Stray Rescue of Saint Louis

Thank you Zootoo! We are proud to be the winner of the first $1M Shelter Makeover contest and plan to make everyone proud with our new Stray Rescue Animal Center. Five other rescue groups will be joining us under our roof, each bringing an area of expertise and we intend to be a major driving force on behalf of the animals. You can see pictures and video of our makeover at www.helpstrayrescue.org Check the site frequently as it will be updated regularly.

However, our new building needs more than $1 million to renovate and if you would like to help us finish building our dream so we can save more dogs and cats, please go to www.helpstrayrescue.org and click on the Miracle Million link or make a donation online. We appreciate your support. To learn more about Stray Rescue, read below.

Stray Rescue of St. Louis was started in 1998 by Randy Grim with the sole purpose of saving dogs abandoned or dumped to survive by living on the city streets. This includes humanely trapping semi-feral and feral dogs. Rescues usually take place in impoverished neighborhoods which are often very dangerous and involve going into abandoned buildings, junkyards and the woods. Randy’s vision and dream has caused Stray Rescue to grow rapidly and it now operates 10 programs for the benefit of animals.

Stray Rescue operates two small no-kill shelters that can house approximately 40 dogs and has over 100 foster parents. We currently have over 220 dogs and 70 cats available for adoption. Stray Rescue primarily operates as network and has a legion of over 200 volunteers who log in over 250 hours of volunteer work each week. Stray Rescue works with 5 different vets and 4 kennels.

In addition to the dogs that we save from the streets, we created a program called Abandoned, Not Forgotten. Any dog that has been abandoned in a yard or house and found by the police, a real estate agent or banker working on a foreclosure or found by a fireman, can call Stray Rescue’s hotline number 24/7 and we will take the dog or cat. We currently acquire an average of 30 animals each month with this program. Stray Rescue also takes in stray dogs from the city pound and works collaboratively with many other animal welfare groups locally and nationally.

For those dogs that have behavioral issues, Stray Rescue pays for behavioral training when necessary for any shelter dog or one that was recently adopted from Stray Rescue and who is having a difficult time adjusting to its new home. This program is called the Post-Adoption program. Our Rent a Pet program allows a someone to take a shelter dog into their home for a weekend. This helps feral and semi-feral dogs get used to stairs, TV's and to play in a yard. This helps the dogs get a break from the shelter and become more socialized before being adopted. Our Senior for Senior program pairs senior dogs with low income senior citizens and funds the medical expenses associated with a senior dog.

With our Shelter/Rescue Outreach program, Randy Grim and Quentin, the Miracle Dog who survived the St. Louis gas chamber, actively work to shut down gas chambers throughout the US. They have traveled to many different states and have been instrumental in shutting down several in North Carolina. Stray Rescue raised the money to shut down the St. Louis gas chamber in 2003. In addition, Randy has worked with city officials to change two city ordinances. St. Louis is now a Guardian City as part of IDA’s Guardian Campaign. Recently, Randy worked with city officials to pass a new ordinance that limits the amount of time an animal can be tethered. Randy is working closely with the St. Louis Police Department to educate the officers about this new ordinance and has created a new program called UnChain St. Louis.

Our motto is “Where Compassion Rules”. Please visit www.strayrescue.org Thank you.

Information provided by the owner