This will be the last newsletter that you will receive from me.  After 12 years and 1,483 dogs, I have come to the conclusion that it is time to close my rescue.  All of you have shared my life through these newsletters  – the downs and the amazing ups – and I wanted to let you know the reasons for my decision.

This last summer I was laid off from my job of 19 years.  This left me in the strange position of being too young for retirement and Medicare and yet too old to want to begin a new career.  The frightening aspect of having no medical insurance and the knowledge of seeing what my employer was doing to “cut” costs, did however prompt me to be a little pro-active and start the process of getting certified as a medical transcriptionist – a job I can do from home and will hopefully be employed again shortly.

The loss of my job and the very real issue of not having my salary as a back up to pay the expenses for rescue, plus some health problems and the loss of many of my foster homes from sheer burn-out, made me face the reality that it was just time to end – kind of like Tony La Russa – I wanted to leave on a high note.  There was also the very real fact that our last foster, Buddy’s, surgery had ended up costing almost twice as much as we had been quoted and we have, quite frankly, run out of money.

On the morning that I planned to take Buddy to meet his potential new family, I awoke with the song “Turn, Turn, Turn” playing in my head – the quote based on the Song of Solomon says “to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven” – it was a sign that my season & purpose for rescue has come to an end.  I will of course, continue to help any of you in any way I can and we will support and take back any dog we have placed but as of November 1^st have accepted no new dogs.  Midwest Aussie Rescue based in IL will start covering the MO area & helping homeless aussies.

All of our success was a team effort & my biggest thank you has to go to my husband, Rick.  This was neither his dream nor his passion but without his support it would have never gotten off the ground.  He allowed me to fund the rescue for the first three years using our own monies – I think that was the last time we went on vacation also!!  He has put up with my craziest plan – getting the 32 dogs from the auction, overnighting them and then moving them on to other rescues – to my deepest despair when we actually rescued 18 aussies from a puppy mill and the heartaches that followed – to the happiest moments when dogs were placed that originally we thought were not adoptable.  Rick also is as soft hearted as I am – we have personally adopted 26 of the rescues – most of them we felt were not adoptable for either physical or emotional problems – 11 of which are still with us.  We jokingly call our home the “isle of the misfits”.

Others have been very instrumental and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention them:

Anne Heckle was my first supervisor when I was still a part of the ill-managed national group.  She taught me the “ropes”, how to get dogs from shelters and the importance of networking and she has continued to be supportive to this day.

Sheila Kenny was one of my first foster homes, web designer, transporter and patient listener when I needed to vent and has become a truly treasured friend.  She also was my proofreader and made sure I didn’t use “stupid” too many times when writing up the bios about people who turn in their dogs for ridiculous reasons.  She is the voice of reason when I just want to “go off” on people who abuse their dogs and act stupidly (sorry, Sheila, couldn’t help myself on that stupid).  She has been one of the most dedicated and devoted volunteers and after I told her of this decision said she would have never quit until I did – you rarely see such loyalty and without her support, the closing of the rescue would have happened years ago.

Our wonderful vets and technicians – Craig Tockman, who first trusted us enough to extend a line of credit and now Tiffani Witten who has given us her support and the discounts that have allowed us to continue for so long.  Teal Erickson, the vet tech that had her own rescue and has always been there to give us practical advice.  The other vets and technicians at Vet Care of Chesterfield who always treated our rescues as if they were as important as their highest paying client, never turning us away.

All our foster homes – at our highest point we had 14 of them – and especially the last few who have stayed and worked tirelessly – Raymond and Ingrid Florman, David & Becky Becker, Leana & Steve Proetz, Tina Adams (did our Christmas card every year), Al & Candy Ruf – can never be thanked enough – after all is said and done, it’s the foster homes that have made us the success that we are.

Derek Bretz & Bill Duncan who asked what they could do to help and then worked tirelessly for the last 3 years to make our Trivia Night fund raisers such a success and fun time.  Without their help, this decision would have probably happened several years ago.

There are countless others that have helped along the way that are too numerous to mention here, but will always have a place in my heart for their willingness to help our beloved aussies.

I would like this not to be filled with sadness, but just the reality that things naturally follow a time line and it was my time to end.  My sincere hope is that I have made a difference in the lives of the aussies that have touched my heart and the people that have taken the chance on them and loved and cared for them.  I hope that I have changed the mind of so many who felt that there was somehow something “wrong” with a dog that found itself in rescue to realizing what precious gems they are!

I do have one last request – I am asking for a last donation to help us pay off the final expenses of Buddy’s surgery and rehabilitation – we find ourselves with over $1,200 still owed.  If by chance, we have any monies left after his bill has been paid, that money would be donated to the Genetic Research Fund led by CA Sharp and backed by the national AKC Australian Shepherd Club.  This fund is very close to discovering a blood test that will detect hemangiosarcoma (the #1 cancer killer in Aussies) and a subsequent vaccine to prevent it.  When we set up our 501C3 non-profit corporation – the articles stated that when we closed, any monies left would go to another rescue or research organization dedicated to the Australian Shepherd.

So, I do not feel this is a goodbye – I feel as if each and every adopter has increased my “friends” list and I will always be here to help you with any problems or questions you have related to your dogs.  Our home number is 636-273-0225 and my cell is 314-740-2592.

Gratefully yours,

Kay Edwards

President and Founder

Aussie Rescue of St. Louis

10 year olds Lauren, Lacey & Logan Harder requested gift cards and 11 year old  Gabe Edwards raised money for our dogs.  We love to catch kids being good!  Thank you for thinking of our organization.  Keep it up and the world will be a better place for all animals!