In the heart of St. Louis, a group of everyday heroes is changing the fate of those who often go unnoticed: the stray animals roaming the streets of downtown St. Louis. A band of caring souls that work to rewrite stories of abandonment, Stray Rescue is an organization devoted to helping animals find homes. Randy Grimm, who once owned a grooming shop, founded the organization.
Loren Terveer, Donations Coordinator, has been working at Stray Rescue for three years and said it’s been her dream job. She said the meet-and-greet room holds a special place in her heart since it’s the space where the destinies of hopeful pet owners and their pets meet for the first time, creating unforgettable moments of joy and connection.
“We have our Tree of Life here, which is a fun donation program,” Terveer said. “You can donate, then we write your name on a leaf then put it on the tree. [It is] such a heartwarming moment.”
Stray Rescue has about 550 pets in their program, and Terveer said they take in animals no matter their condition, providing all food, toys, accessories, free vet care and more items that the dogs and cats may need. She said they have an organized system of making sure all the animals are safe. They also have a system for spaying and neutering animals.
“We believe the key to getting out of this stray crisis is [having people] spay and neuter their pets,” Terveer said. “About once or twice a month, we drive out in the community with our vet team and offer free spay and neutering.”
Terveer said animal shelters all over the world struggle with overcrowding issues. Unlike other shelters, Stray Rescue never denies entry into their program.
“We never say no — if we can help, we will rescue,” Terveer said. “We are so full [and we] just took in a mom and nine puppies last week.”
Terveer said overcrowding is a problem Stray Rescue is trying to fix. A solution for this is fostering. Stray Rescue has a program where people can foster cats and/or dogs and they will provide free vet care, food, toys and leashes. Another solution is a bigger space. Stray Rescue is moving to a new location four times bigger than their current place. It will be a $15 million project.
“We have no government funding, so it’s all from the community,”
Terveer said. “If you visit strayrescue. org, you can find many different types of donating. There’s an Amazon wishlist and you can donate a certain amount to get a Christmas card. Or if you can buy an apartment [a kennel] and you will receive photos of how your pet is doing.”
Donna Lochmann, Chief Life Saving Officer, has been at Stray Rescue since it opened in 1998. Lochmann graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia and got a BFA with an emphasis in photography. She said her favorite part of Stray Rescue is seeing the progress in the animals from when they were on the streets to then seeing animals with families.
“To see from the streets what these [animals] had to deal with day to day,” Lochmann said. “Then to see them here and adjust and then go into their home then get updates from the new families to see them.”
KHS graduate, Molly Simon, works in the clinic and said she chose to work at Stray Rescue because of the team and the opportunities available. Working at Stray Rescue, she ended up fostering a sick dog named Mark. She fostered him until he got adopted in California, and she still keeps in touch with him.
“Mark is one of my favorite foster dogs that I took home, Simon said. “He was anemic and really skinny when he came in. Being able to raise him back to health [made me happy].”
