K9 Enrichment Initiative-K9EI Rescue

01/12/2026

I am behind in making adoption announcements and this one is another biggie.

Back in February of 2024 I (Cynthia, Director of K9EI) received a Facebook tag on a page for dogs with disabilities. A random person had followed Sprouts rescue story and thought perhaps we could help this pup from Louisiana also.

I requested his medical paperwork from his rescue, Haseya's Rescue in Rayne, Louisiana. Sent it to the fantabulous ortho surgeons at Veterinary Specialty Center for consult. Front Limb Deformity is the diagnosis, the same as our precious Sprout and with a 98% chance that surgery was not the answer.

Through the amazing transport Queen of Illinois, Jeanne Travers, a transport was put together to move this pup from Rayne to Portageville, MO. He would travel over 8 hours, 577 miles.

I contacted shelter's along his planned route and asked them to post on their pages for drivers to help us. Gratefully, they assisted and drivers were lined up, Jeanne mapped the route, monitored the transport and this baby boy was on the move.

I am very particular about transporting our dogs, Jeanne has an entire page of do's and do not's for driver's. I always look to have seasoned drivers when it comes to driving distances and the people transporting him through LA and Tennessee were pro's. They took every precaution and gentle care to move our boy. Grateful to the love they showed Nike along the way.

He spent the night in Portageville, MO with Ms. Leslie, the best damn rescuer in the Bootheal of Missouri. No one provides the medical, love and protection over the shelter dogs of SE Missouri like this woman has for close to 2 decades. He had a blast and so did she, he had nothing but cuddles and kisses.

The next morning Ms. Leslie (Leslie Kimes Hall) drove him to the Sikeston Animal Hospital when he met up with transporter Lauren, who has moved 98% of our dogs north. She picked up Valentina who had been at the hospital after I pulled her that Monday, she came into a pound in the area with a fractured hind leg. Lauren drove to a small airport just outside St. Louis on the Illinois side to meet their plane.

They arrived at the airport in Joliet, where a volunteer picked up the pooches, bringing Valentina directly to Shorewood Animal Hospital where she would be boarded and Nike to my home. Valentina's foster would be ready for in a few days.

Nike's foster parents Giorges and Dana came to pick him up, they were able to talk with Sprout's Mom and get advice on what they were instore for with Nike's therapy. Nike and Sprout posed together and off Nike went to begin phase one.

The surgeon's examined him, took some more radiographs and surgery was not an option. Next step, the incredibly talented folks at Wild Hearts Rehabilitation center. They had worked with Atticus and Sprout prior, making them our go to team. Giorges and Dana learned the therapy exercises needed for Nike and remained dedicated to doing all that it took to help straighten those limbs for him to stand upright and walk.

During this time Nike had private obedience training at home with Anything Is Pawzible training. He passed because not only is he ridiculously handsome, but intelligent.

July brought change as Nike moved in me as his new foster, he now had 5 other dogs to contend with, a new environment, new routine and a new therapy partner.

Didn't take Nike long to fall in love with the fenced in backyard, he loved trampling the flower beds, rolling in the grass, sunbathing on the patio and chasing after his foster sister, Lucia, a gray sleek bodied American Pitbull Terrier who could run circles around him in the yard. He would chase then lay down and wait for her circle back to him, then chase a bit further and repeat.

You can't help but fall in love with Nike, his good looks, brains and brawn are all appealing, but it's his giant heart that endears you to him forever. LOVER doesn't even cover it, he wants to invade your space, kiss you, nudge you, crush you with his love. I loved every day of having Nike as part of our family while I continued to search and pray for the perfect family to takeover the task of loving him.

Then one day I received an email from a lady asking if Nike was still available, her kids seen his photo and just loved his look. Before I knew it I was moving him into their home and saying goodbye. I can't tell you the tears I cried as every time I see him I cry all over again.

Nike lives a mere 8 minutes from my home, I was able to have him spend the fourth of July week with us and I have an open invite to visit him at his home.

He is very much loved, appreciated and cared for by his entire family, took some time but he made friends with the cat. He had lived with a cat prior at his first foster home, so he thought this cat should want to play the same way. "No, Nike, not all cats are the same". Time and patience won out, the cat now knows the big lug doesn't want to eat him, he just likes to say hello.

Forever grateful and Nike forever blessed with the life he deserves due to all the people who came into his life on his journey to his forever home.

Thank you to Haseya's Rescue, Kelli Briscoe, for saying yes when animal control called about a stray pup with funny legs, to the staff at Crowley Veterinary for providing him with care, to all those amazing people who stepped up to transport him, to Jeanne for always answering my call, to Ms. Leslie for being such a great rescue partner, Edward the Pilot who flew Nike with Valentina and for finding Giorgis and Dana to foster, to Girorgis and Dana for your love of Nike, Wild Hearts for your excellent care and partnership, Veterinary Specialty Center for always being there to consult even before the patient arrives, to my dogs for putting up with the crazy puppy with a head the size of a bowling ball and to his family for loving him and allowing me to remain in his life.

Last but never least to everyone who donated funds, toys, treats, for Nike. Nike's life was changed and made whole because we had the funds to provide the care he required. Your generosity in donations in 2024 provided medical, therapy, training, costly supplements, high quality food, and more to Nike. Together we all saved his life.

In order to continue to save dogs like Nike, I need donations and now is the time as we have an organization willing to match donations through January. If you support my mission and the work I do, please consider helping fund it.

01/11/2026

Happy New Year to All!
We have a generous offer to match donations up to $2500 through the month of January.

We are still fighting to remain open and this is a gracious opportunity to do just that.

No amount is too small as it will be doubled.

Please consider a donation, thank you to all of you who donate monthly and to those who send holiday wishes with donations.

You are truly appreciated and know every cent raised goes towards caring for the dogs. We are an all volunteer organization.

Venmo.com/K9EI4LIFE

Paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1558154

12/22/2025

Please share Waldo for his loving forever family.

12/18/2025

Waldo Witherspoon loves to find comfort and joy under his foster family's Christmas tree.

All Waldo needs is a bright red bow and he will be the best present ever.

Waldo is house and crate trained. He is people and dog social. Currently lives with a 3 year old toddler who adores him and vice versa.

Apply at www.k9ei.dog if you are looking to add a love muffin to your family please consider Waldo.

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12/13/2025

Dropping an update on Roscoe Jive. Roscoe is not only doing great recovering, but he moved into his foster to adopt home.

His mom is semi-retired and he has become her best friend quickly as we predicted. He loves his people and when he wants attention, he knows how to ask for it by leaning in for pets, sitting at your feet or cozying up on the sofa next to you.

He needs to take things slowly as this is his 7 home in a very short time period. Her went from surrendered by owner, to the shelter, to Ms. Leslie's temp foster care center, to our vet at Shorewood Animal Hospital, to my home, had surgery, then went off to Springfied to his rehab foster Ms. Lynn, then 4 weeks later to his foster to adopt home with his mom, Joan. That's a lot of moving around, just when he became accustom to the rountine and envirnoment, he was backing his backpack again.

Each day he is in his new home, he will realize in time, that no one is coming to take him away, he doesn't need to pack his backpack with all his stuffy babies unless he is going on vacation with his Mom.

People often forget that dogs are sensitive sentiment beings, they have feelings, they sense stress and distress in people and in their surroundings. All this settled down, now pack up and move is a lot especially for an adult dog who no doubt hasn't figured out what he did wrong for his owners to surrender in the first place.

Right now he is enjoying his time with Mom, the fact that he no longer needs to be crated, his nice walks showing his babies his new yard and home.

Keep positive energy heading his way as he continues to heal both physically and emotionally. That he and his new Mom and Dad build a strong bond where he feels safe, cared for and loved once and for all.

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12/13/2025

Please share Nikko Smith's Christmas wish, let's find him that perfect family for an awesome dog.

Applications can be entered at www.k9ei.dog

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12/13/2025

If you love Tatum Talks for all the joy he and his family bring to the internet daily, help everyone's buddy and vote daily.

Here’s your reminder that you can vote daily for me! Please share far and wide of you can! Love you every buddy!

12/13/2025

You see this handsome devil, he turned 1 year old this past December 3rd. He has been in rescue since he was 3 months old.
His mother gave birth to him in a field in SE Missouri. In fact, his mother just gave birth to another litter of pups. This time the AC officer was able to snag her and collect all the pups.

When Nikko was born, the AC officer was only able to capture his two sisters, who we took immediatly and found loving homes. Nikko remained on the move with his Mama until one day the catch pole snagged him as his Mama ran off.

Nikko spent a month with Ms. Leslie, scared out of his mind, refusing pets or contact before heading our way. He arrived and went into a secure foster home with experience in shutdown dogs. He was heartbreaking hiding away, trying to make himself small and out of sight.

After two weeks he headed to me and boy he gave me a run for my money. He refused to come when called, had to guard the gates on the fence, make sure he didn't get passed the gates to the front door, while tossing treats his way hoping to be friends.

Now at 1 year old, he is my kissing bandit, curl up and cuddle bug, he comes when called, no longer is looking to leave in fact he will go off leash from the front door to the car when we go on adventures. He is brilliant in solving problems, can work the gates in the house, open his crate, will come in from outside, open his crate and go inside for his meal.

He loves dogs of all sizes, loves wrestling with dogs, so he needs a companion who enjoys that silliness also. He thinks its cool to grab a dog by the leg and herd them in the direction he wants to go. Silly boy.

It took a lot to get to this point, he hated crates, still does, but he is now able to tolerate it for up to 4 hours, then he begins to sing the song of his people. He chewed things, including my sofa, the potted plants off the table, shoes, clothing, sticks, stones, and assorted toys. Thankfully that is coming to a stop, puppy days are hard, especially with a dog who is bred to be a "action jackson".

He has been thrilled to have little foster Earle here to play with during the day, they cuddle to nap and play tug which is hysterical as Earle dangles from the end of toy as Nikko has lifted him off the ground. Earle has no quit in him. Nikko has been a different dog since having a playmate this past month.

If you know of a dog lover, who wants an "action jackson", please send them my way. Nikko would love a yard to run and play with toys, a canine sibling who enjoys the same style of play as him, but is also a lover not a fighter, and a family who like to cuddle in the evenings before sleep.

Apply at www.k9ei.dog or email [email protected] for further talks.

Happy Birthday Nikko! I love you, but you can't stay here, love Mama.

12/13/2025

Life takes us to unexpected places, Love brings us home.

Sit back and let me tell you about Haylee Grace and how she stole our hearts.

Haylee was found wandering with other dogs, abandoned to die. She had a tumor the size of a baseball on her hind leg, suffering from Heartworm Disease, which we would learn was the second time she was infected with the disease in her short life; was skin and bones, with her reaction to other dogs we could only guess came from being in a few scraps.

Our rescue partner in SE Missouri drove out to pick her up when trapped, tracked her owners down to learn that they didn't want the dog they simply called "small dog". So again another pillar of the community thought dumping a dog to starve, get killed or simply drop dead of exhaustion in the heat of the summer was the right thing to do.

Haylee was fortunate that it was Ms. Leslie who came to her rescue, as Ms. Leslie doesn't give up so easily. Haylee went into the vet for her spay, the removal of the tumor, lab tests and some really good sound sleep and food.

The lab results came back with everyone's worst fear, Cancer. Haylee had Mast Cell cancer.

Grade & Prognosis
Low-Grade: Often localized, may be cured with surgery.
High-Grade: Aggressive, can spread (metastasize) to lymph nodes, liver, spleen, or intestines, with a guarded prognosis.

The vet telephoned and suggested a hospice home be found for Haylee, he removed the tumor, but MCT has a nasty way of returning and then spreading.

We put out a plea and found a family who said they were comfortable hospice fostering her. It's not an easy job, you can fall in love with a dog that might not be with you very long, leaving you with heartache.

Haylee moved in on August 17th and moved out on Feb. 17, 2025. She would go to boarding, then back to them and finally to boarding, the husband had had enough of her escaping the yard. They didn't realize that she would live so long and couldn't foster any longer. During her time there she had a bump appear right by her hip, but then it burst, bled out and healed. A miracle, I thought, thank God she is living this long.

No one was available for her, so into boarding she went, begrudgingly. She rolled her eyes, refused to walk, gave the saddest whimper each time she returned to her kennel. It was so disheartening for me and the hospital staff. I mean look at that face of hers.

Volunteer Emily kept saying if I get this new job and can get a house to rent, I will take Haylee. In the meantime, I would take Haylee out for field trips, she loves a good stroll around Home Depot, a McDonald's picnic in the parking lot, a run around a park i playing follow the leader with Nikko, a nice warm bath at the house and snuggles on a blanket in the sun. Still she had to return to boarding by closing.

Finally, on June 7, 2025, I walked Haylee out of the hospital for the last time, Emily was meeting me to pick her up and take her home. We were so excited, but also cautious. Emily had Lord Hasting's who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and her big boy Georgie at home. Haylee would have to learn to stay upstairs and in a crate when no one was home.

Okay, so Haylee didn't mind having her own room upstairs, with her own human bed to crawl into and a chair by the window to perch upon for neighborhood viewing, but the crate, yeah that wasn't happening. Bust crate one, bust crate two, bust crate three. We got the point and put up more gates to prohibit her finding her way downstairs to the main level. She agreed and kept to herself upstairs after one time coming face to face with Georgie, realizing how large he was and his snap was for real.

It's so odd as she lived with a large bully breed male in her first foster home with no issues. Talk about being very dog selective. She was fine 12 feet behind running on the path at the park with Nikko, but then she hated poor Nike who is the friendliest dog around.

Slowly Haylee began sleeping on one side of the door and Georgie on the other side backs to the door. Its their way of being friends without being loose in a room. Perhaps one day, but for now, they are happy and now that Frazzy is there, it's a reset on the house energy.

Let me also mention that Haylee Grace goes to work with Emily and is a therapy dog to abused and neglected children. She also visits the hospital and senior home to many happy faces and gets lots of lovin' in return. I like to think she got her training on all those Home Depot trips where she greeted every employee and customer who give her the chance. :)

If you didn't already figure it out, Haylee is home forever. Emily can't imagine her leaving now, she sleeps with Emily in bed, she cuddles with her roommate during the day, she is such a princess when it comes to what she wants and when she wants it. This past week Emily has been off work in bed, after Covid sent her to the hospital. Haylee has refused to leave her side, but to be walked out to potty and come right back.

Haylee remains healthy, a bit overweight,(insert Haylee and Emily rolling their eyes at me for saying that) she takes supplements and God wiling she will continue defying the odds for years to come.

Like so many bully breeds, she is sensitive, loving, gentle, intuitive, and squishy with her very short legs and pouty face. She is simply perfect and I am so proud I was her rescue Mama and that she has Emily as her forever Mom. It's the heartbreakers that steal the biggest part of your heart and then refill it with kisses and gentle nudges.

For those who are wondering, I give the miracle dogs the middle name of Grace, the reasoning being, "by the Grace of God" she is still with us after being abandoned and in such dire straits. We have had several dogs with the middle name Grace, it all started with Audrey Grace who I pulled from CACC back in 2016 with a tumor the size of a grapefruit on her hind leg. She had to have the leg amputated becoming a tri-pod, the vets told me she had months to live. Audrey is a beautiful senior girl still living her best life with her family today. Only God knows and he blesses all creatures great and small.

Haylee Grace is home.

12/13/2025

Update on Sunflower

She has returned home, she is paralyzed from the waist down. Her Mom will have to stimulate her for urine and bowel movements. She will be fitted for a wheelchair for mobility and life will be far different then when she was healthy and running free in the yard. But she is alive, the progressioin of spinal damage has stopped for now, she will continue to live her best life in a new way.

Her Mom is committed to her, which is a huge blessing. She can't imagine life without Sunflower and is willing to do everything necessary to keep here with us as long as possible.

In caring for a paralyzed dog, I know the challenge she is about to face and I have faith she will meet that challenge. Please keep Sunflower and her Mom in your thoughts, prayers, sending healing light to them as they move forward in their forever journey together.

This is Sunflower. I adopted her to a beautiful soul who is begging for a miracle as her baby girl has been hospitalized due to deep brusing in her spine, losing use of her legs.

This is every dog parents nightmare. She was fine and then she wasn't, unable to stand and leave her crate after a nap.

Please pray, send positive thoughts and energy to Sunflower, she is only 2 years old.

12/08/2025

This is Sunflower. I adopted her to a beautiful soul who is begging for a miracle as her baby girl has been hospitalized due to deep brusing in her spine, losing use of her legs.

This is every dog parents nightmare. She was fine and then she wasn't, unable to stand and leave her crate after a nap.

Please pray, send positive thoughts and energy to Sunflower, she is only 2 years old.