Contact: midwestpaws@ymail.com   We are a licensed rescue and a 501c3 non profit organization. We are dedicated to helping those who are needing a second chance at life. Please consider making a donation to help them on their journey home! Thank you!   Emergency Funding Needed!   The MO 75   Available Dogs   Applications   Foster Families   Owner Surrenders   Sponsor a Dog   Events and News   Contact Us   Donations   Meet Us   Thank You   Breed Info   Rainbow Bridge   Success Stories   Home . Success Stories    Below you will find the stories of our babies who have been adopted by generous people with big hearts. We would like to share these with you as they have brought great joy to our hearts and we hope they do the same for you!!!   Yogi     Selecting a family pet became a decision between getting a puppy which would require a large amount of care and attention up front for training; or, get a mature Rescue Dog which had a background and some initial training and wouldn’t require the up front time and care a puppy would.  The mature Rescue Dog proved to be the best decision for us.  Yogi came from a foster family who already knew him and provided a window into what his temperament would be like and they were exceptional in their description of him.  He was trained in most of the basic commands and was eager learn more.  Yogi was described perfectly and he is all I was told and more:  Yogi proved he was just as eager to fit in with us as we were with him.  The combination was an unbelievably fun and energetic family pet right off the start.   My first Rescue Dog “Yogi” proved to our Family and Friends that a mature Rescue Dog can be the best choice and a tremendous and loyal family pet in just the first two weeks.  After a family trip to Minnesota we are so excited to tell Yogi’s story and how we found him.  Our Family and Friends as well as people we meet are in awe of his disposition and story.  For us, the mature Rescue Dog proved its value whether your wanting your first pet or like us take on a second pet to compliment your lifestyle.  I’m very active outdoors and wanted a GSP for years, which I’m so excited I decided to get this breed at the time Yogi was available.  The breeds energy and activity fit me perfectly.  Our recent family trip to Minnesota proved that Yogi is an unbelievable Ambassador for the Rescue Organization.  I’m thankful each day we found him and am amazed at how easily he has fit right in to our family with our older Wheaton Terrier.    Sophie     I wanted to write and give you an update on Sophie. I had expected to have to work with her quite a bit after the reports from the foster family. They had reported that she didn't respond when called, would not take food from a human hand, and would only come in if the door was left open and would then either hide under the bed or in her crate. I'd like to report that I am very very pleasantly surprised and it's a real treat seeing this little girl come out of her shell. She has been a great dog....cute, intelligent, a responsible household member and a real joy to have around. Each day with her is a sheer joy and she shows daily improvement in spirit and demeanor. After seeing her as she is now, it's hard now to imagine her as she was.....there is no resemblance.   Max     My name is Max. This is my story. I used to live in Central Missouri with a whole bunch of friends. I guess the guy who owned all of us got upset one day and tried to burn the whole place down! Some nice people came to visit us and took us all far away to this new place called Raytown. We were all pretty scared I think. They were really nice and fed us and took care of us and let us play outside. One nice lady came and took me outside and played ball with me. I liked her a lot. I think she liked me too. I was pretty happy outside running around with all the little puppies and chasing the ball. It was MY ball after all. I did not want to go in and I think the nice lady knew that as she had to drag me in. I whined a lot after I got back inside. The nice lady left. The next weekend, the nice lady came back and she brought a man with her and two little girls…one couldn’t even walk and got to be carried around! The went outside to play but soon another volunteer came in to get me because she said that the nice lady and man wanted to play with me! Yippee. They stayed for a long time that day. We played for hours. I even walked with them on a leash. I wasn’t too sure about that. The nice family left again. But they came back the next day to play with me again! I think I really like this nice man. He seems to want to play with me too. I guess they had to leave, but I heard rumors that they wanted me to come home with them. Gosh, I missed them, but they did come back on Saturday, March 14th, and I got to go for a ride in their van and stay with them! They had a nice crate inside the house for me. I wasn’t too sure about it and that first week was pretty rough for all of us. I didn’t care much for their carpet and now they are considering getting hardwood floors through out the house…did you know there is padding and wood under carpet? Me neither! I didn’t like their kitchen much either and decided to re-arrange that as well. I don’t think the nice man was very happy about it at all. But, we got through it. I get to play outside a lot more now too. My favorite person is their little girl Adelyn. She is 4 and I just love her to bits. I am so excited when she gets home because she loves to play and just be outside with me. I jump all over the place when I see her. The little bitty girl is okay too, but she is quite loud. They have two cats too but I am not so sure about them. They kind of scare me. They like to hiss at me and act like they rule the house…that is okay for now I guess. I love to chew on stuff and dig. Tennis balls are like candy to me so I had to show them I need something with more chew. I am on my second dogzilla ball and just love to fetch and retrieve. I am getting better at bringing the ball back, but still have to work on it a bit yet. I am so happy they brought me home with them. I really like it here, but I am still pretty shy but working on it. It is so nice to have place to run and play and a warm place to sleep at night and good food and treats.   Remington The Saga of a Rescue Dog       My name is Remington. I am a German Short Hair Pointer. I grew up in a puppy mill with lots and lots of other dogs. I am five or six years old, but no one is really sure. They say that my original owner set fire to my home. I was very frightened, but I was lucky because we were rescued by a very special group of people. I was sent to a place called Raytown. As the song goes, “where the hell is Raytown”, and I am still not sure where that is. I was so scared when I arrived. I was in a strange place not anything like what I was used to. There were indoor kennels, warmth, food and people who cared for me – they were nice, but there were so many of us there. One day shortly after I arrived, a man came to help take care of all of us. He tried to play ball with me. I like playing ball. He was kind and gentle. I could snuggle up to him, and he would pet me and talk to me in a low soft voice. I tried my very best to make him stay with me – I would get close to him and look up at him with my GSP eyes and wag my tail a lot. I would bring the ball back to him because he seemed to like this. He brought this lady to see me one late afternoon. I sniffed her hand, and then lay down by her feet. She talk softly too and petted me – I snuggled in – I knew this was a good thing. After a few days I heard that this couple was going to “foster” me. I did not know what that meant, but everyone seemed excited about it so I went with him in his truck. When I got out of the truck, I was at a new place – they call it their house. I have my own bed and kennel, a big back yard to play in and chase the squirrels (I do not like squirrels in my yard), and two other dogs to play with – just two – not sixty. One is a female Weimer who can be pretty grumpy at times, but she is showing me how to behave. I think she is the leader here. The other is a GSP like me except a female, and we play tug of war together. The man and woman seem to like all of us and spend a lot of time with us. I think I really want to stay. I heard the man talking to the other folks who “rescued” me. He says that I am doing very well and the other dogs are adjusting. I like it here. It is warm and I have plenty of food. I have dog friends to play with and people friends who are teaching me how to behave. I go on long walks through the park and the neighborhood – lots of new smells – I even got to go to a small lake with fields around it. The man said I was really pretty in the field. I’m not sure what that means – I was only pointing at a bird in the bushes – or maybe it was a mouse – I like to chase them, too. I really like to lie on the couch with my head in the man’s or lady’s lap at the end of the day. Snuggling has become my favorite thing – I never got to do that before. I heard the people say that their children and grandchildren will love me too. I think that is a good thing. I met some “small” people the other day - we had fun together especially playing ball or chasing the Frisbee. I bring it back so we can do it again. The people I am living with are very patient and understand that I have lots of new things to learn. I am doing my best. I heard other people say that adult dogs coming from a “puppy” mill will not make good pets because of the bad environment. I don’t know about that, but I think I am doing okay now. I was nervous when I left my friends in Raytown, but these new people are very good to me and I like it here. I heard the man and lady saying that they would “adopt” me. I am not sure what that means exactly, but I want to stay with them and be a part of their “pack”. I am safe now.   Bella       Hi! Our family adopted "Bella" from Midwest Paws this past July 2009. We wanted to send you a picture of her and a update on how well she's fitting in with our family. Bella has settled in perfectly! She is the sweetest dog we have ever known! She is playful and loves the daycare kids that I watch during the day. In fact if a baby is fussy she will calmly go sit near them to make sure they are okay! She also loves our 3 rambunctious boys. She is very tolerant of their loud energy and takes advantage of their throwing skills whenever she feels like playing ball. Her favorite thing to do is take a nap in the master bed as you'll see in the attached picture. She used to hate having her picture taken... she would look at me with those sad GSP eyes that define the phrase "puppy dog eyes". She would try to make herself invisible. I think she was sad to have her picture taken because she may have thought she wasn't going to get to stay with us. Now that she's been with our family and listened to us reassure her over and over that she's with us forever she doesn't mind photographs anymore. She's tried out some new things like the couch and chair but she quickly learned that they were off limits so she's content to take over the beds. Our Maltese Zoey is not one bit afraid of the "big black dog". She even takes Bella's bones whenever Bella decides to share. Bella doesn't like Zoey jumping up on people... it's bad manners after all, so she puts a paw on Zoey and makes her "sit still". Other things that Bella loves to do is point the birds and squirrels and deer that make their home near our backyard. She will sit on the picnic table like a person and bird watch for hours. Rawhide bones are her favorite treat along with ice cubes! She is a special dog as all GSPs are... we feel fortunate to have her in our lives! Thank you!   Dodge   We first fell in love with the pointer breed after adopting our first family pet more than five years ago. After many wonderful years, we felt we had "molded" the perfect dog. When our English Pointer passed away, we couldn't imagine getting any other breed. We knew we wanted a medium sized, smart dog that was easy to train and good with kids. Although we knew we couldn't replace our dog, we wanted one with a similar personality. After searching on the internet, we came across Midwest Paws website. We looked at all the dogs and just saw something in Dodge's eyes that grabbed our attention. We set up a time to meet Dodge and immediately fell in love with him. When he first met our 11 month old son, Mason, Dodge was such a gentleman and just let Mason pat him on the head. Within minutes, we decided Dodge was exactly the dog we were looking for. Dodge came home with us shortly after our first meeting and fit right in the family. He is so well behaved and already knows many commands, most importantly "sit" and "stay." He loves his new giant backyard where he stalks and hunts squirrels all day long. We can hardly get him to leave the squirrels and come inside some evenings. However, when he finally comes in, he just wants to lay down and get all the attention he can. He is the highlight of Mason's day and brings a smile to his face every time. I think Dodge enjoyes it too as he just touches his giant nose to Mason's cheek and lays down beside him. Thank you Midwest Paws for helping us find the perfect family pet!     Hershey     I am forwarding copy of my son Dylan with our dog Hershey. It is been one year since I adopted her through you agency. At the time, my family had been wanting a dog, but I was reluctant. We had had a family dog for almost 16 years, and I was not really ready for another one. Finally, I gave in to the idea and started searching adoption sites. I came upon your site and found a picture of Hershey - then known as Haley. I had not considered getting a GSP, but the idea of a family dog that had the possibility of hunting intrigued me. I picked her up, thinking that I would surprise the family with her. She was pretty shy when she came home and I was a little nervous that I had made a mistake. We had to work with her to get her to come around and gain confidence. But once she did, she has been a joy. She is good with my wife and kids and a good companion. We live near a large off-leash park and take her there almost daily. She also jogs with me most mornings. We spent the summer training her and walking with her in hopes that she might turn out to be a hunter, and she really did. She had the natural instincts to find and point pheasants almost from the start. She now runs to the car when she sees us getting the hunting equipment out. Thank you for having a service that helps dogs like her find a home.   Baxter     You may remember this guy as Ross, one of the newborn puppies from last year's puppy mill fire. We now live in San Diego and he's happy as can be. He loves his weekly trip to Del Mar Dog Beach to splash in the ocean. Just thought you'd like an update.   Stella     We got lucky! Stella came to us named Ciera - the family voted for a "rename" so we went with Stella - and wow, she has turned into a wonderful dog! We absolutely love her - she is part of our family! She loves running on the open fields in our front yard - she is the master! There is never a dull moment since we got hooked up with the incredible pooch. She keeps us on our toes all the time, she has a wonderful demeanor, is great with the kids and is an excellent watch dog! She never runs away, but she does run, make no mistake - this dog has wings! She has always enjoyed getting into the pond in the front yard, but most recently gave it a try and paddled out to the boys in their canoe to join them after feeling most left out! We often feel compelled to get another rescue dog - Midwest Paws rocks! we love you guys......   Jack     These are some pictures of Jack, one of the MO 75. He was in foster care with our group, the home he was in ended up not being what it appeared and he is now in my care. If the perfect person does not surface soon, this is where he will stay. Not sure how many happy endings you have seen of this wonderful group of dogs you helped but I cannot thank you enough for saving Jack. I had to pull up the info on his situation just to remind myself of what he'd been through. He's a great, great dog. Thank you, thank you.   Birdie   My husband Greg and I rescued Birdie in March of 2009 (she was a rescue from the puppy mill fire) from Midwest Paws and have enjoyed every minute of life with her since. Over a year later my husband, a first time dog owner, is even more head over heels for this little hazel eyed little girl who has stolen his heart. She fits right in with our family, she loves her time at the park across the street from our house, she enjoys swimming, playing fetch, and running in the woods with my parents GSP. She listens well and is an active member of our family, I just was writing to give you an update on how well our little "Bird" is doing and I wanted to say a big thank you to all of you for the wonderful work you do for these precious animals. We can't imagine life without her!   Jacko     We have had Jack (formerly Rowdy) for 2 years now and we just wanted to thank you for all you do. Thank you for taking in and rescuing this dog who has become such a big part of our family. Some friends of ours were a part of your foster family program and Jack was staying with them. We went to carve pumpkins at their house in October of 2008 and fell in love with Jack immediately! We filled out an application the very next day to adopt him. My husband and I had both grown up with dogs and were so excited to adopt our very own. We are so thankful for such a wonderful dog that completes our family! Jack loves the outdoors and has been able to use his pointing skills on several occassions. He successfully helped my husband to come home with two pheasant on a hunting trip last winter. He loves to point at birds in the yard and we've even caught him pointing at flies in the garage! He loves to hike, chew on his bone, go running, cuddle, play with our niece and nephew, play fetch and SWIM! We love our Midwest Paws dog and will look here first when we are ready to add to our family. I have attached a photo of Jack on the hunt. Thank you again!