Missouri 12 Rescue

In mid-March of 1998, the cry went out on the 'Net that there were twelve Kees puppies at a shelter in need of a rescue; they had been dumped by two puppy millers who were reportedly "getting out of the business." Quickly, a railroad run was organized. To do our part, we ventured out to Champaign to cover for Dina Zinnes at the PetsMart rescue awareness so she could go to Effingham to pick up the twelve.

There we sat, along with Robin Howland from Indianapolis, almost like expectant parents, waiting for Dina and the pups to arrive. When Dina finally arrived, we hustled the pups into PetsMart's viewing crates and started sorting them out.

There were four 16-week-olds and eight 10-week-olds, and boy, were they a mess! As you can see, they're mostly a light brown color -- that's mainly dirt, urine, and feces, not their normal color.

We broke the pups into three groups -- a group of six that were going to Flo Bastuba in Michigan (with an overnight stay, plus a much-needed bath, with Robin), five that were staying with Dina, and one that would come home with us.

The pups were frightened, nervous, confused -- after all, a railroad run can be a traumatic experience! For people as well as dogs. And, as you can see, one pair even demonstrated their trauma -- the "runt" was protected by its larger, concerned litter-mate.

And, of course, some of the pups took the whole day in stride, almost as if they did this sort of thing every day. In this shot, the "Twins" served as ideal book-ends for another of their litter, who obviously thought that it was posing for a statue of a Kees puppy.

When it was time to go, we needed to get the pups out to their respective vehicles in a hurry. Well, what better way to do this than with a handy shopping cart! As you can see, the pups loved it.

What a successful and gratifying run! Thanks to EVERYONE who helped out and made this rescue such a success.

This page was last updated on 16 February 2001 by Jon Westcot.