Charlotte’s Story:
There are so many dogs worth saving that would be put down immediately if they ended up at animal control.
At Gateway Pet Guardians, we just rescued one of those dogs.
As I’ve shared before, PJ Hightower has been driving the streets of poverty stricken East St. Louis every morning since 2001 to feed the strays. She watches out for all of the dogs and rescues them as soon as we have a foster home or shelter space.
Sometimes she stumbles on a dire situation that just can’t wait.
That’s what happened a couple of weeks ago when PJ and her helpers spotted a dog lying by the side of the road in the weeds. When they got closer, they saw that she was foaming at the mouth, emaciated and had been shot in the head. They rushed this poor girl to an emergency veterinary clinic and named her Charlotte.
Read more about Charlotte’s rescue:
Gateway Pet Guardians’ founder PJ Hightower and volunteers Shannon Kozeny and Natalie Wyper were feeding the strays on the normal feeding route through East St. Louis on a gorgeous Saturday morning.
After passing under a set of train tracks, Shannon spotted Charlotte, lying in the weeds and immediately told PJ to stop. As they got out of the car, they saw that Charlotte was just lying in the weeds, covered in blood and her own vomit, completely emaciated. She was puking up non-stop foam. She could not stand. She looked at our group of volunteers as if she saw them, but could not get her eyes to focus on them.
In attempt to coax Charlotte out of the weeds, PJ poured out some food in front of Charlotte. She gave it a sniff, but never attempted to eat it. It was at that moment, PJ, Shannon & Natalie knew they had to act and could not leave her. PJ put a slip lead on her and the group was able to put her in the car, and take her immediately to the emergency veterinary clinic.
It was there that the veterinarians made a grisly discovery, which unfortunately is something we cannot understand or logically explain, but sadly see in our rescue efforts. It was determined that Charlotte had been poisoned, along with a potenial gunshot wound to her head. If it were not for PJ, Shannon & Natalie, Charlotte would not have made it.
Charlotte’s next 72 hours were touch and go, where she experienced multiple seizures as she fought for her life. Thankfully, Charlotte has stabilized and can now begin her recovery. She has vertigo, but the vet is hopeful this will fade as she continues to recover. She is a sweet girl who has a long road to recovery and rehabilitation, but right now is enjoying her new life with her soft bed to sleep on and snuggling with anyone she meets. — Gateway Pet Guardians ~ Charlotte’s 2nd Chance
See the photos of Charlotte’s rescue…
Today, after 3 weeks of medical attention and lots of kisses, Charlotte is happy and on her way to recovery in a loving foster home.
See more pictures of Charlotte…
Help Us Save More Dogs Like Charlotte:
Gateway Pet Guardians has had the busiest rescue year ever. And we are simply out of money.
In the first half of 2013, we rescued almost 200 dogs and cats. In 2012, we rescued 212 animals in the entire year. While we feel so good about all of the animals we have gotten off the streets or saved from being put down at animal control, we simply can’t do anything more until we raise more money.
We are currently on a rescue hiatus until more funds can be raised to cover food, vet bills and paying the utilities for our shelter. While we will find a way to make it work if we stumble on another Charlotte in desperate need, there are many others who are living on the streets right now who will have to stay on the streets a while longer.
Please make a donation. Every little bit helps.
Photo Credits – David Carlyon (Darkwood Studio)
