The St. Louis Senior Dog Project

Red Ribbon Dogs for Seniors

Dash...one of our Red Ribbon dogs.

 The St. Louis Senior Dog  Project is a not-for-profit dog rescue organization specializing in older dogs but taking in and finding homes for dogs of all ages...even puppies.  Meet and adopt your new best friend 11 to 3 Saturday/Sunday, January 28 and 29 at the Kirkwood Petco near I-44 and Lindbergh.   To see which dogs will be there as well as other adoptable dogs (and to check out our Red Ribbon dogs, go Here.

We have great news, so if you know a senior citizen (60 years or older) or if you are one, keep on reading.

The Purina Pets for Seniors program has awarded us a grant which we can use to cover the adoption fee for selected dogs when they are adopted by senior citizens.  We hope we'll make some senior citizens happy and place some of our older dogs.

Dash, above, is a very laid back yellow lab mix, an easy dog to have around.

Or if you're more interested in something small, here's Bitsee, a poodle 8 to 10 years old.

And here's Hazel, a miniature pinsher mix 8 to 10 years old.

Or maybe Maddie, who is about 8 years old and also enrolled in a program that will provide her with free vet care at the Stray Rescue clinic.

Other Red Ribbon dogs are Roxie the dachshund, Einstein the poodle/terrier, Dolly the shepherd/hound mix, Milo the poodle, Button the rat terrier, Marley Bear the pomeranian, Paul Stanley the Rottweiller, and Chessy the poodle mix.  So you see we have them in all sizes, and we may be adding some more. And we may be adding more.

Check out the pictures on our website and you'll see all our Red Ribbon dogs.

Our grant will help us place 10 to 14 dogs, so don't delay.  Come and see our Red Ribbon Dogs weekends at the Kirkwood Petco, or call/email with questions about the ones you find interesting.

We do add that if you are one of those seniors who can easily afford our adoption fees that you pay the fee and leave the assistance for someone else.

Thanks.  And good luck to all our Red Ribbon dogs.

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

ST. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com

The trouble with "no kill"

Sizzle still waits for a home.

The St. Louis Senior Dog  Project is a not-for-profit dog rescue organization specializing in older dogs but taking in and finding homes for dogs of all ages...even puppies.  Meet and adopt your new best friend 11 to 3 Saturday/Sunday, January 21 and 22, at the Kirkwood Petco near I-44 and Lindbergh, or 11 to 3 Saturday, January 21 in the Bridgeton Petsmart. To see which dogs will be there as well as other adoptable dogs, go Here.

Marian Brickner, an animal photographer, is offering to take a family picture with your adopted dog.  Half of the $25 fee will come back to St. Louis Senior Dog Project.  You will receive a Hi RES image of the best picture.  To arrange, call Marian at 314-564-5855 and check her out on this website: Pet Photography. 

Every week I answer phone calls and emails from people who want me to take the dog they no longer want.  Sometimes their reason for dumping the dog is a good one; often it isn't.  But many of them want to know if St. Louis Senior Dog Project is a "no kill."

Yes, of course, if by "no kill" you mean that we don't put down dogs for lack of space or because they've been with us too long.  Once we commit to a dog, we hold on to it until we find it a home.  The only exceptions would be aggressive dogs or dogs in pain from unfixable injuries or untreatable diseases.

But I"m always tempted to say that there's really no such thing as a "no kill" rescue or shelter for the simple reason that when the dogs at "no kills" don't get adopted, other dogs die.  We can't really be "no kill" until our entire community is "no kill."  I say "no" to a lot of people wanting to turn over their unwanted dogs to me.  I say "no" to a lot of the requests from shelters when I don't have room for another dog or I'm just not comfortable with the dog in question.  I don't know what happens to all of these dogs, but I'm sure some of them die.  That's why I don't brag too much about being a "no kill."

The main difference between "kill" and "no kill" is that a "no kill" group can choose the dogs it takes in and say "no" when out of space.  "Kill" shelters are the municipal and county shelters responsible for animal control.  They can't be selective.  They must take in strays and usually also those turned in by owners.  When they're out of space, they can't close the door.  They must make space, and they do that by euthanizing dogs.

Most of the county and municipal shelters I work with try to save as many dogs as possible.  They work with rescue groups to get dogs into homes and still must make tough decisions about which dogs to hold onto a little longer and which are probably not adoptable.  I'd hate to be the one making those decisions.

I can remember a time when many shelters euthanized dogs as soon as they were past their "hold" period, the number of days they must hold a dog by law. It didn't matter if the dog was vicious or friendly, healthy or not.  If time was up, the dog was out of luck.  The rescue movement and programs to encourage spay/neuter have changed things a lot, significantly reducing the number of homeless dogs being euthanized. We're making progress. But we're a long ways from being a "no kill" community.

Most of us define "no kill" as "no kill of adoptable dogs," and we don't all define "adoptable" the same. I think senior dogs are adoptable.  Some others disagree and avoid them.

We all get a little uncomfortable when we turn away a dog that anyone would call "adoptable" because we're having trouble placing other dogs that may be less desirable. We comfort ourselves when some of these less desirable dogs end up in homes where their new humans thing they're the best dogs they've ever owned.

But still. We aren't a "no kill" community.

Part of the solution, of course, is more spay/neuter to cut down on the number of unwanted dogs.  We might also aim our strongest efforts at dog fighting rings and pitball breeders who are contributing so many of the dogs that end up in "kill" shelters.

This past week we did take in a couple senior dogs from St. Louis County and a couple big dogs from Jefferson County.  All were at risk.  I'm happy we could help.  Sizzle, above, is another dog we rescued from a "kill" shelter last summer.   As a black dog (and a darn sweet one at that), she was at risk.   She's still waiting for a home, and she deserves a break, but so do some of the others who never seem to get one. 

It's not easy.

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

St. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com

Dogs love snow!

But this is not snow.  This is sunset at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.

The St. Louis Senior Dog  Project is a not-for-profit dog rescue organization specializing in older dogs but taking in and finding homes for dogs of all ages...even puppies.  Meet and adopt your new best friend 11 to 3 Saturday/Sunday, January 14 and 15, at the Kirkwood Petco near I-44 and Lindbergh. To see which dogs will be there as well as other adoptable dogs, go Here.

Marian Brickner, an animal photographer, is offering to take a family picture with your adopted dog.  Half of the $25 fee will come back to St. Louis Senior Dog Project.  You will receive a Hi RES image of the best picture.  To arrange, call Marian at 314-564-5855 and check her out on this website: Pet Photography. 

Dogs love snow.  I know this because I'm looking out the window at several dogs who seem to think heaven sent this wonderful stuff so that they could enjoy an extra special day.  Dogs might not care for rain, but they'll play for hours in the snow.

I'm not loving the snow quite that much.  A week ago I was in New Mexico enjoying a few dog-free days and visiting such places at the White Sands National Monument.  It may have looked like snow there, but it was sand dunes as far as I could see and a jaw-dropping sunset.  And the weather was lovely.

During my time there I stayed at the Hilltop Hacienda, a bed and breakfast I'd recomment to anyone wanting a few days rest and recreation in and around Las Cruces.  The picture below doesn't do justice to the gardens, birds, patios and comfortable rooms as well as the trails through the desert out the back door.
But now I'm back home.  It's cold, and I'm catching up with dogs and starting a new semester of teaching.

This snowy white boy is Malcolm, the newest addition at my place.

He's  4 or 5 years old and very friendly.  We've also taken in a senior minpin and a senior poodle mix from St. Louis County Animal Control.

And we've had some adoptions: Emily the black shepherd mix, Ziggy the Aussie mix, Blossom the beagle/corgi mix, Trooper the little minpin, Frannie the yorkie, and Minnie the schnauzer mix.  Also, drum roll, Flopsy the Aussie mix has found a home.  Flopsy had been with us almost two years and wasn't adoptable because of urinary incontinence.  We finally found a solution to her problem through a new surgical procedure available at Veterinary Specialty Services.  She is now almost perfect and settling into her new home.  Another dog in for surgery this week is Latifah the black lab.  Her surgery was for a knee problem that was causing her constant pain.  In a few weeks, she should be better than ever and, we hope, pain free.

Tomorrow's another adoption day. 

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

St. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com

Something to celebrate

Milo finds a home.

The St. Louis Senior Dog  Project is a not-for-profit dog rescue organization specializing in older dogs but taking in and finding homes for dogs of all ages...even puppies.  Meet and adopt your new best friend 11 to 3 Saturday, December 31, at the Kirkwood Petco near I-44 and Lindbergh. To see which dogs will be there as well as other adoptable dogs, go Here.

Marian Brickner, an animal photographer, is offering to take a family picture with your adopted dog.  Half of the $25 fee will come back to St. Louis Senior Dog Project.  You will receive a Hi RES image of the best picture.  To arrange, call Marian at 314-564-5855 and check her out on this website: Pet Photography. 

Milo is just one of our dogs with something to celebrate.  He found his new home on the last day of 2011, which wasn't such a great year for him.  He spent most of the year ( 8 month) locked up in the old St. Louis City shelter on Gasconade.  We took him into our program and quickly discovered an almost perfect dog.

So Happy New Year to Milo.  2012 should be a good year.  And Happy New Year also to Blue Moon and Root Beer, the two Aussies who got their wish and will be spending the rest of their lives together in a wonderful new home.  Others finding homes were Gigi the senior poodle, Gerri the schnauzer, Miles the chihuahua mix, Emily the black shepherd mix, Marley Bear the Pomeranian, Lucy the chubby border collie mix, Nutmeg the redbone coonhound puppy, Brodie the maltese, Charlie the dachshund, Liz the border collie mix, and even the elderly Sassy, a schnoodle.

This is Brodie the maltese, a former breeder.

And her's Nutmeg (although she's grown since this picture).  She was born in a ditch with her eight siblings.  All the pups are adopted.  Mom Charlotte still needs a home.

And here's little old Sassy. Her former owners decided they were too busy for her.

And this is Marley Bear, whose former owners turned him in to Jefferson County Animal Control.

Happy New Year to all of them, and to all of the wonderful people who fostered them and to those who adopted them. And Happy New Year to all our wonderful volunteers, probably the best anywhere.

We ended 2011 with 384 adoptions -- more than a dog a day rescued and delivered to new homes.

We ended the year up to date with all bills and with money in the bank.  We're operating in the black.  We're here for the long run. In 2012 we'll celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  My New Year's wish is that long after I'm too old to keep up with dogs, there will still be a St. Louis Senior Dog Project.

I've received more cards and emails from former adopters including a gorgeous Christmas picture of Bongo, a spaniel mix rescued from Jefferson County Animal Control.  He's certainly found the good life, as has a cocker spaniel we first knew as Gummy (now Donner). 

I received a letter and photos from the people who adopted Gummer/Donner five years ago.  I remember this dog well because when I first saw him at the old Gasconade pound, he was so matted that his mats had mats.  Staff didn't think he was even adoptable -- too old.  Well, he's still alive and he still enjoys life.  He sleeps with his teddy bear in the middle of a king-size bed.  He enjoys car rides and walks.  He also has good food, dog beds in every room, plenty of love, and regular trips to the groomer.  No more mats on this boy.

It's amazing to think how different his life is now from the one that brought him to us.  My wish for all the sad, neglected dogs is that the find new lives as good as those of Bongo and Donner.

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

St. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com