Rescue Stories C.A.R.E. specializes in rescuing sick, injured and abused animals that do not have a chance elsewhere. Here are some of our most memorable rescues. C.A.R.E. was called upon to assist the Missouri State Department of Agriculture in a massive rescue effort: A Cocker in need of eye surgery. Sheltie when rescued. Sheltie after some post-rescue TLC. The Missouri Department of Agriculture served a search warrant and raided a property in West Plains on July 11, 2001. They found over 200 animals in horrific conditions. Some of the animals were found dead. The woman responsible for the neglect had already been found guilty of animal abuse in Arkansas in 1993. She is now being prosecuted for this animal neglect in Missouri. The C.A.R.E. Shelter was called by state officials to help with the rescue and care of these animals. We are housing several of the dogs that needed medical attention or long term care. We are asking the public to help by sending a donation to the C.A.R.E. Shelter rescue fund. Your donation, no matter how small, will go a long way to help these and other rescued animals. Please mail your donation to: C.A.R.E. Shelter Rescue Fund P.O. Box 215 Aurora, Missouri 65605 You may also make a contribution on-line via secure transaction by using PayPal. Please visit our Donations page for more information. Cody: One of the most important jobs C.A.R.E. does is rescue neglected and abused animals. An outstanding example of this is the story of Cody. Poor Cody lived with a family where he received very little, if any, attention and care. He spent over a year chained in the same spot. Seldom fed, sometimes his family would remember to bring him water or throw some scraps on the ground, but most often, Cody fell asleep at night hungry. With this happening day after day, the story could end here with Cody dying at the end of that chain. Lucky for Cody, a C.A.R.E. volunteer was informed of his situation. Volunteer Heather spoke with the owner who thought Cody was just fine and claimed she was taking proper care of him. Heather explained that Cody was being neglected and if she was not able to provide a healthy, happy environment for an animal, she shouldn't have one. The woman agreed to turn Cody over to Heather. After a thorough examination at a local clinic, it was determined that other than malnourishment and dehydration, Cody was healthy and only needed some love and nourishing food. Sadly, many people, like the woman who had Cody, grow up thinking this is an acceptable way to keep a dog. That is why it is up to us to teach them that this environment and way of life is not acceptable for any animal. As you can see in the after photo, Cody is doing great at the shelter. He has self-confidence now and is putting on weight. He is eager to please and thanks us with kisses every day. He is up for adoption right now. If you would like to meet Cody, please call the shelter. Molly: Molly was rescued after C.A.R.E. received a call concerning a stray cat living in someone's outbuilding. After talking with the owners, we learned they didn't want the cat and were planning to kill her. When we arrived to pick her up, to our surprise, she had five babies hidden under junk in the building. We rounded up mama and all babies and brought them to the shelter. The kittens are now three weeks old and doing great. Molly is very loving and seems to be calm and content living at the shelter. She greets us every morning with purrs and leg rubs. When her babies are old enough, they will be spayed and neutered and put up for adoption. Molly will also be spayed before adoption into a responsible, indoor home. Special Ed: All animals at C.A.R.E are special, but many are not as lucky as “Special Ed”. Ed, a lab pit-bull mix, was brought to C.A.R.E. by Lynn at the Buffalo, Mo. pound. Lynn had found Ed after he’d been shot, under his right eye, with a 38 Special (hence the name). The Buffalo pound had already started to treat his swollen and painful wound when C.A.R.E. volunteers arrived. In fact, the pound even gave C.A.R.E medication for him. Luckily for Ed, the bullet did not damage any brain or eye tissue. After a couple weeks of healing and R & R, Ed was looking good. He only had a small scar and indentation under is right eye. Ed’s story doesn’t end there, though. At a local Petsmart mobile adoption, Ed found a loving new home. 36 Happy Endings: C.A.R.E received a disturbing phone call from a division of family services case worker. A family, living deep in a local rural area, had moved leaving behind a number of badly neglected animals. C.A.R.E contacted local law enforcement and requested that they meet C.A.R.E volunteers at the site. “As I drove up the driveway,” C.A.R.E. Director Melissa Sartin said, “I could see cats and very young kittens running to hide in and out of buildings. Two, thin hound mixes ran to the van in hopes of food or affection. One, hanging with milk, obviously had puppies nearby. The other was limping from an old hip injury. Three more pups around 4-months old, ran to me from behind the house as two older puppies, around 6-months old, joined them. By now several of the cats, realizing we weren’t there to hurt them came out to greet us.” Once the police report had been filed, C.A.R.E. had permission to help the animals inside the house. Locked inside the house, with no food or water, were a mother dog with newborn puppies, many kittens of all ages and sizes and a large Lab mix. The Lab mix seemed quite aggressive, but at a closer look, volunteers realized she was injured. She had a large abscess that covered part of her head and neck. It took five trips to rescue all 36 animals. The weak and injured were rushed back to the shelter first. The others were given food and fresh water at the site, while waiting for their trip to C.A.R.E . “Several of the dogs had mange and were infested with ticks,” Sartin said. “The kittens were anemic from flea infestation and a lack of food. Most were badly dehydrated, malnourished and riddled with internal parasites. The injured Lab mix, with the abscess on her neck and head had been shot. The bullet was still lodged deep in her jaw.” After being rescued, all 36 animals were treated and cared for at C.A.R.E. Even the injured Lab mix made a full recovery.