Missouri German Shepherd Rescue

Cliff

On January 22, 2011 Nancy Campbell (President of MOGS) spent a couple of COLD and WET hours on a cliff in North Kansas City.  It wasn’t Nancy’s first time to rescue a dog (in fact it’s probably more like her hundredth time) so she knew that it took patience and time to build trust with the dogs. 

The time on the cliff was well worth it because the male who was later named Cliff and the female who was named Mari both came forward and allowed Nancy to help them.  After talking with neighbors in the area it was determined that Cliff & Mari had weathered 6 -12 months of living stray during terrible heat and cold/snow/ice.  Cliff, who was heartworm positive and had extreme fur loss, was infested with fleas.  He could barely walk due to malnutrition and was thought to be 12 years old has made a miraculous recovery.  In fact, once Cliff had the correct nutrition and a loving, caring home, he was found to be 2 -3 years old.  Cliff's journey is over - he is HOME! 

Mari is still in boarding and still a scared girl who doesn't entirely trust that humans will be nice to her.  She's come a long way and her journey continues.  Our pledge to them both is that we will find Mari a wonderful home and lifetime of love like Cliff has.  If you would like to help Mari please fill out a foster OR adoption application on the left hand side of this page.  If you would like to help rescue dogs off of cliffs then please fill out the volunteer application.

Sabre

MOGS recently heard from Sabre(Abbott's) forever home, enjoy the great news for a wonderful pup!

Sabre's new name is Abbott and he is the best dog we could have ever hoped to find.  We adopted him from MOGS last year in August after returning from our honeymoon!  So, he has almost been with us for a year.  His previous owners abandoned him for days in an apartment with a broken leg, and when we adopted him he already had that leg amputated.  That doesn't slow him down at all, believe me!  He loves to go on walks, ride in the car, go to the dog park, and go to work with Daddy.  He goes up and down stairs, swims in the lake, and all the things dogs with four legs do!  He even learned to jump up in our bed recently (much to his father's disappointment).  He took his first boat ride on the 4th of July this year and had a blast playing with his doggie friend Izzy.  He loves stuffed animals and even knows them by name (his current favorite is a buffalo named Ted).  He is a perfect gentleman off leash and will hang out in the front yard with me while gardening.  We are so thankful that MOGS took the time and money to help him because he truly is the sweetest dog out there!  In their initial description of him, MOGS said he just wants to be loved by everyone and a truer statement has never been made.  He even loves his two kitty sisters Maggie (6) and Bonnie (10) even though they don't love him much in return.  We could not have asked for a better wedding present thank you MOGS! 

Jewell

MOGS heard from Jewell’s forever family:

Mark and I adopted Jewell, who we now call Piper, last September.  We were told that not a lot of people had been interested in her because of her dog aggression and hyperactivity and that she had been in foster care for quite some time, but I just couldn't say no to those giant ears on such a little girl. She is over her dog aggression, she just needed some love and to know she was safe.  As for her hyperactivity, it's all still there but we love it!  She goes on long runs with Mark and is so fun to play with.  Having her get so excited when we come home from work every day, like she hasn't seen us in years, is the highlight of our day.

Piper has also become very protective of me.  When Mark is away on Military Duty she will patrol the house and alert me of every noise, she's got quite a big bark for such a tiny thing.  We did have a break in back in early October.  Mark was on a night flight, which is from 4pm - 1am.  I was in bed around midnight and heard someone messing with the door handle.  I thought it was Mark coming home early, but I guess Piper knew better.  She got her ruff up and was by the bedroom door.  I opened it and she stood in the hallway and had the meanest bark.  I tried to walk by her and she growled and nipped at my leg and wouldn't let me out of the bedroom.  I called the police but Piper had scared him away.  Once the police came in and sat on the couch with me she sat on the floor right next to him, it was weird how she knew he was good.  They caught the guy two days later.

Piper lies on the couch and reads with me and always helps make dinner.  We all eat as a family; she won’t even touch her food unless we are at the table eating.  She's claimed a spot in our bed, which is at my feet, unless she is sleeping in Mark's closet (it’s like she's on boogey man patrol).  We now live in Huntsville, AL and will be moving to Enid, Oklahoma this October where Piper will finally get a huge fenced in yard!  She has enjoyed being an Air Force dog and getting to see the country.  She loves visiting our parents, who call her their Grand Dog, especially my parent's house.  They have a white Labrador, who outweighs Piper by 85 pounds and she loves to herd him around like a sheep.  And bless her heart she tries so hard to get him to play with her, but he's just not interested, so this fall we are planning on getting Piper a brother.  We really couldn't have asked for a more perfect dog.  We're glad no one else wanted our Piper Baby, because she was meant to be a Gaines.

Katrina

MOGS heard from Katrina's new family: We were fortunate to have her choose us.  (I am a firm believer that the dog actually chooses you!)  Having seen our home and heard about our beloved and recently departed Sam of almost 15 yrs, you know the biggest part of the welcome, home Katrina, story.

We adopted her Oct 23, 2010. (The Wednesday before, I had driven to Emporia to check out Kramer.  Knew he wasn't the one, he found a forever home the next day! at a MOGS event).  We discovered Katrina was a great traveler that afternoon.  We didn't even have dog food at home.  No problem, I had cooked for Sam about 12 1/2 years so a tasty meal for her was right on hand!  She snarfed it down with gusto!  The first week she didn't sleep in our bedroom.  We found her on the couch in the tv room.  We put aluminum foil on the couch at night....solved the problem within a week.  She has happily slept in Beasley's Couch at the foot of our bed ever since.  Over the past 6 mos we have seen many emotional layers shed.  After 3 mos folks couldn't believe we had her only a short time.  She was on her way to a successful forever home!  She has become so happy folks consistently remark.  Katrina has overcome any defensive/aggressive biting.  While on vacation (after just 3 mos in our home) a youngster came up from behind to hug her.  Katrina enjoyed the hug!  The youngster got a lesson in how to approach dogs.  The event was a garden railway steamup with 119 folks and 8 dogs.  There were no incidents. She has become ultra protective of her home.  (It didn't help when the UPS guy opened the front door to slip in a package., thinking our oldster Sam was on board.  Rule of Thumb:  do not enter my house without an invitation!!)  We are using the "Chill Pill" technique at 98% success now.  Chill Pill works by thanking the dog for the alert, a correction, then using the words "chill pill", giving praise and treat if the dog settles.  Katrina is a welcome visitor at our friends.  She is a great "therapy" dog for my aging parents and their friends.  Katrina was obese at the time of adoption.  To date she has lost 16 pounds!  and is 6-8 pounds from her goal weight!  She loves attention and grooming.   Folks are amazed at her shiny black coat.  Our bonds are strong and getting stronger.  We're a happy, healthy, grateful pack.
THANK YOU, MOGS!!!

 A note from MOGS:  Stephanie(Katrina's new Mom) is now volunteering with MOGS and helping other dogs find their forever home!!  Wouldn't you like to help other dogs?  We have plenty of openings for volunteers, just click on Volunteer Application under How to Help on the left hand side of this page and you will go to sleep with a warm heart!!!

Theo

I recently spoke to Theo's (now Teddy's) new Dad and he indicated that Teddy is doing GREAT.  I was fortunate enough to be involved in dropping Teddy at his new home.  He had been at the kennel for about 9 months and seemed to be almost crazy there!!  As soon as we opened the back of the SUV (which we were just getting something out of) he jumped in and did NOT want to get out.  Turns out he was just trying to be the Alpha dog at the kennel and really loved people & riding in the car.  As soon as we turned him lose in his new backyard he calmed down and loved just hanging out.  Teddy now goes for bike rides (I know what you are thinking as I did the same) it turns out that Teddy loves to run along beside the bike while his Dad rides.  One of his favorite places to visit is the daycare run by his Grandma and play with the kids.  What a great life for a dog - kids, exercise & love!!!