Gateway Pet Guardians Continues Outreach to Metro East Pet Owners
Thirty seven dog houses delivered with more to come, rescue is still searching for strays.
January 6, 2014 (Saint Louis, Mo) – With a record-tying six below in the forecast and the potential for a wind chill of negative 35 degrees this evening, Gateway Pet Guardians, a local animal rescue focused on the Metro East, is working in emergency mode to provide shelter and a warmth for animals in East St. Louis and the surrounding area.
Slash was rescued from an abandoned house in East St. Louis before the storm hit. For more information on slash, click here.
As of December 29th, outreach teams with the organization have visited 70 homes, delivered 37 dog houses with 25 bales of straw to community residents and rescued five stray puppies and two adult dogs, with many more yet to be saved. One of those rescued was Slash (pictured). He was found laying on the porch of an abandoned house with a large laceration to his leg, a rib bone lodged in the roof of his mouth, and several other ailments including heartworms. He’s currently being treated at Hillside Animal Hospital.
“There are many more strays like Slash who will die in tonight’s cold if they survived last night. The more fosters and donations we can get, the more stray animals we can rescue,” said founder Julia Mittelstadt. “We’ve had teams going over to the East side on a daily basis to do what we can and try to convince pet owners to bring their animals inside at least until Tuesday. We’re also leaving them with straw and dog houses. We ran out of houses and straw on Saturday and had to put out an emergency plea for donations so we could continue on Sunday and today.”
The rescue group provides food on a daily basis for many of the strays in East St. Louis as well as people in the community with pets who need assistance. With extreme weather in the area, the group has been working overtime delivering doghouses and straw to pet owners with inadequate shelter.
With the sudden influx of additional animals, the organization is also seeking foster families and donations to cover the vet bills of the animals brought in.
The group plans to rescue as many animals as possible today to prevent any from dying overnight. To assist Gateway Pet Guardians with rescuing animals in need, please visit www.gatewaypets.com and make a donation of monetary value, or contact our shelter manager at 314-664-7398 to arrange a drop off of a dog house or straw.
About Gateway Pet Guardians
Gateway Pet Guardians is a nonprofit animal rescue and shelter that relies on donations and volunteer foster families to rescue starving and abandoned animals. For more information about Gateway Pet Guardians or to donate, volunteer, or become a foster family, visit www.gatewaypets.com.