End animal suffering in KCMO urban core

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 !!