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Missouri German Shepherd Rescue
Love In Action - Restoring Hope for German Shepherds an IRS 501(c)3 non-profit organization |
Cattle Dog : : Female : : Young : : Small
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About Westport | |
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"Westport" is off the streets and safe!!!
SAY HELLO TO LITTLE MISS "WESTPORT".
This little girl ran stray in Kansas City's Westport area for months. She was chased by many, run off by some, and finally caught on Saturday Oct. 18 by MoGS dedicated Foster Managers, Jill & Calep (who have done this before!).
Westport was dead alseep in the sun in a parking lot, and didn't wake up until the leash was put around her neck. The reason: she was running a 104.5 temperature, was full of worms, had a ruptured ear drum, was eaten up by fleas -- and clearly didn't feel well! THANK HEAVENS JILL & CALEP'S DEDICATION PAID OFF - this little girl was deteriorating quickly!!!
Little Westport is a pretty mixed-breed girl who's only about 1 year old - still a puppy yet abandoned and left to survive on her own for many months. And boy does she have a SCRAPPY personality - clearly the only way she survived all these months on her own.
Westport's story all started so innocently.
In June, MoGS was called by a concerned worker in the Westport area to report a stray "German Shepherd puppy". After seeing a blurry picture, we knew she wasn't a German Shepherd but a pretty little mix breed. Still, that made no difference to us. She needed HELP in capital letters, especially with winter coming on. Is she part shepherd? Her coloring and pointy ears made people think so, but lots of breeds have that coloring and stand-up ears. Westport looks like a mash-up of all our favorite breeds so we'll just call her "America's Dog." No matter what her heritage, she's an official MoGS dog now.
Her capture has taken months - longer than we hoped - but lots of things worked against us. First, she's smart. Second, she's street savvy. Third, she's adorable so lots of people were willing to feed her. Unfortunately that meant we couldn't get her on a "schedule" and she was never hungry enough to go into a live trap. She circled it and ate the bait food, but was never desperate enough to venture inside. So we abandoned the idea of trapping her and used a more direct approach. Jill and Calep used a variation of the tried-and-true catch pole - something called a Snappy Snare.
for the faint of heart. Getting a scared dog on a Snappy Snare is
heart-stopping for both dog and human. It scares both of them, and
you have to hold on for dear life. The dog thrashes like a banshee
and does everything possible to get out. And they often chew through
the Snappy Snare and make a mad break for it. We had two Snappy
Snares plus a slip lead on her -- and still she almost got away.
She chewed through one Snappy Snare and the other one barely
survived.
We refused to give up. Jill & Calep were out there every weekend, on the occasional lunch hour, and for 1-2 hours after work. They roamed the area with bags of treats and Snappy Snares. They say, "We looked pretty ridiculous - like we were fishing for dogs on the prairie. We walked laps around the neighborhood and every once in a while we ran into her. I'm not sure who was more surprised by the chance encounters but every time we met we tried to coax her with a treat and get a Snappy Snare on her. All to no avail. The best thing that happened was meeting the people in the neighborhood who knew Westport's habits and routes. Lots of people were hoping she'd make it! "
The breakthrough -- and Westport's salvation -- came when Jill & Calep ran into Dr. Mindy Brown one Sunday afternoon. Dr. Mindy is the chiropractor at Innate Family Chiropractic on Baltimore and tipped us off that our little girl used the parking lot behind the blood bank as her bedroom. So we started including a pass along Baltimore to peek at that parking lot. It was a tricky spot - lots of ways in/out and impossible to block all the exits. Jill & Calep searched for ways to block the exits but couldn't come up with a solid way to contain her. They knew they'd have to rely on stealth if they found her in the parking lot.
Then on Saturday Oct. 18 they made their usual passes, starting at their favorite coffee spot - Oddly Correct on Main. It was a quiet, warm, sunny fall day, and they didn't see anything moving. Jill commented it was nap time for dogs so they took one more lap to look for her.
And that one final lap proved to be the difference.
In fact, it's the only reason she's now safe and on the way to getting well!
Because there she was - at the very back of the parking lot, piled up against the fence, sound asleep in the sun.
They parked the truck in a neighboring lot, got their snares / slip leads / bags of treats, and quietly made their way over to where she was curled up. Jill approached from one direction and Calep from the opposite direction. Westport's head was pointing toward Calep, so he stayed out of sight while Jill stealthily crept up along the fence. When Jill got within snare's length, Westport raised her head slightly and Jill quickly swooped in, dropping the Snappy Snare over her head. EUREKA!!! Westport was caught, and then began to thrash all around. Calep moved in and quickly slipped the second snare over her head. Westport fought in earnest, rolled, got one snare in her mouth and chewed fiercely. Calep dropped a third slip lead on her just in time, as she chewed completely through one snare. Finally she realized she had "lost", and in fear she completely shut down. Working together, Jill and Calep held onto the remaining snares, quickly brought the truck over, covered her with a blanket, and lifted her into a dog box.
WESTPORT WAS FINALLY SAFE AFTER 4 MONTHS OF CONSTANT WORRY AND EFFORT!
When the door closed on the dog box, Westport was off the streets for good. For the first time in her life, she was safe and secure. And although she didn't know it, she would never again have to worry, scurry, scrounge, or live a lonely, dangerous life filled with disease, distrust and unkindness.
It was quite a spectacle and attracted attention. A passer-by wanted to know what Jill & Calep were doing to the dog (tho he wasn't interested enough to come see). A landscaping crew pulling a stump stopped to watch them wrestle this little dog to the ground. A couple who'd also been trying to catch Westport happened by and were excited to see her off the streets. A quick call to MoGS President brought her there in nothing flat to share in the excitement of getting Westport safe. And then Jill & Calep rushed her to Great Plains SPCA Clinic in Merriam, where the incredible clinic staff stayed late and put a lot of love into assessing her and helping us help her.
But as odd as it sounds, all this stalking, trapping, luring, catching and vetting was the easy part.
THE HARD WORK IS JUST BEGINNING! Because this scrappy little dog -- dumped, abandoned, totally alone in the world -- has an even longer road ahead of her. She;s sick. She has to get well enough to even be vaccinated. She has to be socialized. She has to learn to trust people. She has to learn what love is. And eventually she'll be ready for a loving, forever home.
So please - keep your prayers coming!
Think of Westport with love and support, each and every day. She needs it.
And please - support MoGS as we vet her, socialize her, love her, rehab her.
HELP US HELP WESTPORT MEND!
Please consider donating to her vet expenses, which will be significant.
Please spread the word that Westport - followed by so many in the Westport area and on Facebook - is SAFE! She's off the streets!! MoGS DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS CAUGHT HER!!!
Check back soon and follow Westport's progress.
FOLLOW HER JOURNEY FROM STREET-SMART STRAY TO SOMEONE'S BELOVED COMPANION!
More about Westport
Special Needs: As of day one, Westport's need is to get well so she can be fully vetted. When finally caught, she was flea-infested, wormy, had a ruptured ear drum and a 104.5 temperature / fever. She'll go back to the vet in 1 week to see if she's well enough to be vaccinated and then eventually will be spayed.
STOP!! READ THIS BEFORE YOU GO ANY FURTHER! Have Questions? Email us at mogsrescue@gmail.com
Thank you for considering a homeless dog or cat.
Other Pictures of Westport (click to see larger version):
