Angel's Got Mercy was near death: starved and dehydrated, she stumbled to the top of the ditch. She fell down, then gained enough strength to take a few more steps before collapsing on the gravel road in front of a compassionate neighbor lady who had just dropped her granddaughter off to school. Two weeks later Angel has gained exactly 2 pounds, and now this 10 pound 8 ounce Rat Terrier nad Beagle mix pup is at her perfect weight.
This 8 week old pup was blessed by and Angel, and so goes her name. Go to our Pets Site to read about this RCA looking pooch and many others who were strays or unwanted in our beautiful area of Southeast Missouri.
TTHE BOLLINGER COUNTY STRAY PROJECT developed in 2007
The Bollinger County Stray Project (BCSP) was developed by Bollinger County Veterinarian Service and area rescue/foster volunteers. At the time of development, there were no shelters in Bollinger County. This made assisting strays very taxing for the families that cared for the countless strays in this county. It seemed no mistake that stray after stray showed up at the same doors of these animal friendly families.
So a program was developed to help the strays and the very people who cared for them.
Our mission is to reduce the suffering of unwanted strays in our county and district area through education and by our actions. We are not extremists, nor are we blind to the problems of our communities.
Our group not only helps families with strays. We also work with families who can no longer keep their pets or who have failed to spay their females and are taxed with a litter of unwanted puppies. We require that those families have their females spayed in order to receive our assistance so that this circle of unplanned and unwanted reproduction is closed. We realize that no pet owner is perfect (who among us is), and so we want to assist the very people who ask for direction. This passive approach is working. Many who have had litter after litter are changing and becoming part of the solution: no longer part of the problem.
We are not a 501 c-3. We don’t intend to pursue such a standing either. We don’t want the burdens associated to this title. However, we need and readily accept any donations offered our group to help the countless pets dumped in our county and surrounding area. To do this, simply write a check or call to give a credit card donation to the following: Bollinger County Veterinarian Service, 613 Broadway Street, Marble Hill, Missouri, 63764. Telephone number is 573- 238-3063. Let the veterinarian office know with a note or in your call that the money is to go towards the Bollinger County Stray Project Fund. If you have a preference to how the money is used, please state those requirements.
There are several ways you can help us with donations. We need kennels, plastic dog houses, bleach, unused medications from deceased pets (heartworm meds, topical and pills for fleas, antibiotics, etc from clients of the vet office in Marble Hill, MO), and crates. When looking for ways to help with financial donations, please consider classroom and neighborhood fundraisers, personal donations, memorials, and through a will.
The volunteers are not paid for their gas mileage to evaluate the strays or to pick up abandoned animals and care for them. They are not paid for their mileage to transport these dogs either. For this reason animals accepted in our Project must be delivered to the veterinarian office for an examination by the caller. They are also asked to be the animal’s foster home until a new home can be secured. Food is not always available, but usually is because of the generosity of the Cape Girardeau, Missouri Wal-Mart and Sam’s Corporations who donate damaged food bags to Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary, a no-kill facility located in Fruitland, Missouri. These organization’s donations were vital for the BCSP’s development and maintenance.
If you need assistance with a stray, need to re-home a precious pet, or need to report animal abuse in your community, call 573-722-3035 and talk to Marilyn. She will discuss your situation, and with the help of over 80 other area “Rescue Friends” volunteers, will do their best to assist your situation.
How We Work
The BCSP has designed a simple adoption contract. All animals taken in this Project are already spayed and neutered, or the new home must agree to have the pet altered within days of adoption.
Project animals receive a thorough veterinary examination and are administered a 5-way vaccination, rabies and heartworm test if of age, and a fecal.
Dogs that are heartworm (HW) positive are not included in the program unless a sponsor comes forward to pay for their treatment and a foster can be secured for the period of time required for the treatment. If a purebred, their rescues are contacted and asked to take the responsibility of their HW treatment and adoption. IF they agree, all efforts will be made to set up transport. We may be able to administer the treatment here, but the rescue would be responsible for all the medical costs of the dog before treatment.
Pet owners with HW positive dogs are expected to pay for the HW test and euthanization of the pet if they are unwilling to pay for the pet’s HW treatment or a rescue or sponsor does not come forward.
The behavior of the project dogs is evaluated by the veterinarian office and usually also by a dog savvy volunteer with years experience or an area dog obedience instructor who has 12 years experience training dogs.
The evaluators include a retired veterinarian tech, a German Shepherd breeder, a long time dog rescue volunteer, two veterinarians, and the obedience instructor known for her ability to work with difficult dog behaviors. The group of evaluators is honest about the temperaments of the dogs listed on the BCSP website: no sugar coating.
If you know of a family that has litter after litter of unwanted pets, assistance may be available to help educate that family about our programs available to spay their female(s).
Please help us get-a-grip on the overpopulation in our county and surrounding area. Continue to help the strays: volunteer to foster, donate to the BCSP, and call to ask if there are any other things you can do to help our serious problems of pet abandonment.
It is true that great quality animals are dumped in our county. This is because there are so many dogs and cats and we have so many low income families. With your help, we will help all we can afford. We would like to say “Thank You” for all you do for the critters too.
Our project animals are scattered in the Marble Hill, Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City, and surrounding southeast Missouri area. We also work with a rescue in the St. Louis area where we transport dogs for adoption through their rescue. If you are sure you want an animal in our care here in the Cape Girardeau and Bollinger County area, and you live in St. Louis, you can expect to drive 1.5 to 3 hours to see them. Don’t let that stop you! We are worth the drive!
A $50 fee is required to transport a pet to the St. Louis area.
Remember, we don’t sugar coat our animals. We tell you who they are in our care. All attempts will be made to transport a pet to our St. Louis partner rescue for you to see only if you are extremely interested in adoption of that animal. Arrangements can be made with a reasonable notice time.
It will be worth your drive time to come here. We have a great selection of quality pets and our prices for their adoption are so reasonable. If we don’t have what you want now, email ( ace@clas.net ) and we will look for that perfect pet. A response may take up to 48 hours due to the use of dial-up services out here “in the sticks”, the foothills of the Ozarks…
