How to Help
Rescue is SO rewarding. It doesn’t take much to make a difference. Taking an hour or two out of your day to help transport a dog; taking a dog from a terrifying shelter and giving them a place in your home to feel safe and comfortable; providing funds to give a dog critical medical attention or donating food, crates, toys, and other supplies. It doesn’t really sound like much, but each of these things can make a life or death difference for a dog in need. However you choose to help is greatly appreciated. The Rescue world is comprised of volunteers who love the breed or just want to help animals. We appreciate anyone who is interested in helping us because there is no way we could ever do it alone.
There are many ways to help: Donate, Transport, Foster or Volunteer.
Read the different areas below. If you would like to volunteer, transport or foster, please a fill out a Volunteer Application:
Donate:
There are many ways of donating. Here are a few ways:
- Donating flea and tick treatment
- Donating bedding, crates, towels, collars, leashes, bowls, etc.
- Financially - click on the Paypal Donate button below or see about sponsoring a pet. If you would rather postal mail a check, please contact us via email.
Richard's Fund:
Donate to Richard's fund to help border collies with expensive medical needs. Read more about Richard's Fund...
Sponsor a Pet:
Sometimes rescue is just about saving healthy dogs from shelters, taking in strays, and finding new homes for dogs whose owners were not able to provide them the appropriate lifestyle. But sometimes we are called to help in more difficult cases, where the word rescue it taken more literally.
By sponsoring a pet you can give to help a dogs in need of special care. Your donation will be used to help provide care for the selected dog and other dogs in our rescue.
Dogs in need of sponsorship will be listed under
Sponsorships MKBCR on the We Need You! menu item.
You will find a Sponsor this Pet button on those dog's pages and can read about their specific care needs.
 Fixing Gus' Heart
All we knew about Gus was that he was about a year old, had a bad heart murmur and the owner was considering euthanasia because he was unable to be a working farm dog. We didn’t know how bad his condition would be, or what his future would hold, but we decided to give him a chance.
Gus is a big, sweet, fluffy moose of a Border Collie. He’s happy all the time and wants so much to run and play. But along with his bad murmur he is exercise intolerant and has frequent episodes of staggering and disorientation associated with low oxygen.
We took Gus to visit the cardiologist at the University of MO College of Veterinary Medicine to get some answers. Unfortunately, Gus was born with two congenital defects. The first one is a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) which is a hole between the two halves of the heart. The second defect is a double chambered right ventricle. This means he has a fibrous membrane dividing this chamber of the heart in two.
The surgery to correct his conditions is very expensive but has the potential to give Gus a normal life. However, without surgery his condition would progress. He would have a decreased quality and length of life and will likely begin having syncopal (fainting) episodes, require a life of limited activity and ultimately develop heart failure. We didn't feel this is an acceptable option for an otherwise happy and vibrant young dog and decided to pursue surgery. The estimated costs for surgery and follow-up care could be as much as $5000. Through generous donations to MoKan we were able to raise the money for Gus' surgery and follow-up care. It gave Gus a chance at a better life!
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Transport:
There are many transporting jobs to be done in Border Collie Rescue like transporting dogs from shelters to new foster/adoptive homes as well as to vet appointments.
There are people near and far who help transport dogs between states, insuring that the dogs can come from pounds all over to get to us, sometimes by car, sometimes by air. No matter how they arrive, without each person doing their part in the 'dog chain', these dogs would not survive. Each person drives a distance of approximately 1-2 hours in most cases so it’s not a burden on any one person.
So, if you'd like to help, please consider TRANSPORT. All you need is to provide us with your phone and email and whatever distances and areas you're willing to cover and we'll contact you whenever the need arises to move a dog. If you're called and cannot help out, that's okay, maybe another time will work out.
WE ARE ALWAYS IN NEED OF TRANSPORT HELP SINCE DOGS CAN COME FROM LOCAL STATES.
Fostering:
Many people really want to help dogs directly so they FOSTER. A dog will live in your home for two weeks to several months until a new home is found (average time is 1-2 mos). You provide the love, the food and shelter, and help the dog in whatever ways possible. We cover the medical expenses and provide a crate as well as training assistance and support. If you can teach obedience like sit, stay and come, that's very helpful to getting the dog ready for a new home. If you can handle some of the vet costs, that's great!
We work with you throughout the entire process, reviewing applicants and facilitating the potential candidates coming to meet the dog. Your role in knowing the dog is critical to appropriate placement so we work hand in hand together to understand what's best for each dog.
WE ARE ALWAYS IN NEED OF FOSTER HOMES SINCE THERE ARE SO MANY DOGS NEEDING HELP!!
 A word from one of our fosters Moms:
We are a suburban family--we don’t have land or sheep. Fostering really doesn’t take much time our of our day when you considering we are helping to save a dog’s life. It takes a commitment, but is SO worth it!
Each dog is so unique and getting to know them is wonderful. The dogs quickly settle into our daily routine. We do have extra the dog hair, a few accidents, muddy paws and pitched a couple of rugs, but that all seems minor in the grand scheme of things.
People ask if it is hard to give them up. We have shed a few tears, but knowing we took a scared and abandoned dog and helped it on it’s way to a happy, loving home is so rewarding. Many of the dogs would not be alive if it wasn’t for the rescue organization.
If we don't have open foster homes, then it is possible a dog could be euthanized. Please consider fostering!
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Volunteering:
WE VALUE WHATEVER YOU WANT TO BRING TO THE RESCUE WORK AND HOPE THAT YOU WANT TO JOIN US IN HELPING THESE GREAT DOGS!
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1. Setting up and manning booths at pet events.
2. Home Visits.
3. Vet check phone calls.
4. Dog sitting for a foster when they need a break or have to go out of town.
5. Going to shelters to evaluate a border collie.
6. If you have a special skill, we’re always open to whatever you’d like to do. For example, some people have graphics backgrounds and offer to design logos or brochures or the web site; other people have connections for food, supplies and other dog items, so they organize items coming to us.
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