Saint Louis, May 17, 2012 – Gateway Pet Guardians, a local nonprofit animal rescue focused in the Metro East, announced today the acquisition of its new emergency shelter at 5321 Manchester Avenue in St. Louis. The space is located next to Hillside Animal Hospital and contains nine kennels which the group will utilize as a temporary holding space for animals on the street that are in desperate need of immediate rescue.
“We’re currently an entirely foster-based organization, and we want to keep it that way,” stated Gateway Pet Guardians Executive Director Jamie Case. “But sometimes we have animals on our feeding route in East St. Louis that need to be rescued immediately, and if we don’t have a foster already lined up, we have no place to take them. This building will change that.”
The space was donated to the rescue group by Dr. Ed Migneco of Hillside Animal Hospital and was the space formerly held by his practice at Hillside Animal Hospital, and the site of the first veterinary clinic in the city of St. Louis. This is Gateway Pet Guardians’ first shelter.
Last summer, the organization purchased a building located in Centreville, IIllinois, the heart of their focus area, to be developed into an emergency shelter and education center. Plans are still moving forward with that project and the group will be embarking on a capital campaign to raise $750,000 for renovations and operating costs.
“The donated space from Dr. Ed was a pleasant surprise that we hadn’t planned for,” explained Gateway Pet Guardians President Julia Mittelstadt. “We knew it would take a while for us to raise the money necessary to get the Metro East building up and running, so when we were notified by Dr. Ed that he wanted us to have the space, we were very excited because it meant that we could make a bigger impact much sooner than we expected.”
The shelter’s official opening date is slated for the beginning of June. Donations are accepted. For more information, contact info@gatewaypets.com.
About Gateway Pet Guardians
Gateway Pet Guardians is a nonprofit virtual animal shelter that relies on donations and volunteer foster families to rescue starving and abandoned animals. Gateway Pet Guardians’ focused efforts in East St. Louis, IL and surrounding areas aim to end homelessness for animals in the Metro East through rescue, rehabilitation, adoption, and community education. For more information about Gateway Pet Guardians, events, purchasing tickets, or to donate, volunteer, or become a foster family, visit www.gatewaypets.com.