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“Country Acres Pet Resort, this is Ginger. I was calling to remind you that your dog, Fluffy, has a grooming appointment with us tomorrow! We request that you drop off between 7:45 and 9. Give us a call back, and we will see you then!”

Five more to go--I hate leaving messages because I always stumble on my words. But if I’m completely honest, it’s kind of worse when they answer because then you have to deal with random responses…

~~~

“Hi, this is Ginger from Country Acres, I was just returning your call regarding our rescue, Paprika. She is a beautiful two year old Pit Bull mix who came to us in January of 2019 with her 4 puppies who’ve all been adopted out. She is so sweet and incredible with kids! We’d really love for her to have a home for the holidays this year!”

Please. She deserves so much more than living in a kennel :(.

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Meet Shadow!
Shadow is a 9 year old Akita and German Shepherd Mix, and boy, does she have a saga:
About two years ago, Shadow was abandoned at Country Acres Pet Resort, originally under the premise of a house fire, so we of course were sympathetic for the woman's situation and took Shadow into boarding at a discounted price. As months went by, the owner kept coming up with different stories as to why Shadow needed to keep boarding. Finally, after a full year, we were able to get the women to surrender Shadow to our rescue program so that we could actively find her a good home. Just recently, somebody saw a post of ours about Shadow and recognized her immediately! It turns out we were not the first place Shadow's owner tried to abandon her. She had previously pulled this EXACT stunt at a different boarding facility, where Shadow had spent TWO years! Combining that with her year of boarding and the successive year as a rescue in our rescue facility, that means that Shadow has been living in a kennel for 4 years straight now :(. She is the sweetest girl and loves humans unconditionally. She is good with children, but not other dogs. Young at heart, she doesn't want to live in a kennel any longer!

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1. The feeling of satisfaction when all your work is done.

2. The brief moment that a dog’s room is clean and untouched after cleaning and before they come back in from outside. Walls and floors are spotless and squeegeed, all cots are placed neatly in the corner, and clean bowls of water are filled to the brim with chilly water.

3. Folding laundry… and I only enjoy folding laundry when I’m at work--don’t ask me why.

4. Doing the meds for the day. It makes me feel accomplished and it puts me at peace of mind knowing all animals have what they medically need.

5. CATS! For the first time in my life, CATS! I’ve never liked cats because I used to be allergic to them and I thought they were all mean, but since working with them, I LOVE CATS!

6. Seeing my favorite rescues every time I work. Some have been there so long that they feel like my own pets.

7. When a pet gets adopted--especially the ones that have been with us for more than 2 months (most of them)--to good people.

8. When my boss tells me I’ve done a good job.

9. Getting done early and using my extra time to help others.

10. Keeping dogs happy, healthy, warm, and dry.

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Wanna Adopt a Dog or Cat or Board with us?

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Wanna Adopt a Dog or Cat or Board with us?

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Country Acres Rescue:
http://countryacresrescue.org/

We are located at:
739 Weidman Rd, Manchester MO, 63011

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This photo is not of Evan Peters at Country Acres Pet Resort like the picture describes, this is of him at his home. BUT, he does board his dog, Marlon (in the background) at Country Acres often and Marlon often comes for our daycare program. Check out Evan's Country Acres Rescue sweatshirt!

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1. Which Best Describes Why You Want/Have A Pet?

2. You have the time, money, knowledge, and care to raise, train, and love your pet.

3. You’re lonely and looking for a soulmate that unconditionally loves you just as much as you unconditionally love them (regardless of age).

4. You are genuinely ready and committed to taking the next step in learning responsibility.

5. You want to train your dog to fight and earn money from it.

6. You don’t really care much for dogs, but everyone else does.

7. You want some company for a short amount of time.

2. How Often Will/Do You Tend to Your Dog’s Needs

1. You have a potty schedule to let your dog outside in order to keep him/her on a routine and/or to train them.

2. You have a feeding schedule so your dog does not go on with a growling tummy and so their digestive system is on track.

3. You have your dog regularly exercise and go for walks.

4. If your dog has an accident, you let them outside and yell at them for not being able to let themselves outside.

5. You feed your dog when the food bowl is empty and/or if they’re begging for food

6. You don’t have any schedule because you can’t even keep your own self on a schedule.

3.  What Do You Do If Your Dog Has an Injury or Illness?

1. You evaluate your dog’s illness or injury closely and wrap/clean up/keep your dog comfortable until you are clear to perform further care.

2. You call your emergency or primary Veterinarian and maybe schedule an appointment, if the situation is not emergent.

3. You give lots of extra TLC to your amazing furry friend.

4. You let your dog fend for his or herself… he/she will figure it out

5. You get angry and punish your animal for making any illness-related messes

6. You don’t want a faulty pet so you abandon it.

RESULTS

If you answered all or most a-c:

You are ready and deserving of a dog! You show good responsibility traits and are aware of the needs of “Man’s Best Friend.” You will keep a happy and healthy dog both happy and healthy. You are aware of what it takes to keep another living being in good shape! Congrats!

If you answered an even spread a-f:

You may want to consider the responsibilities of having a dog a bit more. You are mostly informed on how to take care of a dog properly, but there are some viewpoints that you have that aren’t as informed as they could be… We don’t want you to be like someone who leaves their blind and deaf 15 year old dog to board at a kennel for 4 months where he would eventually pass away due to health problems (true story).

If you answered all or most d-f:

Please don’t get a dog :). Dogs are valued beings of this world and they don’t need to be abused or neglected. There are too many animals in rescue programs that had previously been abused or neglected, causing them to have little trust in humans and making it harder for them to find a worthy permanent home. Sorry!

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I’ve witnessed tons of people interested in animals at my work, and it’s always intriguing. There truly is no exact template of an adopter, but one thing is true. They pretty much all know that adopting is far greater than shopping for pets because those who shop usually are supporting puppy mills where animals live in far-from-favorable conditions with dirty matted fur, malnourished ribs sticking out, and sometimes worse, all because they want the cute little purebred puppy that would result. When you adopt, you are rescuing an animal with no home but that so desperately wants one. I’ve had people come in that knew nothing about dogs whatsoever--they flinch and pull their hands and body away every time a dog tries to lick, play, or jump with or on them. I’ve had people say straight to my face that one of our rescues was ugly, as if that was gonna motivate us to find them a pet from us. I’ve even had someone come in and genuinely ask if they could adopt a dog from us as long as they could give it back in a couple months. On the other hand, I’ve seen people come in, observe a dog’s coat, and start brushing excess hair and displaying thorough knowledge on how to take care of shedding fur. I’ve had people come in and start teaching one of our deaf rescues sign-language. I’ve had people come in that know how to calm their children over an excited dog saying, “If you want to play, she is going to play and run around!”

Overall, those who truly end up adopting are people who have been under thorough investigation. Considering my work’s rescue is not-for-profit, all that we do for the dogs is truly out of care, so we know when a dog is adopted that they are going to the perfect home considering how strongly we feel for their safety and wellbeing. We look at the animal’s possible living conditions, we look at the workload of the owners and if the dog will be given enough attention, we look at the owner’s plan for the animal (declawing cats, having them live outside, etc.). We look at if the family has children or other pets and if that particular dog is good with kids or other pets… we do not leave anything for imagination when it comes to the possible homes of our rescues. Our rescues deserve to go to a home that’s been observed under a high-power microscope, and so all adopters, at least where I work, are good-hearted, educated, and worthy people.

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Meet Pappy!
Pappy is a Shepherd and Cattle Dog Mix just a little over a year old. We rescued him at Country Acres Rescue from Sparta, Illinois after he had been found tied to a tree in the cold with no food or water. He is VERY playful and loves all humans! He's house trained and very handsome ;)

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October 22, 2017:

Today at work, we had this adorable litter of puppies come into our rescue. They are miniature-pinscher/chihuahua mixes! Dad thinks that Dory is a miniature-pinscher/dachshund mix, but I don’t care what she is because she’s so cute. Anyways, there are eight puppies and they’re all so small. They’re too little to use their outside runs because they can squeeze past the gates, so we have to put them in a little play pin to go potty. Their little puppy breath is the best, but I HATE cleaning up after them.

November 2, 2017:

All of the miniature-pinscher/chihuahua puppies have been adopted, and I didn’t get to say goodbye to some of them :(. That’s okay though, they are going to their forever homes where they will be happiest. I hope they adjust well. I knew they would go fast though, puppies always do. There’s a dog in our rescue program who has been with us for like 10 years! Poor thing. I am glad that we don’t euthanize here, I wouldn’t want to work for a place that does.

December 19, 2017:

One of the puppies was returned by their owner >:(. I hate when people do that. If you’re going to take a dog, you need to take responsibility for it! They probably didn’t like that he wasn’t potty-trained yet because he’s a puppy. Ugh. Some people don’t deserve dogs. He was one of my favorites of the litter. His name is David and he was the cuddliest one, and was always so laid back. I hope when he gets adopted again he actually goes to some good people.

December 20, 2017:

I found out at work today that David was returned because he’d been having very frequent and super bad seizures. I actually walked past his room one time today and he was seizing. It was horrible, I couldn’t do anything and he’s just a three month old baby. I guess I kind of understand why they returned him, they weren’t expecting a bunch of life-long medical bills when they bought a puppy… but still, it’s your dog.

December 31, 2017:

Ugh, I’m so angry that I have to work on New Year’s Eve! I mean, I guess it makes sense that I have to, I got off work on Thanksgiving and Christmas. AND it’s not like I can just not show up to work--there are dogs that need to be kept alive. It’s whatever though, I still get pay and a half.

January 3, 2017:

It’s my last day off school for Winter Break and of course I’m working. Anyways, they had to take David to the vet because he’d had three seizures before noon. The doctors are saying that it could be something with his kidneys, I don’t really know. I wish I’d paid more attention to what Jen was saying when she was describing what the vet was investigating. I bet trying to put all those puzzle pieces together is fun.

January 10, 2017:

I just found out that David passed away and they didn’t even get to find out what was wrong. There wasn’t enough time to even try and help him. I’m really upset, so there is not much more I feel like talking about. I hope one day I can get down to the bottom of situations like that, I want to save all the dogs.

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Dear Oscar,

Thank you, buddy. Thank you for providing the single most important opportunity that I’ve had in my life. You lived a good, long life, and you were always the good boy that kindly accepted help. You never knew anything was wrong--except when your little sister Velma got a little too angry-- and that’s what always put a fire under my feet. I couldn’t bare to let you go through any pain and have you not know why you weren’t feeling good. I remember the night Megan gave you some Enalapril that you weren’t supposed to eat, but you probably don’t. You didn’t think anything of it. That was the night. I went into a panic and an adrenaline rush came over me. I didn’t know anything about Enalapril--its function, correct dosage amounts, what would happen if someone who didn’t have the problems that the being that it was prescribed to had consumed it--I didn’t know anything. Your innocence is what motivated me to find this all out for your sake, and quickly at that.

I soon discovered that Enalapril treats high blood pressure, diabetic kidney disease, and heart failure. A lethal dosage would’ve been around 2500 mg for a 55 pound boxer--thank God Megan only gave you 10. That ease of mind wasn’t enough, though. We hovered over you, making sure you didn’t have any symptoms, although we knew you would. You wagged your tail every time you saw us, you didn’t know how scared we were. If you had any sign of nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, coughing, loss of appetite, or itching, we knew what it was. Any type of symptom was a possibility in our minds. Overall, you were fine that night and we made a note for our coworkers to watch you the next morning, but you unintentionally made such a big impact on me. The motivation you gave me and the adrenaline coursing through my veins over fear for you caused something to click in my head. You helped me reveal my purpose.

When I saw the condolence card down in the office with a sticky not attached reading “Oscar Seris” two weeks ago, I knew. You were older, but the only thing that would’ve told me that was the gray fur around your eyes and the age number on your run card when you visited. Nothing of your behavior would’ve indicated such things. Any type of positive expression on my face disappeared when I saw the card, but I grabbed a pen and wrote to your owners. I know they loved you, and I let them know what you did for me. I hope it made them feel better, and I hope you’re running around with all your friends up in dog heaven. Run wild, bud.

Sincerely,

One of your kennel caretakers

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Meet Paprika!
Paprika is a 2 year old Pit Bull Terrier and Labrador Retriever Mix. She came to us with her 4 babies in January of 2019, who've all been adopted out :(. They were all rescued from a high kill shelter because their time was coming up so we scooped them right up at Country Acres Rescue! She is great with other dogs and children and is LITERALLY the sweetest thing you'll ever meet <3.