End animal suffering in KCMO urban core

We have had a miserably hot summer here in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, and it has been very hard on the outside animals. We have had multiple days in a row of the heat index being well over 100 degrees. We work in the urban core in Kansas City and there are thousands of animals kept outside without the necessary things they need for survival in this extreme heat.

The main issue these animals face is lack of fresh, cold water. Water is precious and necessary and we have been to many, many animals with no water at all in their bowls/buckets on a 100+ degree day, or there will be a small amount of very warm water, or there might be a small amount of water with bugs, bird poop and debris in it. We buy and carry bags of ice so that we can make these animals buckets of ice water, with the goal being to keep their water as cool as possible for as long as possible. Some of the animals that we know about, we have to be at their house giving them water every day or every other day because we cannot rely on the owner to make sure they have it. It’s just how it is with some people.

Insects make these outside animals miserable. We are helping them combat flies, fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes. It takes a lot of products to help these animals make it through the summer. We see bleeding ears all day long because that is the first place flies will attack-the tips and backs of dogs’ ears. Once the flies draw blood on their ears, it is hard to get things under control because the flies are relentless, often laying maggots in the sores that they make. We hang hundreds and hundreds of fly traps, in the trees above chained dogs. The traps attract the flies into the bag and away from the dogs. We give out hundreds of bottles of ear gel-a repellent that people can put on their dogs’ ears to heal their sores and keep the flies off of their ears while they heal.

Of course, we are constantly advocating for spaying and neutering. One of the saddest things we see is a mother dog or cat, out in the miserable heat, trying to care for their litter. Not only are they trying to survive in extreme circumstances, but they are trying to keep their babies alive too, despite their obstacles. This is why it's so important that we are out on the streets seven days a week getting to as many animals as we can get to. Thank you for your support, We operate on donations only and that is how we are able to make such a difference in so many animals' lives in Kansas City. Our work this past summer has literally been life-saving.