Campground Rescue

At the end of May, Randy went on a camping trip to a nearby state park. He was dismayed to see many stray dogs running loose around the campsites. The dogs were young, and looked very unhealthy and malnourished. One young dog had mange so bad that he had very little fur left. Although the dogs would come near, they were very wary of humans and wouldn't come close enough to be touched. Randy left them some food to eat every day, and slowly they started to come closer and closer; although still not close enough to catch. At the end of his stay, Randy decided he would come back the following weekend and try once again to catch the strays.

A week later Randy and Melinda, a reporter from the Riverfront Times, came back to the campsite with crates and food for the strays. It was hot and muggy, and bugs and ticks were everywhere. They pitched their tents near the site where Randy had seen the strays before. Sure enough, after a while the dogs wandered into the campsite, hungry and tired. After hours of speaking softly to them and offering them steaks and treats, they managed to catch three of the strays.

All three of the dogs were immediately taken to Dr. Ed's office for veterinary care. They were all severely malnourished, and had ticks all over their bodies. One dog had severe mange. Dr. Ed took good care of all three, and assured Randy that they would all be fine. We are happy to say that all three are up for adoption, and they will never again have to forage in the woods, alone and hungry.

Here are some photos from the rescue.
Here's the campsite, with two of the curious strays checking things out. They couldn't resist a bowl of fresh, cool water. As you can see, the dog at the water bowl, who Randy named "Elvis" is missing large patches of fur from the mange. Sitting nearby is "Peabody" a very handsome black lab. Not pictured here is Bell, a pretty chocolate lab/lab mix.		Here's Melinda, filling the water bowl with fresh water for the dogs. The crates were left out and open so that the dogs would get used to seeing them, and wouldn't fear them. Elvis is on the right. You can see here how bone thin he was.

Here's Elvis, checking out the crate. When beginning to use a crate with any dog, it's a good idea to let the crate sit out where the dog can become familiar with it. A dog should think of his crate as his den, not as a cage to be locked up in all the time.		Here they are, all safe and sound in their crates, on the way to a safe and happy new life. All three are doing better every day. They're quickly learning to trust humans again, and they've become normal, friendly dogs. We're hoping that some people with big hearts will give these dogs permanent homes and make up for their rocky start in life.
All of these great dogs have been adopted into loving homes!

1463 S. 18th Street
Saint Louis, MO 63104
Phone: 314.771.6121

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