End animal suffering in KCMO urban core

perseverance  [pur-suh-veer-uh ns] noun.  Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement…

We received a call from a man saying his dog was really sick. From what he described it sounded like it could be parvo. 

OUR COURSE OF ACTION.....get there, there was no time to waste. 

When we first saw Patton, he was laying in the dirt, tied up with a leash. He had flies all over him, he was dirty and he looked very ill. He had thrown up in his water bowl. His eyes were hollow.....he looked so sad, like he had given up.  The man had gotten this dog from someone in the neighborhood.  Said he was fine the first day, then stopped eating.  He was now very ill.  Having no resources to provide care for this dog, he relinquished Patton to Chain of Hope. 

Our PURPOSE...end suffering.  The STATE....dire.  We rushed to the emergency vet. 

We were right, he  tested positive for parvo. Patton was treated, and we left with what seemed a small pharmacy.  Full of meds to help him fight,  we got him settled in at Chain of Hope in a soft clean bed, continued to give him fluids, made sure he had food and clean water, and let him rest.  We felt hopeful that we could turn this around.  He had something to fight for and we were fighting, praying, right along side him.   Thinking he was about two years old, we hoped he was big enough and just strong enough to recover.  We are usually treating parvo in small vulnerable puppies.  A fighter he was, and for a brief time we felt he would pull through.  He rallied enough to feel the love of caring devoted people around him, making sure that if it were his last moments, it would be the best he ever knew. 

And it was.

We face DIFFICULTIES...OBSTACLES....DISCOURAGEMENT....every....single.....day.  We PERSEVERE so that Patton did not leave this earth in the dirt, cold, suffering and alone.  He left this earth in comfort, knowing love and compassion.  We PERSEVERE because we know there are more out there....our PURPOSE...to end suffering.   

Your support makes it possible and we thank you.

Many dogs come through our program. For every one there are a dozen more waiting for the chance to start a new life.  Many we find sooner than later, while they are still young enough to have a full  life in a healthy loving home, nearly 100 so far this year alone.   But some come to us late in life, after years of neglect and isolation, a myriad of health issues, some that can be addressed and some that are too late.  Reggie was finally relinquished at age 14 in the dead of winter, after his entire life 24/7 on the end of a chain in the back of a yard.  Heart worm positive and having never been neutered, we hoped he would last even 6 months with us.  He chose to live the good life for another 2 years! 

These old dogs define resilience.  Though some do find an angel to take them into their home for their final days, months, or years, we take them in knowing they may very well finish their walk with us.  And in so doing, we honor their needs, their quirks, always with the committment to make them as comfortable as possible.  So.... we always left a small trash can in the middle of the room for Reggie so he would pee on that instead of the walls.  And volunteers brought in satin balls  to put some weight on Tracker, or make chicken and rice when Pearl isn't feeling well.   We smile when Mabel snags left over pizza from the bottom shelf of the fridge. 

Abby, at age 9,  is the youngest of our current senior pack, with us for 4 and a half years now.  She still feels safest in the security of her crate but will come to a familiar comforting voice or hand.  She loves puppies, and welcomes them in for a nap and even takes a romp or two with them in the yard.   Tracker, at age 15, is still quite the ladies man, surrounding himself with the gals for afternoon naps on the kitchen floor. Cubby was rescued just a short while ago and was able to stay with us just long enough to feel the love and warmth of people, a soft bed, cool water and nurishing food. 

So whether it be a day, a month, or years, we mirror their resilience and make sure they know their value, their worth in a world that was so desperately unkind.  Our hearts break in letting them go, nearly hardended by the injustice and suffering they endured, but we head out the next day, and the next...because we know there are more. 

Your support makes that possible, and for that we are eternally grateful. 

The Chain of Hope outreach teams set out each day with an agenda, a list of houses to visit, food deliveries, and to keep an eye on those animals that are living a fine line of survival. And sometimes there is no address, just a field, a junkyard, or the woods. Such was the case when Tanner and Kate went looking for the mamma of two puppies they had rescued weeks earlier. It was in an area in the city near a very busy street, where strays are often seen roaming and scavenging. They spotted her and she took off, as they do when humans have never given them kindness, or for that matter, anything at all. Soon into the pursuit of mamma, a black male dog was spotted, and soon thereafter another female. The male bolted, but the female stayed around, close enough they could see it looked like she may have just recently had pups, and likely not running because they were close by. They set the trap up and caught her! No doubt so easily lured to the food as she was starving trying to care for her litter.  She was terrified as any good mamma would be needing to protect her babies. Now the search was on for the pups. You have to think like a mamma and look for a good hiding place which could be about anywhere in the woods with the ground covered in leaves. Tanner spotted an old tree stump at the bottom of a steep hill and sure enough there they were. Not one, not 5, but 11 puppies, just days old, no bigger than the leaves they were covered in!  Kate was headed down with a bucket to collect them, but Tanner could hear mamma crying. He took off his hoodie and scooped up all those babies and ran them up to mom as quickly as he could. Soon they were all in the van headed back to Chain of Hope where they got settled in, on a warm dry bed with blankets, with food, water, and humans to show them kindness. 

Imagine without that tenacity what would have happened to this family. What if mamma had been hit by a car on that busy street? What was to happen to those pups if they survived? How many would have been destined to the same fate as their mamma, having litters of their own.  Your support ensures they will not.  Your generositu makes it possible to change their fate, to change the fate of one dog at a time….or sometimes 12. 

We are truly grateful for your compassion and support. We thank you !!

Disclaimer:  this report contains a graphic photograph that may be difficult to view.. 

Chain of Hope recieved a call just after the 4th of July.  In an unimaginable act of cruelty, someone had thrown M-80 firecrackers at a dog, whom we later named Helen.  We never determined who did this unspeakable act, but concerned neighbors did their best to keep track of her.  She took off and hid...of course.  She was a spotted week or so later and was caught, lured by food.  She was starving, having been out scavenging with severe injuries.  We could not imagine the pain she was in.   We sought medical attention immediately.  One of Helen's paws was severly damaged, and felt likely would have to be amputated.  It also apparent she had lost most if not all her hearing and vision, and an eye was badly damaged

We are contiually amazed at the resilience of these animals who go through hell and back, only to be able to give and recieve affection by another human after one had so horribly mistreated them. 

But resilient she was!  Helen transferred to a foster home where over weeks she started to heal.  She lost one eye, but regained vision in her other.  Her hearing returned, and the paw that we thought she would lose, healed remarkably well.

Chain of Hope received a call from an owner saying his dog was sick, not eating, he had no money to care for him and did not know what to do.  We took Gabby to the vet.  She was examined and was obviously dehydrated, very thin, so given fluids.  She was checked for PARVO, but the test was negative.  Gabby was sent home.  The owner called again about a week later and said she was no better, actually worse.  We went to see her and thought she would not make it; her condition was far worse.  The owner surrendered Gabby to Chain of Hope and we took her to the emergency clinic imediately.  She was there for a couple days, running tests as she continued to deteriorate.  She could not eat, was vomiting, and so very weak she could not stand.  We really thought we would lose her.  The recommendation was finally exploratory surgery; the only way to see what may be going on.  Gabby had a piece of a corn cob lodged in her intestine!  Her organs were shutting down.  She had been living outside and  we now knew she was likely just eating scraps.  It  remained touch and go for a couple weeks while Gabby regained her strength.  But boy did she ever !  Gabby is about one of the most resiliant dogs we have seen.  Had Chain of Hope not interveined Gabby would have died a horrible, slow painful death.   Gabby did not give up and neither did we.  We don't.  We keep looking, keep educating, keep saving, keep ending misery every day.  And that is only possible because the support of our donors.  We thank you.  Gabby thanks you !