About Gateway Pet Guardians

Gateway Pet Guardians was founded in 2004 through the combined efforts of five extraordinary women with a passion for rescuing animals, but our story really began about nine years earlier. One fateful day in 1995 while driving through East St. Louis, P.J. Hightower – an avid animal lover – took notice of the numerous stray dogs running through the streets. But instead of shaking her head in disappointment, muttering “If only I could…” and simply continuing her journey like so many before her, P.J. did something about it. On that day and nearly every day thereafter – and every consecutive day since 2001 – P.J. has made the trip across the river from her home in St. Louis, bags of dog food in tow, and fed the dogs she saw on the streets, paying for it out of her own pocket. And so it continued for nine years.
In 2004, four ladies who had become acquainted with and contributed to P.J. and her efforts, fellow animal lovers themselves, decided to form a fundraising organization to take donations that would help rescue many more stray dogs and cats from the horrors of street life as well as allow their own dollars stretch that much further, and Gateway Pet Guardians was born.

Over the last six years the organization has blossomed into much more than its meager beginnings. With the help of volunteers and an administrator, we at Gateway Pet Guardians began raising enough money each year to begin filing a tax return. P.J. now goes through approximately 1,000 pounds of dog food per month and Gateway Pet Guardians currently rescues over 100 dogs and cats per year. We continue to evolve from a small organization to today’s virtual animal shelter with expert management by our very first Executive Director and dozens of dedicated volunteers, an award winning documentary, and beyond to our future goal of building a physical animal shelter complete with a low cost spay/neuter clinic and education center in East St. Louis.

Mission Statement

Gateway Pet Guardians is dedicated to rescuing homeless pets in the St. Louis area, getting them great veterinary care, and finding them forever homes. We are a virtual shelter with all of our pets waiting for adoption in the care of volunteer foster families. Gateway Pet Guardians is a 501c(3) tax-exempt organization. Donations are always greatly appreciated and are used to provide veterinary care for our foster pets, some of whom have been badly injured by automobile accidents, cruelty, neglect, or life on the street. Donations are tax-exempt to the extent allowed by law. Please consult your tax advisor for information specific to your tax situation.

Visit Gatewaypets.com for more information on the organization and a list of adoptable animals.