Erin Morse joins us from the Midwest Animal ResQ, located in Raytown, Missouri. Her passion for animals is evident in our discussion. She shares with us the problems they have in their community and what they’ve been able to accomplish in the last 10 years. Her dedication to not only the animals but the people in the surrounding community is inspiring. Erin also talks with us about the breeding facilities located in the state of Missouri.

https://doobert.com/animal-rescue-of-the-week-episode-7-midwest-animal-resq-in-missouri/​

By: Cat Reid
Posted at 10:27 PM, Jul 08, 2019
 and last updated 6:44 AM, Jul 09, 2019
RAYTOWN, Mo. — Midwest Animal ResQ finds homes for stray cats and dogs in Raytown, Missouri.
The group has a contract with the city to handle the adoption aspect of animal control, but its staff members are sounding the alarm about another city contractor.
"We have a huge heart for these animals, so to see them suffer needlessly is just devastating for all of us," ResQ Founder and Director Erin Morse said.
Last Monday was especially difficult.
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That's when a ResQ employee went across the street to Raytown Animal Hospital, a city contractor that impounds strays until they can be released for fostering and adoption.
ResQ's Foster Care Coordinator Tarah Stewart found a veterinary technician in tears.
"She was like, 'There's this dog in the back and he's dying, and I feel so bad and there's nothing I can do,'" Stewart said.


She followed the vet tech into the back, where she took pictures of an emaciated male pit bull.
Staff at a local emergency clinic later determined the dog was 40 pounds underweight.
"It was horrifying," Stewart said. "He was cold and wet, covered in feces and urine."
She also observed live maggots in the pads of the dog's paws and parasites visible elsewhere.
The dog did not lift his head as she examined him.
"His gums were just sheet white, just sheet white," Stewart said.
Eventually, "Butch," as they named him, was released to Midwest Animal ResQ, which rushed him to the BluePearl Pet Hospital in Lee's Summit.


Staff there note that Butch's heart rate, which should have hovered in the 100s, was only 20 beats per minute. His temperature was so low that it wouldn't register on a thermometer.
"He had no fight left," Stewart said.
Veterinarians also determined that Butch suffered from sepsis and shock. The decision was made that he had to be put down.
Butch was released to ResQ at 5 p.m. on Monday, but the city confirmed to 41 Action News the dog spent 15 hours at Raytown Animal Hospital.
The city administrator said the initial assessment for impounded animals takes at least 24 hours.
"No dog should have to sit there and suffer in that condition," Morse said.
KSHB 41 Action News obtained a copy of the contract between the city and Raytown Animal Hospital, which was entered into in 2015.
"No dog should have to sit there and suffer in that condition," Morse said.
KSHB 41 Action News obtained a copy of the contract between the city and Raytown Animal Hospital, which was entered into in 2015.




Midwest Animal ResQ, which is contracted by Raytown to adopt out the city's stray animals, is concerned about a dog's treatment at another city contractor.

RAYTOWN, Mo. — There are some new puppies up for adoption in Raytown, and they have some familiar names!
Midwest Animal Resq recently named a litter of puppies and their mom after some of Kansas City’s meteorologists — including FOX4’s Michelle Bogowith, Joe Lauria and Karli Ritter.
The rescue said the puppies were born during the tornado warnings on May 24. Severe storms rolled through the area that night, and a few small tornadoes even touched down east of the metro.


“My brother kept calling because he thought the tornado was going to come,” foster mom Erin Morse with Midwest Animal Resq said. “I was so busy with the puppies luckily that I was in the basement anyway.”
So the rescue decided they should name the new puppies after some of the people who helped keep Kansas City safe.
The momma dog is a 1-year-old, 30-pound terrier mix that has just three legs. She was on death row at a rural shelter but was thankfully rescued by the Raytown shelter.
“She was huge with puppies, and we felt bad for her hopping around,” Morse said.
She had 10 puppies in total — all named after local meteorologists.
Mom and puppies are in foster care right now, but will be available for adoption once the puppies reach 8 weeks old.
“Welcome to the world, weather pups!” Midwest Animal Resq wrote on Facebook.

RAYTOWN, Mo. — A Raytown rescue group has turned around the city’s stray animal program.
Before Midwest Animal ResQ took over, if there was a stray in the city, it was more likely to be killed than reunited with a family or adopted.
Previously, stray cats were considered wildlife and euthanized right away.

“Now, these kittens don’t have to just face the end of the road because somebody didn’t get their cat fixed,” Sydney Mollentine with Midwest Animal ResQ said.
Before 2016, stray and surrendered animals went to a local vet clinic, which didn’t have the time or resources to focus on adoptions.
Since Midwest Animal ResQ converted an old 7/11 in Raytown into its shelter, euthanization rates have plummeted while adoption rates are skyrocketing.
“Oh my gosh, I am so proud of this,” Mollentine said. “I mean, we started this out of a small house really with one person and one goal to help one animal. And we have helped thousands of animals since our inception.”

​Dogs like father-son duo Zuko and Zeek’s owner tried to drop them off as strays but a microchip gave him away. The dogs were suffering from urine burns.
“Urine burns are usually caused from sitting in your own urine for an extended period of time. It just eats away at the skin,” Mollentine said. “All of the dogs had that, and it’s easy to say that these dogs most likely spent the majority of the time sitting in a tiny kennel covering on feces. And that’s no way to live.”
Now happy to be well taken care of and on the mend, Zuko and Zeek are ready for a forever home.
Unlike the other dogs full of energy and excitement, we found Lilly cowering in the back of her kennel. She came to Midwest Animal ResQ from a breeding facility.
“She came in. She was terrified, terrified,” Mollentine said. “Her nails were extremely long. You could tell she was painful on her paws. We see that when a dog has spent most of its life standing up on a wire kennel bottom.”
The animals that are euthanized now are because of incurable diseases or the animal has been determined to be dangerous because of behavioral issues.
If you would like to volunteer, support, donate or adopt an animal from Midwest Animal ResQ, visit the shelter’s website.

RAYTOWN, Mo. – The Midwest Animal ResQ is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and charges after a dog was found left to die in a dumpster. Staff with the animal rescue said the dog is in such bad condition they don’t know what breed it is.
“It’s been proven that there’s a link between cruelty to animals and cruelty to human beings so even if you are not an animal lover, cruelty like this should be concerning,” said Erin Morse, President of Midwest Animal ResQ.
The Facebook page for the city of Raytown said the dog was founded in a dumpster at 5242 Blue Ridge Boulevard. There are several dumpers in the area behind a shopping center.
Staff with the animal hospital said the dog is recovering but is not out of the woods yet. They said she has a whole list of health concerns, open wounds on her body, mange, secondary skin infections and blood loss.


“To get her into the condition she is in now, it took months,” said Morse.
Staff said they believe she is around a year old. They said they named her Iris because they hope she blossoms into a beautiful dog once she gets the love she needs.
Dozens of people have already donated to help pay for medical care for Iris, but she still has a long road ahead of her.

​Ava was saved just in the nick of time.

The pregnant golden retriever-chow mix, who is believed to be between 2 and 4 years old according to WDAF – TV Kansas City, was pulled off a Missouri shelter’s euthanasia list by Ashlee Holland only two weeks before giving birth.

“She was on the euthanasia list. She had no other choice, no other hope,” said Holland. “I was basically her last resort along with Midwest Animal ResQ. No dog deserves to be put to sleep for space.”