Winter 2021
PROVIDING SECOND CHANCES TO ANIMALS SINCE 1870
You Brought Love and Care to Dogs in Need Your heart can’t help but break when you learn how a breeder mistreated the dogs she was licensed to raise. At the same time, we want to share, with gratitude, the enormous difference you make in the lives of these innocent animals. Without your help this story could have unfolded differently. It began on one of the hottest dog days of summer, July 27, when our Animal Cruelty Task Force (ACT) received an urgent call that inspectors from the Missouri Department of Agriculture had discovered dogs, belonging to a licensed breeder, in dire condition. Early the next morning, after the five-hour trek to the southwest section of Missouri, our team arrived at the property to a situation far worse than we even imagined. The gravel road leading to the kennels was washed out and overgrown with brush, making it a challenge to even get the rescue vehicles onto the property. A weak and emaciated white Boxer greeted us; timid and scared at first, he seemed to sense we were here to free him from his suffering. A litter of three-day-old Chihuahua puppies received the immediate care they desperately needed. We rounded up dogs
that ran loose on the property and freed others held in kennels overgrown with weeds. The dogs were infested with ticks and fleas, and their fur was matted and covered in filth. For one dog, the rescue efforts were hours too late; the team found remains of other deceased dogs on the grounds and in the kennels in various stages of decomposition. Inside the home, a three-year-old boxer, both hind legs wrapped in bandages, was carried to the rescue van. Back in St. Louis, the dogs were triaged by the veterinary team and each dog, including the most severely wounded, was treated and put on a path to healing. Some of the animals would be cared for in our shelters for a short time and, when ready, adopted into loving homes. We watched over mom and her puppies until they were weaned and available for adoption. Other animals required surgery and extensive rehabilitation.
Because of you, we have the professionally trained staff and resources to care for each of these animals. And thanks to you, we can end this tale on the happy news that all 21 dogs — Boxers, Chihuahuas, and Yorkshire Terriers — rescued that day now have the second chances they deserve.
hsmo.org | longmeadowrescueranch.org | amcma.org | StLLostPets.org 1