a very happy boy, but deep in my heart I knew he would be so much happier with a sibling. My husband was out of town but gave me the go ahead to adopt the puppy. I had to race back there because the adoption event was over at 3pm and it was 245pm. The volunteer working the adoption event knew I was already pre-screened and it would be okay for me to take the puppy home. I wrapped the puppy up in her blanket and drove home so she could meet her big brother Bart. From the moment I brought her home, she and Bart were inseparable. As you can see from the pictures, they simply adore one another. Adopting another dog was one of the best decisions we have ever made. We have our handsome boy Bart and our beautiful girl we named Carly. Everyone tells us how lucky Bart and Carly are, and we respond by saying yes, but we are just as lucky as they are because we simply cannot imagine our lives without them! Thanks to Stray-Rescue of St. Louis, our family is complete. Sincerely, The Hermann Family |
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How do I begin to share with the world how grateful I am that Stray Rescue brought my dog into my life?! I met Porter (formerly Bailey and then Stout) at a friend’s house, where he was being fostered. I didn’t talk to anyone at the party that night and just sat on the floor loving on the sweetest chocolate lab I’d ever met. Stray Rescue had found him wandering around North St. Louis. When they picked him up he had heartworms, lots of scars, and was starving, but never lost his happy and trusting nature. I’ve always been an animal lover and grew up with an amazing stray dog, Tippy. When we had to put him down after 14 great years, I was heartbroken. (And really, still am.) I knew I’d eventually get another dog, and I knew it would be a stray, but when I met Porter I didn’t think it was the right time yet. I was living on my own in a tiny apartment in Soulard with no yard, and worked long hours. Eventually I realized that while I might not give him the biggest patch of grass to call his own, noone would love that dog as much as I did – so I took the plunge and adopted him. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made! He is essentially a 70 pound lapdog with a tail like a forearm. Seeing his happy butt-wiggle more than makes up for the objects that have been broken in its wake…and has reminded me to care less about things and more about enjoying life. That sounds so corny, but I have to admit it’s true. He’s also the messiest drinker I’ve ever seen, hands down. I am amazed anything makes it into his mouth at all, and my kitchen floor is basically a pond now, but I look into his golden eyes and just can’t seem to care! Don’t come in my house if you don’t want to be showered with kisses and entertained by his silly antics! Another warning to the public: if you start rubbing his belly you’d better be prepared to stay for the long haul! He’s a typical Lab who loves people, water, chew toys, and anything remotely edible. However, he didn’t quite get the memo that he’s a Labrador RETRIEVER – he is completely uninterested in playing fetch. He has a huge personality and a bark to match – we’re working on taming that impulse! J He’s also got some lingering issues around men wearing hats from his early days of abuse. However, he loves every dog on earth and is especially gentle around small, sick, and older dogs. It’s amazing how perceptive and sensitive he is to those around him, and when I have a bad day he refuses to leave my side. I can’t imagine my life without him and am so grateful to Stray Rescue for giving him another chance at life. I’m continually amazed at how many people are shocked that such a sweet, loving dog was a stray. Porter is working as an ambassador for strays everywhere! I’ve recently given Porter a playmate – we found an adorable Lab/Border Collie mix wandering Kingshighway a few months ago, and he was too great not to keep. Thank you, Stray Rescue!! |
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It all started one sunny day, July 7, 2006 to be exact. My girlfriend and I were at Springdale pool when she announced that she had to drop something off at the Humane Society. I told her I would go with her. To make a long story short, we (me and my husband) wound up adopting our first dog “Marko”. They had him listed as a 1 yr. old Yellow Lab mix and to me he looked a lot like Lab and Pit mix. I firmly believe he is the “son” of another dog that Randy has rescued and you can read his story under the name Mambo. I believe this because Marko was rescued from north St. Louis not far from where Mambo used to run around and he looks an awful lot like him and has his sweet personality. Well fast forward to 2007. I always look at the dogs on Stray Rescue’s website and one night I found the cutest pup up for adoption, her name was Century. I emailed Century’s picture to my husband and told him what a good big brother Marko would make for Century. He emailed me back stating that although she was very cute and Marko would probably make a good big brother, he didn’t want to get another dog until we had our back yard fenced in. I was so disappointed but I understood. Unbeknownst to me, my husband was getting in contact with Donna of Stray Rescue inquiring about Century. Donna informed my husband that Century was going to another family. My husband made sure that Donna had his phone number “in case” Century did not work out. We kept seeing “Pending Adoption” on the website and my husband broke the news to me that Century had been adopted to another family. Well, Century’s name was changed to Lucy by her new family and proved to be too much puppy for them to handle so Donna called my husband to find out if he was still interested in her. He was! Donna delivered Century/Lucy to our home on December 13th, 2007. We kept the name Lucy. Lucy was part of my Christmas present. Our lives have never been the same since! Lucy brings us much laughter with her antics. We can’t imagine life without her. We found out the reason Century was named Century was because she was the 100th dog that Donna had rescued for Stray Rescue. Donna also told us that Century/Lucy was rescued from Washington Park, IL and only weighed 14 lbs when she was rescued. Now she lives with us in South St. Louis County and is 36 lbs now. Lucy has graduated to Family Dog 4 training and has a few cute tricks under her belt. Not as many as her brother Marko yet…..but she learns fast. Both dogs enjoy going to the Dog Park and playing with the other pups there. I don’t know who has more fun, them playing or us watching them play? We can’t imagine life without our dogs. They are a huge part of our family. Thank you Stray Rescue for the GREAT work you all do everyday and night! |
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My boyfriend and I adopted Tres on July 5th of this year. We already
had another dog, a very hyper shiba inu name Cassie. After bringing Tres
(now named Percy) into our house, Cassie has calmed down and found a best
friend. Percy is the best dog in the world. Very loyal and loving. Extremely
obedient with out any classes. I trust him completely in the house at
only 5 months old. His tail wags all day long and if he's really happy
it goes in circles. He's an excellent bed companion. He sleeps close to
me and wakes me up in the morning with kisses. I have to be the luckiest
person in the world to have found him through your wonderful service.
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Two weeks ago tonight, Saturday, we were on our way to a friends house
for dinner. We came around a corner on a county road south of highway
50 and there was a mama and four pups in the middle of the road eating
a dead squirrel. We came to a screeching halt. I asked my husband what
we were going to do and he said, lets see if we can get them into the
car. I got out and the mama dog jumped in and sat in my seat. My husband
went into the weeds and got all four puppies. We went to the nearest house
and asked if they knew who they might belong to and they didn't. They
sent us down another road to another house and they didn't know who they
might belong to either. We took them home with us not knowing exactly
what we were going to do with them. The puppies were old enough to eat
food but were still nursing on the mom. We put them in our basement and
the next day was Sunday and nothing was open so we interacted with mama
dog. She was so sweet. Such a gentle dog. We decided that we just couldn't
take her to a kill shelter, she had just won our hearts. On Monday morning,
crying the whole time, I loaded up all the dogs and took them to a No-Kill
shelter in my area. They were unable to take them because they had dogs
and cats in cages in the halls. I started crying. I actually felt sorry
for the man I was talking to. He just couldn't take them. He suggested
that I take them to Franklin Co Humane Society. I went home, unloaded
everybody and called Franklin Co. They said that they would make room
for them. I called my husband at work and told him the shelter near us
couldn't take them and I started crying again. I told him I was going
to give the Humane Society our phone number and if they couldn't adopt
the mom out, they should call us and we would come and get her. ( I should
explain that we live in Hermann MO and I work three days a week in Jefferson
City and my husband works in St. Louis. Having a dog has never been a
consideration for us. We have two rescued cats that we adopted for Open
Door. ) My husband just said, Keep her! I asked him to repeat that because
I was crying and thought I heard wrong. He said just keep her. I didn't
ask again! I loaded the puppies up and took them to Union. I even cried
when I left them there. They almost guaranteed they would be adopted.
We took "Pepper" to the Vet on Tuesday. She had a check up and
shots. We found out that she has Ilickiousis, not sure that is spelled
right, but a tick disease that would have killed her if not treated. I
wonder if they would have treated her at the Humane Society or just put
her down, they have so many healthy ones to take care of. She has an appointment
on Monday morning to be spayed and microchipped. She has only had two
accidents in the house and gets along great with Hoss and Little Joe (kitty
cats). -Pam |
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This is Lady, we adopted her in January of 2000 from Stray rescue. Her name back then was Pasty and you guys found her in a shelter in Arnold. A lot of people are afraid of Dobermans but she is the sweetest dog you will find. She is very loyal to the family and especially to my son. When he leaves for school in the morning she will watch out the window until he gets on the bus. Lady is almost 9 years old but she still think that is still a puppy. She loves to walk around the house with one of her stuff animals in her mouth. As you see in one of the picture she also thinks she is a small dog and has no problems trying to sit in your lap. We were not looking for a dog when we saw her on the website, but we love dobermans so we went to see her and fell in love with her. She is one of the best dogs that we ever had! Michele Tisius Florissant, Mo |
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Hello, my name is Jennifer Kislowski. My husband
Charlie and I adopted a puppy from Stray Rescue on February 7, 2007, and
he has blessed our lives. His name is Ozzie, formerly Skittles, #2, of Butterscotch's
pups. He was one of 11 puppies rescued with their momma in January 2007
from an abandoned house. Our friends, the Sciaroni family, fostered Ozzie
and his brother Izzie, and then adopted Izzie themselves. We adopted Ozzie at approximately 9 weeks of age, and were completely immersed in puppy training. He was the first puppy either of us had raised on our own, since all our previous experiences with puppies were when we were children and our parents did the majority of the work. We were complete puppy novices, but quickly became experts, as we read books, watched DVDs, and searched the internet for every drop of puppy training information we could find. We guess that Ozzie is mostly a mix of Golden Retriever and German Shepherd, and he certainly fulfills every expectation of those breeds, being a strong heavy chewer, very energetic, intelligent, excellent sense of smell, extremely excitable, and usually having a short attention span. We devoted most of our time to his training, and now at 19 months old he is a very good dog. We both adore him and love spending time with him. And we feel that we've done right by him by training him properly, which has been our goal every day since we adopted him. He's not afraid of anything, curious about everything, loves people and dogs, and most of time is calm and not anxious or stressed. Our previous dog Abby was 15 1/2 years old when we had to euthanize her on June 13, 2006. My parents adopted her and her sister as puppies from a "Free to Good Home" ad, and she was an amazing dog - very loving, fun, easy-going. For many years before her death I devoted most of my time to her "elder" care, with arthritis and senility plaguing her. It was such a shock to have her leave us so suddenly, and I was depressed for many months afterwards. When our friends first told us about the puppies they were fostering in January 2007, we weren't really sure if we were ready for a puppy. Neither of us had ever been fully responsible for a puppy before, so we were worried about the housetraining and chewing issues - would our new carpet and kitchen cabinets be destroyed? Were we really ready to devote all our time to a new puppy? Well the more we saw pictures of Ozzie and then finally met him on Feburary 4, 2007, when Bobbie (Stray Rescue volunteer) brought him over for the home visit, we knew we just had to adopt him. Looking back, we definitely needed the drastic change in our lives that Ozzie brought along with his full puppy vigor. He has brought us many laughs and so much love, and has inspired us to be much more knowledgeable about dog training and the plight of animal rescues, and to discuss all of that more with our friends and family. There were times when I absolutely couldn't stand the way he acted like a wild animal as a little puppy, but I kept reminding myself that the sharp puppy teeth only last a few months, and the majority of his puppyhood would only last about a year or so. And sure enough, now at 19 months, he still has puppy moments, but most of the time he acts like a fun-loving adult dog. I am so thankful that Stray Rescue of St Louis rescued Butterscotch and her pups. Since she gave birth to them in early December, that was shortly after a horrible ice storm hit our area on November 30, 2006. It's amazing that she was able to get through the trauma of the ice storm, giving birth, and keeping those puppies alive, while being alone in an abandoned house. Thank goodness Stray Rescue was there to help this wonderful momma dog and give the puppies the food, medical attention and shelter they needed to develop into healthy happy dogs. The more knowledge I gained about dog training and the work shelters do, the more I felt like I had to give back more to Stray Rescue than just adopting Ozzie. I began volunteering at the 18th St Shelter on April 8, 2008, and I absolutely love walking the dogs and playing/visiting with them. Their breeds don't matter to me, which is something I was amazed to discover about myself. I see each of them simply as a dog, and while they're each different, most of them are so much the same - fun, full of life, and ready to be your friend. I so look foward to the 3-4 times a week when I can go spend time with them! And the people there are so nice and easy to work with - I have felt comfortable there since the first day I stepped foot in the shelter. Ozzie is a beautiful dog, and we're so happy that we were given the opportunity to adopt him and be his guardians. Thank you, Stray Rescue |
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Pinky...where to start? Pinky was rescued by Randy and when he saw her, he thought she was yet another one that didn't make it. She was just laying there, not moving. When he got closer he saw that she was still alive, but barely. He even called ahead to the vet to tell them he was bringing her in but didn't think she was going to make it. Pinky had mange really bad and just was in bad shape. I would be at the shelter doing my shift and see them walking her next door at the vet. My first comment was "She must be one of ours". I went to the shelter one day to pick up my new foster. When I got there, I found out that Pinky had been put in the apartment with my new foster I was picking up and my foster and Pinky had a little scuffle. Pinky's skin was in such bad shape that she bled easily and the scuffle had caused her to bleed. I immediately looked at her and decided to take her instead since I just felt she needed me more. ( I soon realized that I may have needed her more than she needed me!) I brought her home and had to find little patches of fur where I could pet her. She would just sit and look up at me so adoringly, like she new life was going to get better. She quickly stole my heart! She had such a gentle, sweet nature and seemed so happy and appreciative to be getting a new lease on life. I took her over to meet her foster grandma and grandpa as I always did with new fosters. My dad came outside and his expression changed when he saw how bad she looked. He looked in her eyes and saw the beautiful dog that I saw and he even teared up a bit. I think Pinky was a lifesaver to many of my friends and family who saw how cruel the world could be. Pinky has the spirit of a true survivor and has such a love of life. She is a trooper! Everyone who meets her sees this "spirit" in her and can't help but fall in love with her! I kept telling myself she was going to make someone so happy because she had brought so much light to my life as a foster dog. I took her to her first event once she was healed and found myself pushing her under the chair to avoid anyone noticing her. I decided right then that she was never going to leave me! She continues to make me smile! She is truly my baby and my own savior. Her strength and spirit are amazing and she loves life so much. We could all take some lessons from her, and I have! Thank you Randy for saving her that day. I truly believe that everyone, including dogs, come into our lives for a reason! |
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Apollo came to Stray Rescue with his 3 puppies. He was an amazing dad to these puppies! He was pretty scared of people and his new environment but he always managed to keep an eye on his puppies. He even helped them trash the office where they were staying quite often! I got all of the puppies lined up to go to foster homes and was worried that Apollo would be alone so I decided to take him to my house to foster. I got him in my car with some help, took him to the vet and got him all of his shots and then brought him home. He was so scared that I had to carry him into the house. I wasn't sure how he would do with my dogs so I started him out in the basement. There were 2 old couches, a nice area rug, lots of toys, food and water all ready for him. He was pretty panicked so I gave him a couple of hours to settle in. I went back later to check on him and he was still pretty scared and wouldn't let me get anywhere near him. He ended up taking months to actually learn to trust me enough to pet him and work with him on a leash and going outside. During that time, he completely destroyed my basement. He didn't want me to be with him but he also didn't want to be alone. This took me awhile to realize that it was anxiety and not just being destructive. Thankfully my basement was unfinished, so the damage was a lot, but yet minimal. He managed to destroy the 2 couches, chewed up a door frame and my steps and a few other little things that were in the basement. I worked on crate training him but he would get so scared that when he got to the point that I could get him in there, he would hurt himself trying to get out. When I was finally able to get him on a leash and start taking him outside, I was able to let him spend more time with my other dogs. He started to blossom! I would cry everytime I looked at him and he actually looked HAPPY for a change! Things continued to improve and he was gradually introduced to life in the house with the other dogs. This was challenging for awhile since he had so much anxiety. He would tend to chew things up whenever I would leave. He never seemed excited to see me when I came home, so it was always kind of funny that he had anxiety when I left! After a year with him, I decided it would do more harm to him to move him, so I decided to adopt him. This went on for awhile and he gradually became happier and more settled. He continues to have anxiety and fears with new places or new people but with me, he has become one of my best dogs! He is so in tune with me, he "gets" me and my emotions. His fathering abilities kick in with every new foster I bring home. He takes them under his wing and teaches them how to be a part of a family. He is an amazing dog! He has taught me so much about whats important in life. I had to get over his destruction of things and remind myself that these were material things that could be replaced. I had to have a lot of patience with him and learned to move at his pace. He was definitely the most challenging foster I had ever had and to this day, 3 years later, has still been my biggest challenge. I also consider him my biggest success though! I can't imagine my life without him! |
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I am lucky enough to have two Stray Rescue dogs: Nia and Irwin. They came into my life at a time when I didn't expect to get another dog. 8 months earlier, my beloved dog Shadow died at the age of 13 and 1/2. I didn't think I would be able to get another dog for a long time. I missed Shadow so much, and I knew no dog could ever take her place. Then in February, my friend got married and went on her honeymoon, and my husband Randy and I kept her dog Mocha for her while she was away. We knew as soon as we had Mocha there that we needed another dog. Life just isn't the same without a dog around! I had always looked at the Stray Rescue website, and knew all about Randy Grimm and his work, and I knew that I would get a dog from there when I was ready. Even before Shadow died, I would look at Stray Rescue every day, just because I liked seeing the dogs and following their stories, and seeing when they got adopted always made me so happy! I had seen Irwin on there for quite a while, and I thought he was such a handsome boy! So the minute Mocha went back home, I applied for Irwin. His foster mom brought him to meet us, and it was love at first sight! He is such a wonderful dog. He is so cuddly and loving. He gets depressed if he doesn't get to cuddle with us every day! He lives for love! The funniest thing about him is that he doesn't realize he's a 100 pound dog. He thinks he's a little baby! After we got Irwin, we thought it would be good for him to have a buddy. The minute I saw Nia's sweet face on the Stray Rescue website, I just knew she was the dog for me! She hardly had any hair in her picture, but it didn't matter. She has these beautiful, soulful brown eyes. She had a rough time as a stray. She was starving, and had mange, and no hair. She hardly had any teeth from eating rocks. None of that mattered when we met her. There was just something about her. We've had her since April '07. At first, she was very scared, and it took her a while to come around, but we were patient, and our patience has been rewarded with unconditional love. She is the sweetest dog ever. It has been the most rewarding experience of my life to see this dog go from scared and quiet, to a happy, fun, loving and playful dog! She lives for her toys, and she is very smart. Just tonight, I had the dogs' basket of toys in my closet, and I told her "go get your toy", and she went right in the closet and got one out! I don't know what I would do without these wonderful dogs. Even though I didn't expect to get a dog so soon after I lost Shadow, I think they came when I needed them most, and I am thankful every day to have them! By the way, Nia is Miss September in the 2008 Stray Rescue calender! In the pictures, Irwin is the black dog, and Nia is the yellow lab mix. Sincerely, Tricia Garstang |
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Copyright 2008 - Stray Rescue of St. Louis
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