Rescue Transports for Dogs and Cats

Almost three years ago I came across a group at yahoo groups for animal rescue and transports. I have been a volunteer at a couple of pounds and a member of an animal rescue for over ten years combined. I have also saved many stray dogs and cats, either keeping them myself or rehoming them. When I realized what the purpose of the animal rescue and transports served, I immediately signed up to some of the lists for yahoo groups. Within a week I came across a post about a transport looking for volunteers from Indianapolis to somewhere in Nebraska.

The transport was about an hour out of the way from where I lived, but after reading the story of the dogs needing help, I had to sign up to help. A mother dog with her five puppies and also her sister had been dumped off at a vet's office in Indianapolis. One of the vet technicians had taken all of them home and cared for them for a month, but she was having difficulties giving them what they really needed because of her job. A small breed rescue in Nebraska had agreed to take all of the dogs if they could be gotten there. I signed up for the leg of the transport between Galesburg,Illinois and Davenport,Iowa. This would have been about a two and a half hour round trip from our house and back. The night before the transport, no one had come forward for the three legs prior to Galesburg, where I'd pick the dogs up. The coordinator was going to cancel the transport, so I offered to do the legs no one had signed up for. Normally a leg of a transport is about an hour one way.

At this time in May three years ago we had a van, so my husband and I got our three children ready for the trip. My parents lived in Galesburg so we took our youngest child to stay with them while we went to get the dogs. A drive to Champaign for us is a little over three hours. It was an exhausting drive, but as soon as we saw the dogs, especially the five little puppies, we knew the drive was nothing compared to getting these babies, their mom and her sister to a safe place. The lady who had brought them to us had driven about two hours, so the dogs were ready to get out of their carriers and stretch. The puppies were only five weeks old. They were barely bigger than my hand. Mom was a chihuahua mix, probably about twenty pounds, brown and shaking with wide eyes. Her sister looked almost identical to her. She was even more scared. I felt so sorry for them. The five puppies were in a carrier. I opened the door and looked in, as they all sat at the back huddled together, shaking. I gently took one at a time out and held them for a short time, talking to and stroking each one before placing it in the grass to see if it would go potty. My husband and the lady who brought the dogs to us were trying to get the two adults to do their business, while my two oldest kids helped me keep the puppies together. Two of the puppies looked just alike. They were black with brown markings above their eyes and reminded me of a Rottweiler. Both of them were girls. There was one other female. She was a dark brown with light brown markings on her face, chest and legs. The other two were boys and they looked almost alike, except one had long, curly fur and the other had short. They were mostly white, with markings of black and brown swirled throughout their fur. They looked like Jack Russell Terriers, which is what the father was believed to have been. The long haired one was so chubby and playful. The other four were fairly timid.

As we all got back into our van, the mom wanted to be with our daughter in the back seat. Her sister laid with our son in the middle seat. The puppies were all in the carrier on the middle seat next to our son. Eventually the puppies became restless and curious and began crawling ever so slowly out of the carrier. By the time we had made it back to Galesburg, they were all out of the carrier. The sister had went to the back seat to be with our daughter and the mom dog. Two of the puppies were laying on the middle seat next to our son. The long haired one was sleeping on our son's lap. The other boy and the brown female were sleeping on my husband's chest. We made a stop at my parent's house to let the dogs stretch and potty before we took them the last hour to the next driver. By this time my husband and I were falling in love with all of them.

Still having two dogs of our own back home, we knew we couldn't keep all of these dogs no matter how much we wanted to. During the last drive of our part of the transport, we talked about adopting two of the puppies. When we reached our destination to meet the next driver, I called the woman at the rescue where the dogs were going. I asked her if it would be possible for us to adopt two of the puppies. She told me that would be great but we would be responsible for getting them all of their shots and such, that her rescue couldn't pay for any of that. I told her I completely understood and thanked her for letting us make two of them part of our family. We chose the short haired white male and the dark brown female. They have slept with my husband and I since the first night we brought them home. They, just like our other two dogs, are like children to us.

My husband and I have helped with quite a few transports since that day in May almost three years ago. The feeling of satisfaction is always ever present when helping get a dog to a safer situation. However, there is also a feeling of helplessness. There is an overwhelming number of dogs and cats every year that are put to sleep at pounds and shelters because there isn't enough room, money,or both. The situation is even more compounded by people who breed animals or just simply don't get them spayed and neutered.

For all of you who are animal lovers, or just love to help, it is so important for more people to donate their time to help with transports. I have been trying for a long time to encourage people to volunteer for rescues and transports. Help is also needed to do things such as home visits to verify for a rescue that the place the animal will be going to meets the standards of the rescue. People are needed to coordinate transports. There is also a need for people to go to high kill facilities and pull animals about to be put to sleep so that they can be transported. Volunteers are also needed to house animals overnight during long transports. Most transports are done on weekends, however many of the other services are needed all the time.

I will warn you that signing up to groups like at yahoo can be overwhelming, because there are constantly posts about animals that are going to be put to sleep or are being abused. It can be aggravating to sort through everything to find something you can help with also. If you are interested in finding out how you can help, I would suggest starting with pounds, shelters and rescues that are local to where you live. Tell them what you are wanting to volunteer your time for and ask if they ever need that kind of help or know of any people or agencies that do. If you want to give internet groups a try, you can go to http://groups.yahoo.com/ and do a search for transports or animal rescue. You should also be able to do an area specific search, such as North Carolina transports or Chicago transports. The one group that I belong to which seems to have a pretty good system that doesn't take a lot of time to sort through to find something you can help with is http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/dogtransportvolunteers/?yguid=175376463

If you ever decide to help with a transport, there are certain guidelines to help keep the animals and you safe. It is always recommended that you never bring any animals of your own. You shouldn't take children either, unless the transport coordinator says it's ok. Always take a bowl of water, a leash and a collar, unless it's specified that certain things will be supplied. Having a big vehicle is always a plus, but not necessary. Sometimes you might be required to bring a carrier or a cage. If you don't have one and one isn't supplied, make sure the animal is secure in the vehicle as far away from you as possible so that it won't interfere with your driving. If at all possible, have another adult with you on the trip. Always make sure that you give the transport coordinator proper ways to get ahold of you if necessary. A cell phone is pretty much a requirement.

There are many animals out there that need help from more people than are available to offer assistance with these situations. I hope that if you are reading this and are not already volunteering your time for such a worthwhile cause, that you will give it great consideration. I believe you will have a great feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction after only your first time helping. These animals are counting on your help, and the help of people you know. Please volunteer for this great cause and spread the word.