MOSH PIT RESCUE

Mosh Pit Rescue was founded in 2017 with the goal of fostering and adopting out older male pit bulls and pit bull advocacy.

That mission quickly expanded and MPR now works with all kinds of dogs, kittens, cats, and rarely even a bunny.  We had no idea the unbelievable need for cat rescue in Grand Rapids.  As of 2021, our focus has shifted entirely to extreme medical cases pulled out of shelters.  We do not intake strays or surrenders.  

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We are a Grand Rapids/West Michigan 501(c)3.  We pull our adoptable dogs and cats out of local West Michigan shelters and prefer the major medical cases the shelters cannot handle without rescue transfer. 

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Once pulled, we focus on animal rehab, recovery, rehoming, fostering, adopting, training and other shelter support.  

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We believe in spay/neuter - period. With rare exception, all other pets in the household must be fixed for an adoption application to be considered (talk to us about vet directed exceptions).  Reach out to us if true financial need is preventing you from fixing your pets and we will assist to the best of our ability.  

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We pride ourselves on the high quality of care given to our adoptables both in foster and at the vet. We use a top of the industry vet and practice excellent vet medicine. We do not use vaccines from Tractor Supply or otherwise take "rescue shortcuts" in our vet care. MPR is very proud of the care our animals receive and hope to be the standard for vetting through a rescue.  Each adopted animal has seen a vet and all vetting is clearly explained to adopters.  

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Our adoption bios are written honestly without a lot of fluff as we intend to match our adoptables with the best home, not the first one we can find with flowery language.  Bios are written with deliberate care and with honesty.   

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MPR is strongly against puppy mills and designer puppy stores. We do not "buy dogs" or help dog breeders.  We adopt, we rescue, we do not shop.  No legitimate breeder would sell their puppies to a dog store.  Until our outdated laws catch up to protect these innocents we must fight to protect them.  

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MPR does not do same day adoptions without an in person home check.   We would be doing a disservice to our adoptables to do adoptions without a home check.  We love them too much.  We want happy adopters and happy pets - part of that is ensuring the adoptable animal is the right fit for a forever home.  

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#rescuelocal - Mosh Pit does not import dogs from out of state. We will #rescuelocal until no pet here in West Michigan needs us. KCAS, Pound Buddies, CCAC, Ionia - local shelters are full of dogs that need our help. Domestic stray cats are being abandoned daily without a guaranteed food source or shelter.  We wish we could help every dog and cat in the world, but until no dogs/cats here in West Michigan need us, our mission is LOCAL. #rescuelocal #adoptlocal

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Our pets including our adoptable cats are indoor only pets and are not kept isolated from the family or kept outside even during foster. Pets are family and they deserve to be included and treated accordingly both when in our care and once adopted. If you are looking for an outdoor or barn cat, we will connect you with a barn cat program.  

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Mosh Pit does not take owner surrenders as a hard rule. Pets are forever. Outside of owner death/disability or military deployment there are few circumstances that justify rehoming a pet. Owners should have known that new puppy would get bigger or would need more attention than could be given before they adopted it.  Responsible pet owners consider the costs of caring for a pet prior to adoption. 

We hear excuses all day and we're sick of it. Nothing ever changes.  It’s exhausting watching humans fail animals and have a hard time even pretending to be polite about the excuses.  Rarely when an owners comes to us with an owner surrender is that pet properly vetted.  The norm is that the animal is not fixed, not chipped, not vaccinated and the owner has not worked with a trainer on behavior or a vet on meds.  

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If owners can afford nail salons, cable TV, new clothes, fireworks, alcohol, lotto tickets, keno, dining out, vacations etc. owners CAN choose to take responsibility for animals they made promises to and committed to.

We are not here to make it easier for owners to abandon animals.  

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We have also watched amazing owners hustle, pick up second jobs, work with us on can drives/gofundme to afford needed care for their animals - we have watched people step up, shine and take responsibility for their animals. 

We watched a family forgo a vacation, watched three kids choose to forgo back to school shopping, watched again and again as people can and do step up.  We are here to help if there is true need - and fight WITH owners who want to keep their pets.  

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In spite of our clear policy on surrenders, MPR receives dozens of owner surrender requests a week and simply can't help them all or even reply to them all. There are too many truly homeless animals locally that have NOBODY - where we are the difference between life and death - for us to take an animal that has a home from an owner who needs to step up and take responsibility for their animal. Harsh as it is, if we take an owner surrender, a dog dies in a kill shelter because we took that dog instead of pulling from a kill shelter.

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If you do need help with an animal in your care, please reach out, but know our goal is going to be supporting keeping your pet in your home, not rehoming. We have helped reinforce fences, we have helped provide transportation to vet appointments when owners were unable, we have helped pay vet bills.  It is not our usual - but sometimes there are circumstances and owners truly need help.

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We expect people to have already worked with trainers prior to contacting us about any behavior issues - we recommend A Dog's Life GR for training. We also expect animals to be properly and fully vetted prior to contacting us. Your vet can recommend behavioral meds and to rule out any medical issues for any underlying behavioral problem.

If your pet is not yet spayed/neutered - please contact CSnip. Spay/Neuter is not a magic guarantee that automatically fixes behavior problems - but it is the single first thing that any reputable rescue will do upon intake and it can help with behavioral issues.  It is also humane basic animal care and part of responsible pet ownership. CSnip also has a low cost wellness clinic available to people who need care for their pets at more reasonable rates.  

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We are zero kill outside of major non-treatable medical issues if recommended by a vet or non-trainable aggression if recommended by a behaviorist.

We are not open intake meaning we choose what animals we can help based on our budget and open fosters.  We consider ourselves a limited intake foster based rescue organization.  

No one affiliated with Mosh Pit receives a salary. We are volunteers who do this on top of our regular day jobs because we want to help. We may not be able to save them all, but we will #dosomething and save the ones we can.

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We are a foster based volunteer rescue not an open intake shelter. We do not have kennels or a physical facility - our adoptable animals are kept in our foster’s personal homes as family members. Please do not show up at any of our foster homes with an animal intending to surrender it.  An adoption application must be completed prior to meeting any of our animals.  Appointments are needed prior to showing up to meet an adoptable animal.

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In Grand Rapids, the Kent County Animal Shelter is the municipal county shelter.  As we understand it as of July 2021, KCAS is appt only intake for dogs on a wait list and managed/limited intake for cats.  If you find a stray cat, there is no a guarantee that the shelter will intake it or that it will be placed into an adoption program.  Instead cats are fixed and re-abandoned back outside alone where they were found without promise of shelter/food/water or love.  

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STRAY DOMESTIC ANIMALS

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If you find a stray dog, bring it to the shelter.  If that is not an option, call dispatch non-emergency and politely insist and demand an animal control officer or police officer ]assist in picking up the dog and bringing it to the shelter.  You can also bring the dog to the shelter yourself.  

As we understand it, KCAS/Animal Control will not come for stray cats.  

If you find a stray cat, you are now that animal's only advocate.  If you're able to get a surrender appt with the shelter it may be weeks away.  What do you do with the cat in the meantime?  

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In our experience, rarely if ever, will a domestic stray cat have an owner looking. You will be told to "release the cat back outside and it will find it's way home".  That's likely untrue.  It sounds good, but it's simply not true. It is much more likely that that cat does not have a home and needs your help.  

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You will be told the cat is "feral" or a "street cat" or a "community cat".  Feral cats are silent.  They do not meow or seek out human attention or interaction.  A cat that comes up to humans, wants to be touched, interacts, willingly goes into a cat carrier is a domestic cat and should only live where it has a guaranteed food source (not an assumed food source) and guaranteed shelter (not the assumption of a caretaker).    

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Responsible pet owners microchip their pets. If you are able to bring the cat to any vet, they can scan for a microchip and if chipped, the cat can be reunited.  If the cat has a responsible owner, that owner will be looking for their pet in a timely manner - and be grateful to find it safe at the shelter or safely held at your house.

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Please post the pet to Facebook lost and found pet groups such as Kent County Lost and Found Pets.  

If you have found a stray cat and you are able to house it while looking for owners and waiting for a surrender appt at the shelter, reach out to us if you need help with supplies or food.      

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~Adopting a dog might not change the world, but for that dog, the world will surely change.

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#rescuelocal #adoptlocal #dosomething #moshpitrescue