MPR Current Events

Another banner summer for MPR! September proved to be a great month for MPR to end the adoption season with a bang! Long timers Cheops, Jewel, Cosmos and Cin were adopted and short-timers Sunshine & Mellow went home, too!

Of course, there were tons of loving pit bulls at the shelter to take their place, unfortunately. Pulled from deathrow just in time were Miss Chevious, Chyna, Spirit, Spuds, and we even ended up with another pup from a rescue in Kansas, Buster Brown.

As always, if you are interested in volunteering, sponsoring and adoption event, or have any other suggestions, feel free to send them our way. Just drop us a line at email@mprgroup.net

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Adonis the Heartbreaker. . .

What can we say about this gorgeous boy?? He is unbelievably handsome and so sweet—a terrible shame to find him sitting on death row at the pound. We could not let him die there...

Adonis is ready to go home with a family who will love him forever. If you are interested in adopting him, please go to his page to fill out an application.

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What exactly is separation anxiety behavior in dogs and how can you avoid these attacks?

Rescues and shelters usually inherit quite a few dogs and puppies with separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is a condition that causes severe panic. This is very similar to a panic attack or an anxiety attack that humans have. These attacks usually occur when the dog is left alone.

When dogs suffer from separation anxiety they can become destructive and/or very vocal. It is their way of acting out and letting the owner know either that they are unhappy with the situation or that they need to do something with the extra energy they have. Destruction can be anything from chewing furniture legs, clawing the sofa, destroying carpets, floors, doors, or other items. I have even had dog owners call me whose dog has eaten through the garage door and one who tore some of the siding off of the house.

To desensitize your pet with separation anxiety situation try leaving your dog at home for brief periods of time from the first day you bring the dog home. It is okay to stay at home with your new dog for a couple of days to help him/her get used to the new family, but even then, you should not stay with the dog every moment.

You do not have to leave the house to work on separation anxiety, you can easily leave the dog in one room and you can go into another. Start in small increments of time such as 3 sets of 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes works good then go to 10 minutes and so forth. Be sure to leave your dog in a dog proof room or an appropriate crate. If your dog is in a room while you are gone, also leave your dog with something to do. You can leave your dog with a safe chew toy or a wonderful interactive toy—we find that Kong toys filled with treats and peanut butter can keep a dog busy for quite awhile.

If there are several people in your home, it helps to have your dog create bonds with all members of your family by having various members of the family walk to dog, feed him or play with him. This will help establish that you alone are not the only person the dog feels dependent upon and may alleviate the dog’s tension over being left by you.

A dog that has plenty of exercise, socialization and activity is less likely to suffer from separation anxiety, and/or it is easier for them to overcome the problem. Sometimes you will need to get creative and try new ways to desensitize your pet to being alone. If none of these measures work after a period of 3-4 months you may want to consider seeing an animal behaviorist who is breed knowledgeable to help you work out your dog’s issues. There are many web sites and support groups devoted to animal behavior issues and separation anxiety—don’t wait to seek guidance and support from others who have been down this road and know that you are not alone!

Ivy Misher is an active Volunteer with MPR, she can be reached at: ivysdogtraining@yahoo.com

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For 2 weeks in August, most MPR volunteers thought of nothing else but Cinnamon. This special adoption story is all about how she got to Europe and even took on Hurricane Ivan to get to her new Daddy:

From Veronique, MPR President:

“Thursday, September 16th. Euro-time, I have never watched so many weather reports in my life. I had people all over the southern states telling me how the weather was there. My computer screen was of the flight schedule, I refreshed it every 10 minutes to see where Cinnamon was, how the flight was going. She arrived in Atlanta in the middle of the after noon.... and guess where Ivan was going?

I paced the floors, it was almost time for her plane to leave Atlanta. I was getting reports that planes were cancelled and delayed; so clicking on the refresh button on my PC at the point she was due to leave was tense. It said the plane was boarding. Was it true? Is this it? It was, a few moments later the status changed to say her plane was 'in flight'. Now all that was left is to wait for it to land . . .”

From Linz, a rescuer in Europe who helped make this adoption possible:

“We arrived at Brussels cargo area too early so had to wait around until the flight came in.

8:30am: Cin’s flight was due in and we finally found the building where we had to hand in her paperwork. The assistant there couldn't find any record of her on the computer because Delta's database was down. She asked for us to come back in an hour as they were still unloaded the plane.

9:30am: YES! She was on there. We were given more documents and had to pay administration costs. Then we had to go to another building where we would encounter the vet.

10:00am: The vet finally arrives. He takes the papers we have for Cin and disappears for half an hour. 'I can't allow her entry into the country because my microchip scanner can't read her chip' her chip is AVID and his scanner was for ISO. He said he didn't know where to get such a scanner from and perhaps we could call by an American military base some 30 minute drive away. Well with this I burst into tears, she had come too far for all of this to happen. It was breaking my heart, so the vet said, 'hang on I will go and see if I can locate such a scanner'... He came back, he couldn't.... but for this time he would close his eyes to it and granted her entry into the country. I think my tears clinched it. I asked how she was, they had just cleaned her up and said she was fine.

10:45am: We were still not done and we had still not seen her. We then had to go and find a building to pay more costs for an additional vet thing. That was a pain in the neck. We couldn't find which of the 1000 rooms we had to go and when we did find it we were sent to the lower floor to pay at some pay station. Then we were given more papers and told to go to customs to get the documents stamped.

11:05am: We get to customs and the person who had to deal with us wasn't there. A line built up behind us. By the time he finally showed up, 11.50am, I was like a raging bull.

11:55am: We were sent to the cargo bay handed in the stamped papers from the customs and then, one minute before noon Cinnamon came into our sight. All the stress of the past few weeks and the stress of the morning was gone. Cinnamon had come home.

Cin is Home! Tears streaming down my face, I asked if we could take her out of the crate, 'yes of course everything is done now' was the reply. She was so quiet in her crate, so sweet. We let her out and the emotions took the better of us. Her food was still stuck on top of the crate; they hadn't given it to her. Her water bowl was dry.

We left the cargo bay and walked to the car Jan took her for a walk while I prepared some food and water for her. She was hungry and thirsty but didn't seem tired. I think she was relieved to have human interaction again.

I had baby wipes with me so I freshened her up wiping her face and paws. We were ready to hit the road and take this long awaited girl home. I sat in the back of the car with her but after a few minutes she was in the front, sitting on Laurent's lap. The whole time Jan was talking to her and stroking her while he was driving. We were hungry and pulled over at a restaurant. She had more food and water and we took her into the restaurant with us. She was quite the star in there and had the attention of the waiter and waitresses. They brought her water and a roast beef sandwich. I shared my food with her too, she was so hungry. Everyone was looking and admiring her. Jan was like the proud father. "This is my little girl". He is totally smitten. All of Jan’s friends were calling, "have you got her?” As we drove to his home he saw one of his colleagues at the gas station, we had to do a detour so he could show him.

Cinnamon has met a lot of people here already as Jan was eager to show off his little girl, she behaved like a little darling. Jan will walk over hot coals and broken glass to keep her safe, protected and loved. He says he feels complete.

I texted Jan a message asking if everything was ok. The reply was 'more than ok'.

I'm very emotional and keep crying, I can't believe we have done it!!! So many people were involved in this. Jan would like to thank EVERYONE who has brought Cin home to him.

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If you would like to help a wonderful dog while she/he waits for a forever home, consider fostering a pit bull. They require very responsible foster moms and dads, but they will provide you with hours of laughter and enjoyment. They will also be forever grateful to have had a second chance at a happy life, thanks to you! For more information, go here.

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Ways To Help MPR
If you love pit bulls and want to make a difference for them you can help MPR in many ways. We hope you can join our team of volunteers and supporters!

Volunteer Support
Donate your time helping MPR by fostering homeless pit bulls, helping care for dogs in boarding, assist with adoption events, printing materials, etc. If you would like to volunteer, please fill out our form HERE.

Financial Support
Donate cash or supplies for saving more pit bulls, assisting with medical expenses and veterinary treatment, boarding costs for dogs without foster homes, food and toys, crates and kennels, adoption events and printed materials, all donations are tax deductible!

*You may donate via PayPal on MPR’s website or checks can be sent to:
Missouri Pit Bull Rescue
PO Box 520043
Independence, MO 64052

Community Support
Educate your neighbors, friends and family on the plight of pit bulls. Encourage responsible pet ownership, spay/neuter your pets, and contact your local representatives to voice your opinions about BSL in your area. Report abuse, neglect or abandonment of animals to local authorities, including any suspected dog-fighting!

Sponsorship Programs
Our Sponsorship programs offer several different ways you can help each dog. If you are interested sponsoring one of our dogs, please go HERE.

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Volunteer of the Month

Karen has volunteered with MPR since 2002. She organizes adoption events, does homechecks for adoption screenings, and follows up with past adopters to check on the MPR alums’ new forever homes and families.

Karen’s work is vital in finding our dogs good homes.

Thanks Karen!

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