We live in suburban St. Louis, where we know our neighbors, and more so, our neighbors dogs.  So when we found three sick, severely emaciated stray dogs wandering the streets in our neighborhood, we knew these dogs must have traveled far.  Unfortunately, they hadn’t traveled far at all.  When we found they lived in our neighborhood, we were more shocked when we saw the conditions these dogs were forced to live in.  The house had basically been abandoned and the dog’s owners felt it sufficient to put their dog food in the lawn and let them eat from that.  Unfortunately, we have had so much rain this season their food had completely been absorbed by the lawn. 

We had to do something.  On a Sunday, there was nobody to call. The “no kill” shelters are unfortunately closed, so we had to call Animal Control knowing any fate after this would be better than what these poor animals have had to endure until now.  They arrived an hour later and loaded the scared dogs into their truck.

We followed up on Wednesday with Animal Control and the news was disturbing. The owners of the dogs showed up to claim the animals only to be informed they required extensive veterinary care and would not be released until they received this care (lack of funding required the owners to pay the bill).  The owners refused to pay for the care, and signed ownership to Animal Control, knowing, their fate was to be euthanasia.

Our hearts were filled with sadness, and feelings of helplessness, and then anger and hate.  We both wanted to seek vengeance on the owners of the dogs, but instead, decided, we can do better. We can make sure this doesn’t happen anymore.  We can raise money to give to the no kill shelters so hopefully they can respond to emergency Sunday calls and can give treatment to animals in need of veterinary care. 

Thank you for your support,

Adriane & John Denny