In November 2008, my husband and I were watching the “Sammy’s Stars” segment on the Channel 5 news. The featured dog, Harvest, was available for adoption through Stray Rescue of St. Louis. She looked just like our pit bull Sophee and seemed like she would make a great playmate. I called Stray Rescue to inquire about this pretty girl. They told me Harvest already had several applications and asked if I’d be interested in another pup. I said that I would. Several Stray Rescue foster moms who had similar dogs promptly contacted me.  One mom, Peggy, told me about a terrier mix she'd been fostering named Gretchen. She'd been born with a deformed front leg at a backyard breeder, who was going to “dispose” of her. A neighbor stepped in and took her to St. Louis Animal Control, which contacted Stray Rescue about this sweet puppy. Stray Rescue, of course, was willing to help her!
Because of the condition of her front leg, they had to amputate. The staff at Hillside Animal Hospital took wonderful care of her and while she was recovering, she moved into Peggy’s foster home. Following her recovery, my husband and I took Sophee to meet Gretchen. They clicked right away. So did we! The following weekend, she came to our house as a “Rent a Pet” – this is a Stray Rescue program that allows a potential adopter the opportunity to “try a pet out” in their home for a weekend before making the final commitment to adopt. It so happened that the week she was “visiting” our house, she was featured as Dierbergs’ Pet of the Week. I work for Dierbergs, so imagine my surprise when I saw Gretchen on the jumbo TV screen in my store! No way was I going to let her go to someone else! Our itty-bitty girl now weighs 82 pounds (she only weighed 10 pounds when Stray Rescue took her in)! She also seems to be more of a Great Dane mix rather than a terrier mix! Gretchen gets around as well as any four-legged dog. Sometimes I think she’s even faster than the others. She hogs the bed and thinks she’s a lap dog. She really has no idea how big she is! I will always go through Stray Rescue to adopt a dog – I will never shop for a dog. Randy Grim and his staff, volunteers and corporate sponsors are the best! Thanks to my employer for supporting Stray Rescue of St. Louis and all the wonderful work they do!
–Paula Jones
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