 Pet Rescue Transports - Going the Distance for Our Four Legged Friends ... a personal view
 Knowing I had an upcoming quick trip from Florida to North Carolina for a property owners meeting and that I’d be traveling alone, I joined the online network called Trucks N Paws Transport Group to see if any animal transports were needed along my route. Trucks N Paws is a transport list for animals in need, especially ex-puppy mill dogs needing to get to their forever homes. People sign up and as needed, they chose to drive various legs of various trips for various animals. It’s a great concept and is working beautifully.
On the morning of July 24th, 2006, I ran across what looked like an interesting request to transport a Catahoula Hound to Harrodsburg, KY just hours after it was posted on the Trucks N Paws website. I was familiar with the breed since my wife and I had previously adopted a Catahoula Hound so it seemed like a perfect match for transport. Message posted Jul 24, 2006 5:16AM PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST!!!!! Legs and times are flexible. Pepper was dumped in the shelter because her owners were moving. They pulled up to the shelter in the moving van to drop her off. Pepper is very scared and depressed in the shelter and clearly does not understand what’s happening to her. Please help her get to a safe and loving foster home. Later that morning I checked to see where Harrodsburg, KY was in relation to where I would be staying. It was close, but still a number of hours from where I was going to be. I knew I could cover the bulk of the transport if they could get her to me in the short time I had available in North Carolina. I thought, what the heck, I’ll let them know where I’ll be and when, and see if they could get her down to me in time for my drive back to Florida. Almost immediately I heard from the transport coordinator and through numerous e-mails we discussed our options for connecting. The only time I could get to Pepper was after my meeting, which was late in the day, or in the morning before I headed out. Since the place I was staying at was not pet friendly, Pepper was going to have to wait till morning. However, thanks to Condo management company called Carolina Mountain Vacations, I was able to find another place to stay on very short notice that was pet friendly. It was getting late and transports were still getting lined up, so I offered to run across the mountains (Great Smoky Mountain’s National Park). I’ve driven that road so many times, a night transport would not be a problem for me. Traffic through Pigeon Forge AND Gatlinburg, TN is fierce, especially on a Saturday night, so I suggested meeting the other transport driver on the Gatlinburg, TN side of the park. I wondered what could be so special about Pepper, this Catahoula Hound dog that made someone want to spring her from a shelter in Kentucky and transport her all the way down to Florida. The reply I got from the rescue group that was waiting for her was not surprising. Here’s what it said. “I want them all to live, of course, but sometimes there are certain ones that pull at your heart strings, a look in their eyes or a facial expression. I personally go for the older ones and the abused or very neglected ones, but in Pepper’s case it was the fact that I could picture her in the moving van with them and how happy she must have been, thinking that she was going for a ride or to a new place with her family and all of her stuff, only to be dropped off at a shelter, having to watch as they drove away.”
.jpg) I could relate to that. All of our pets are rescues and each have their own unique story of how they came to live with us. I met Marg and Marv, Peppers current transporters at the Sugarlands Visitor Center just outside of Gatlinburg, TN where we visited briefly. I spent a little time with Pepper, got her paperwork and then loaded her up and got ready for the next section of her odyssey. Pepper wasn’t quite ready to settle down on this new leg and about a half hour into the ride as we were approaching Newfound Gap, we saw something move on the side of the road. A black bear was trying to get up the hill and across the road to continue his trip up the mountain. We pulled over and watched as the coast cleared and he scampered up and over the guardrail, across the road and up the other side. The rest of the trip was uneventful, but we had a few nice views before darkness settled in as we headed down the mountain to Bryson City to spend the night. Pepper enjoyed a big bone that evening in the cabin. Obviously used to getting up on the couch, Pepper gave me a goodnight kiss before heading to bed. Sunday morning we headed for Florida and left the mountains behind. Pepper, just like our Catahoula named Darla, enjoyed riding with her head between the seats where she could get a view out the front of my Jeep. After almost 12 hours of driving, we made it to Clearwater, FL. Pepper had been a great traveler, very laid back until you stopped and opened the door. She was always right there waiting to hop on out to explore her newest surroundings. Every rest stop we came to, her little nose was right to the ground, checking out every little smell with her Hound-like precision. Monday afternoon her new foster mom, Melody, came and picked her up. Melody had a Catahoula named Skittles, so she and Pepper got along very well. Within days she received an application for adoption for her and she was adopted by her forever family less than a week after making her trip to Florida. Pepper, now Magi (short for Magnolia), is now living with her new and loving family in a big, beautiful home with five acres of smells for her to discover with her new playmate, Scarlet who just happens to be a 1 ½-year-old Catahoula. Diana, Magi’s new mom, sent us some pics and said the following: “It’s difficult to get Magi, as we call her, to sit still, she’s quite excitable.... she’s pictured with her sister Scarlet.. two southern belles!!! They play together all day.... Magi’s adapted really well...she thinks life is one tail wag after the other...... she follows my every move... she is really happy” . I’m happy to be of help in getting these animals into a good foster situations where they have a chance at finding their forever home. In Pepper’s case, I know she found hers.
~Gary Borland Drive a Leg of a Transport and Help Save an Animal’s Life! Almost all transports are handled by volunteers and arranged by what is known as a Transport Coordinator, who is also a volunteer. People from every walk of life come together over the internet to donate their time, gas and vehicles to help save these animals who otherwise would not have a chance. Of course, there are always people who will transport animals directly for a fee, but this article is about all of those who lend a hand and a vehicle out of the goodness of their hearts. If you’re willing to run a leg (usually about an hour long) for a transport that happens to be in your area, there are a couple of internet groups to join. If you can spare even an hour of your time on a weekend, and you’d like to sign up to become a volunteer driver, please visit the following sites - or simply type “volunteer animal transport” in your browser. www.bundergroundrailroad.org www.mainecoonrescue.net www.trucknpaws.com www.puppymillrescue.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OnTheRoadAgain www.pilotsnpaws.org www.animalrescueflights.org www.freedomtraintransports.com http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/aussiecur TransportCoordinators http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TransportCoordinators AnimalTransporters http://groups.yahoo.com.group/AnimalTransporters Whether in your area or areas where you have friends, checking out the listings can often times result in filling in that last piece of the puzzle for a dog in need. Another way to help is to consider posting a “Transport available“ message. If you’re already planning on driving a long distance (such as Tampa to Atlanta) and have room available to take a dog or cat with you, sign up and help with a leg - you’ll be glad you did......and so will the animal you helped save. Fifteen Legs: When all that stands between death and freedom is a ride“This notion of volunteers connecting in cyberspace on behalf of desperate, unwanted animals had stolen my heart. The thought of perfect strangers coming together and working as a team to shuttle society’s non-human cast-offs out of harm’s way was too wonderful a story to pass up. I had to tell it.” ~ Bonnie Silva, Writer and Producer of Fifteen Legs For PBS air times, visit www.fifteenlegs.com Get the companion book for $22.95 www.amazon.com |
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