From the road, it looks like a typical rural dwelling. The only things visible from the gravel lane are a mobile home and a long, dirt driveway. Once on the property, there’s no barking or other evidence suggesting that at least two dozen dogs occupy a plot of land with their human caretakers.

Randy and Suzie Long start their days early. Five days a week, Suzie leaves the mobile home to drive to her Westport hairstyling business in Kansas City, 73 miles from the Akita Rescue operation they have established on their land in Williamsburg, Kan., 45 miles south of Topeka in Franklin County.

After his wife leaves, Long tends to the chores of taking care of at least 20 Akitas, two pot-bellied pigs and two horses, one of which had been maimed by its owner to collect insurance money. “There is not a typical day in what I do,” he says. “But there are constants that have to be maintained.”

Long visits the two rows of large dog runs and waters, feeds, and gives treats to all the dogs, then plays with them so the dogs get a consistent dose of human interaction. Kennels are cleaned several times a day and when he is not tending to the physical needs of the animals, Long does administrative work: answering e-mails about rescues, setting up rescues in other states and wading through the paperwork necessary to obtain a 501 C (3) non-profit status with the IRS for the Akita Adoption and Rescue of Mid-America.

“This will allow for donations to be tax deductible for individuals and corporations. It would also allow for more effective fund-raising designed to improve our facilities, hire some staff, help defray the medical bills for the dogs we care for and increase our outreach,” Long says.

Randy and Suzie Long’s rescue is just one of the hundreds of grassroots animal rescues that have cropped up in Kansas and Missouri. For more than a year, the Longs lived on the property in just a pop-up trailer with no running water or electricity. They took their life savings and bought the property to operate their rescue. They became involved in rescue work five years ago when they were seeking to adopt an Akita from the founder of a Akita rescue who was retiring.

“There really was a huge need for rescue in this breed because there was no other rescue,” Long says. “I haven’t seen any changes (for animal welfare) that I can attribute to improvements in the laws. Pets are still sold by millers and backyard breeders without proper vaccinations and wormings, too early, and without the least in terms of education or advice for purchasers.”

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