Late February, 2009:

An unlicensed breeder in Ozark County, (south-central) Missouri, apparently despondent over his business and personal future, set fire to the buildings on his property on Tuesday, February 24, 2009.  The fire included the kennels, which left over two hundred dogs out in the cold to fend for themselves. The following day he agreed to relinquish them all to state animal welfare officials, including more than one hundred English Springer Spaniels.

State officials tell us the dogs were in "fairly good" condition, but had little care or shelter. Suddenly, they had none at all, and they were found wandering the acreage in small groups.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture, with assistance of local animal welfare groups, gathered them Wednesday and began transporting them to regional veterinary medical facilities.

ESRA was made aware of this potential seizure several months ago. Since that time, English Springer Rescue America has been putting together plans for emergency procedures to respond to this event, which we knew was coming, but not exactly when.

A transport team has been in the making, and dozens of extra foster homes were lined up. The volunteers and foster homes are preparing to move all the dogs starting next week.

We have volunteers that are traveling to Missouri to rent trucks to transport these dogs across the U.S. to the respective foster homes; from Washington to Ohio, and from Minnesota to Florida.

This major undertaking is made possible because of the dedicated members and volunteers of ESRA.

There aren't many breed rescues groups that can accomplish what English Springer Rescue America can do, as we're very blessed with some truly wonderful members.  As a result, these dogs will now have a wonderful future.

ESRA is grateful to the many generous people who have already contributed time, energy, and money to the rescue of these neglected animals, but our limited resources are being severely strained by this influx of dogs, many of whom may be in need of expensive care. We estimate that expenses for this endeavor will be many, many thousands of dollars.

If you'd like to make a donation specifically to the Missouri dogs, click here, and then select the button next to the link "To assist the Missouri puppy mill dogs" (in red).

Email from the ESRA President to the members and friends

UPDATE - March 4

Things are going really well. About 100 Springers are almost ready for transport to their new foster homes. The initial vet exams, heartworm tests, fecal exams, vaccinations, and spay/neutering are almost complete.

Mark Samuel and his team have been supervising the care of all the Springers along with an additional 50 German Shorthaired Pointers and number of English Cockers that will be moving into the care of other rescue organizations. The first ESRA transport teams have arrived and are preparing the dogs for transport all across the U.S.

After the final counts were taken we ended up having MORE foster home volunteers than we have dogs. What amazing support we’ve had for our requests for foster homes! THANK YOU!

ESRA has received a very generous donation from the Carl Jud Foundation for our use in this crisis. The Carl Jud Foundation has been very supportive of ESRA since the days when Jan Flagg met the team from the foundation, and their support is always there when we need their help.

In addition, 1-800-PetMeds has sent a "care package" of supplies to Mark Samuel, and additional donations of goods and professional services are coming in from all over the country.

We're really grateful for the support!

UPDATE - March 7

Most of the dogs are now on the way to their new foster homes.

ESRA has received a phenomenal number of applications for these dogs!

Please understand that we’re extremely busy right now getting the last few dogs left in Missouri on their way to foster homes. We’re also working very hard to respond to every inquiry and adoption request. We ask for your patience if you haven’t received a response yet; we will reply to you as soon as we possibly can.

If you are interested in any of these dogs, please be sure to FIRST fill out an on-line Adoption Application on our web site, here.

UPDATE - March 9

Links to news stories covering the Washington and Florida teams arriving home.

KHQ 6 - Spokane Washington

Bay News 9 - Tampa Florida

UPDATE - March 11

One of the wonderful success stories:

When the ESRA volunteers first met Margie, they were told that she might not be very nice because she growled at anyone who simply walked by her kennel at Winding River.

Heather Fall made it her job to try to make friends with Margie; she started out by talking to Margie and giving her treats.

When Margie started warming up and taking treats, Heather would climb into kennel and wait for Margie to come to her. After doing this a few times, Margie became Heather's friend.

She even slept with Heather when everyone was stuck in a hotel room in Missoula due to bad weather during the trip home.

Once we could handle Margie, we discovered that she is pregnant and is expected to deliver any day. Margie, now a most delightful girl, is being fostered by Heather in Washington.

Click here to see pictures of Margie, safe and sound in foster care.

UPDATE - March 18

Ruby had her puppies today!

ESRA Team Washington is please to announce the birth of Ruby's Seven (four boys, three girls) born on March 18, 2009 in Spokane Valley, Washington.

Ruby's Champion (Champ) born 7:50 a.m., Ruby's Piccolo born 8:07 a.m., Ruby's Karma born 8:23 a.m., Ruby's Astra born 9:25 a.m., Ruby's Trooper born 9:45 a.m., Ruby's Dodger born 10:10 a.m., Ruby's Sophia born 10:23 a.m.

We would like to give a special shout-out to the following people for all their efforts leading up to this blessed event:

Kaye McManamom of Lakeview Springer’s, Kayla, our very favorite vet tech, All Creatures Vet Clinic, Debbie Leopold, Brytnie Fall, The ESRA Leadership

All the supporters who donated money, gas, food, toys and whelping supplies and last but not least, all of you prospective Springer Parents.

Sincerely, Heather and Momma Ruby

UPDATE - March 22

Volunteers in Arizona held their annual ESRA picnic, which included plenty of food, fun and laughs!

The event was held at the Cosmo Dog Park which is located in Gilbert Arizona; all together there were around 30 Springer’s in attendance 2 of which are dogs rescued from the Missouri puppy mill.

A great time was had by all which was evident by the wagging tails and big Springer smiles.

The event was covered by ABC 15, a Phoenix news station, coverage of the event can be seen here.

UPDATE - March 28

Thank you to Dena Gittleman of Discount Pet Direct for shipping 30 pounds of treats to the Missouri dogs fostered in the Seattle area.

You can visit the Discount Pet Direct eBay store by clicking their logo below.