|
The Beginning of Missouri Pit Bull Rescue
MPR was formed in 1999 by husband and wife Veronique and Rob Chesser, two Pit Bull lovers who met on-line in 1997 when participating to a Pit Bull related mailing list. Rob and V (Veronique) quickly realized that they shared the common goal of making a difference in the lives of homeless Pit Bulls.
MPR is one of the resources offered by Pit Bulls on the Web. Previously, Veronique founded PBRC, a national website that lists Pit Bulls available for adoption all over North America. Once PBRC successfully matured into an established organization, Veronique decided to branch off from national rescue and concentrate her efforts helping Pit Bulls locally. MPR began with Rob and V saving dogs from local pounds one at a time, keeping rescue dogs in their home with very little resource and no financial assistance until the word spread out and help came forward.
The organization began to grow as V joined force with other local Pit Bull lovers wanting to help this noble, yet vilified and abused breed of dog.
MPR was recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization early in 2004 and has continued to grow ever since. |
| With input from MPR volunteers, V spends hours developing web pages to explain Pit Bull behaviors and genetics, promote responsible ownership, combat overpopulation, express concerns over breed specific legislation, and showcase adoptable “pet” bulls in Missouri. |
Luckily now, MPR is fortunate enough to receive financial support from Pit Bull lovers across the country, allowing us to build a fund dedicated to covering each dog's basic needs. We've gone from being able to save 20 Pit Bulls in 2000 to over 65 in 2005 - an increase of 150%! Pretty good considering that few people are lining up at our door to adopt a Pit Bull.
MPR’s adoption process is very strict to ensure that these dogs only go to caring, prepared and responsible homes. Nearly 80% of the applications we receive are ultimately denied for reasons of BSL, insufficient breed knowledge, long distance, house/yard unsuitability, poor record with previous pets, bad vet references and the list goes on. The screening of adoptable homes is an arduous process that requires a great deal of time and resources from our volunteers.
We now not only promote on the web, but also organize adoption events at local businesses and participate is festivals and parades to increase awareness.
In addition MPR has acquired a great team of volunteers, implemented a fundraising campaign and sponsorship program to help even more Pit Bulls in need, increased the amount of team members that respond to MPR e-mails and provide education and is currently developing other programs to improve our involvement in the community. |
|
Who we are Today
So who are we now? MPR’s mission is still very much the same as it was when V and Rob were saving Pit Bulls one at a time: "To promote responsible Pit Bull ownership, provide breed education, combat pet overpopulation, fight unfair legislation's, and find qualified homes for sound Pit Bull dogs in Missouri". |
Note: all Pit Bulls have the potential to fight, even these three. Supervision is always recommended. For more information, go here
|
We currently have 30 volunteers, a dozen active foster homes and a board of directors to help provide governance. We're all Pit Bull lovers with full time jobs and families who spend every spare dollar and minute of our time rescuing Pit Bulls.
This includes Pit Bull education (via email, the web site and events), evaluating dogs for rescue, fostering, caring for the dogs in boarding, taking dogs to the vet, nursing sick dogs to good health, attending adoption events, screening applications, conducting phone interviews, homechecks and follow ups, transporting dogs to potential homes, teaching a dog how to be a good pet, and lastly, LOVING our rescue dogs with all our heart until it's time to let them go to their forever home. |
|
While we do all of these things, we must endure the heartbreaking job of turning away countless needy Pit Bulls, often victim of extremely poor care, over-breeding and the negative image perpetrated by the media, because we have such limited space, resources, foster homes and funds.
MPR has a dream.....
Our dream is to be able to open up a Shelter/Adoption Center some day, specializing in the housing, rehabilitation, training and placement of Pit Bull dogs. A safe heaven for homeless Pit Bulls in the Midwest with the ability to provide our rescue dogs the best possible care until they are transferred to a foster home or placed in a permanent home.
In the meantime, we are still a foster home network with a few dogs in boarding. With a shelter, we hope to be able to save more Pit Bulls and have a comfortable and secured facility equipped specifically to meet Pit Bulls needs and facilitate public education.
We have a vision of some day owning acres of land to construct our Pit Bull Shelter. We would build safe and comfortable indoor/outdoor kennels, training rooms and adoption center, as well as to have ponds for the swimmers, trails for walks, and large, secure yards for the dogs to exercise. Our volunteers are willing, ready and eager to make this dream come true. All we need now is financial help from people and organizations who share our vision so this dream can become a reality.
|
|
| Currently, all donations/adoption fees that are collected go towards the general care of our homeless Pit Bulls. Our costs include vaccinations, speuters, deworming, microchip, boarding, crates, equipment, supplies, dog food, and often additional medical or surgical procedures for dogs who have been neglected. |
Looking to the Future
Our hope is to continue making new friends and supporters and identify more resources for assistance. We plan to do as much as we can to fight BSL (Breed Specific Legislation), promote and improve the image of Pit Bulls, provide breed education, and of course, continue our resolute battle against Pit Bull abuse, neglect and overpopulation. |
|
