No More Homeless Pets Forum
Decmeber 6, 2004

Pet Transport

Moving pets from one region to another to find homes for them is becoming more common. But is it safe? Is it successful? How does it work? Susan Hogarth of Canine Underground Railroad, Anne Lindsay of Northeast Animal Shelter and Jean Hansen of Best Friends Animal Society will share advice on what to consider before beginning and how to run a successful program.

Introduction from Susan Hogarth, Jean Hansen and Anne Lindsay:

What do you do when "puppy love" is long distance? What happens when the feline you fancy is far, far away? Can the blind kitty, Justice, make the trip from Florida to Utah? Is it possible for a three-legged rabbit to "bunny hop" his way across three states? What happens when four geese need to "fly" from Utah to Kansas? Did "Elvis" recently spend the night in Las Vegas? (Rumor has it that he really is "nothing but a hound dog.")

People in New York want to adopt dogs from the Navajo Nation. People in the United States want to save the animals caught in the war zone of the Middle East. Small rescue groups in rural areas want to move their animals to areas with larger populations. More and more animals of all types are traveling to new homes via all types of transportation. Furry and feathered friends as passengers in private vehicles, business vehicles, 18-wheelers, RVs, and private and commercial aircraft have become more the norm than the exception.

The resources for assistance with transportation are vast and many. They vary from volunteer groups to air transport groups to paid moving companies to paid air transport to commercial air flights.

This week, we will explore the many transportation options available and discuss all the facets of getting an animal or several animals from point A to point B. Come join us with your questions and concerns about the animal welfare "movement."

Questions

Are multiple or single drivers best?
Preventing spreading contagious diseases along with adoptable pets
Background checks on transporters
Is rescued pet transporting an ethical business?
Standards for transport protocols
Finding rescues to accept transported animals
Money changing hands -- who, when and how much
Does neatness count for drivers and vehicles?
When shipped-in and local adoptables compete for homes
How to transport birds and all-species transport list

Are multiple or single drivers best?

Comment from Lea:

I am the Transportation Coordinator for Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue in Elverta, CA (near Sacramento). We rescue between 350-500 dogs per year, many of whom come from distant shelters and are transported by our Golden Taxi Team. If I relied strictly on volunteers who are able/willing to drive for 8 hours, then turn around and drive back (or pay for overnight accommodations) I would have very few volunteers and many lives would be lost because we could not get them transported to us. We are blessed to have a wonderful team of volunteers all over the state who are happy to help us when they can. Some of them are willing to do long distance transports (bless them), but most people prefer to do a 4-5 hour drive (round trip), so we divide up the trips accordingly. Since gas costs upwards of $2.25 per gallon in parts of CA, this makes it more manageable and feasible for all concerned. In addition to the safety and comfort of the dogs, we are also concerned about the safety and comfort of the humans involved. We don't want to overtax anyone, especially in inclement weather. And we want to make the experience a positive one; we want them to transport again!

I am the run coordinator and I plot the entire run, provide the entire team with contact numbers, meet points and times, vehicle descriptions and, of course, my own cell number. Besides making possible the rescue of hundreds of golden retrievers (and mixes), it has created new friendships and given the volunteers a sense of accomplishment and pride. In addition, we network with other rescue groups to assist in the transport of their dogs. Without multiple drivers, we would be lost.

Response from Jean:

First, let me profoundly apologize to anyone who may have taken offense at my statements. My reference to 8 hours was meant to include the entire trip, which would constitute potentially 4 hours in each direction -- one whole day, not necessarily two days, and not necessarily an entire weekend.

I come from a small animal welfare organization that sometimes needed to rely on the "kindness of strangers". I am now blessed to work with Best Friends Animal Society that has the resources to facilitate animal transport, but I, too, still rely on a network of volunteers to get the job done. Those individuals who are willing to give of their time, resources and selves to move an animal to safety are the foundation of any successful transportation program.

Also, I have a special appreciation for anyone who is willing to be the coordinator for any of these transportation programs. The logistics of many of these transports can be daunting, and it takes a very organized, caring, effective individual to pull it all together and the majority of you do it on a volunteer basis. My hat is off to all of you!

Preventing spreading contagious diseases along with adoptable pets

Question from member:

We just started moving animals from the Eastern part of our state to the Western side. This program has been successful up until last week when there was a parvo outbreak at the shelter. It appears one of the dogs that was transported carried the illness with him and then infected others. We did not hold the dog in isolation prior to adoption because we thought that since he was already in the adoption area at the other shelter there wasn't a need. What protocol do you suggest we use when moving dogs from one shelter to another?

Response from Anne:

We never, ever take dogs directly from a shelter. We require that our dogs and puppies spend at least two weeks in foster care in the originating area before transport. That way, if parvo does present, it will be while they are in foster care, and it can be identified and hopefully treated in the originating state/county. We aren't comfortable suggesting protocols beyond the recommendation that animals should not go directly from one shelter to another.

Response from Jean:

Never assume that every organization involved in the transfer of animals has the same criteria for determining whether an animal is "adoptable". It is always advisable to determine if all participating animal welfare organizations adhere to the same standards. If not, it may be wise to have a list of medical tests and behavior tests to which all participating organizations agree.

However, the issue of Parvo being transmitted via an animal being transported may be very hard to avoid totally. Adult dogs may be infected carriers without showing any clinical signs. Dogs with the typical diarrhea that parvovirus causes shed the virus as well. It can last a long time in the environment. Generally, it takes 7-10 days from the time of exposure for dogs and puppies to start showing symptoms and to test positive for parvo. So it is highly possible that even if all the right questions are asked...

- Has the dog been tested for parvo?
- Does the dog show any symptoms of parvo?
- Has the dog been exposed to parvo?

...it may still be possible for the dog to be infected. Probably a more accurate test to determine the heath status of an animal that is scheduled for transport is to be able to review all of the animal's health records, and to inquire as to whether or not the particular location of origin has experienced any problems with outbreaks of parvo or any other type of infectious disease.

Response from Susan:

First, let me take this opportunity to give a link to a great collection of how-to rescue transport documents compiled by the folks of Canine Underground Railroad (CUR), http://www.cur-central.net/publicdocs/. There is a gold mine of information there, including how to determine transport eligibility and doing 'high-risk' transports (in which category shelter-to-shelter transport would certainly fall).

Second, it's important to realize that no matter how careful you are these things are going to happen from time to time in any case. Quarantine times are guidelines, and sometimes incubation periods can be longer than any but the most rigid quarantine. To make a very poor parvo-joke: sometimes sh*t happens :-/ I only want to point that out so that people can focus on making things better rather than on pointing fingers at other people trying to do their best to help animals.

Third, it is important to not make any assumptions about the place from which the dogs came, but instead to collect full information so you can know exactly what sort of quarantine, if any, the dogs have received.

Fourth (and this gets into shelter management, so my main advice is to seek professional help), even if the dogs are in an adoption area, it's important to maintain some level of separation between groups of dogs. While socialization is important for shelter dogs, I think it's best to use some sort of 'buddy system' (where the dog is with one or two other dogs routinely), rather than allowing 'group play' with a constantly shifting mix of dogs. This gives the dogs some sort of social stability as well as some minimal quarantine/buffering effect against new dogs coming in. Also important is to ensure that staff, volunteers, and visitors follow careful disinfection procedures between handling different animals in the shelter.

Of course the Gold Standard would be to isolate and quarantine each dog as it comes in from anywhere for a full ten days. If you can do this, great! If you can't, you might reconsider your relocation program or look for creative alternatives -- perhaps your shelter could have live camera-feeds from the eastern shelter(s) to showcase the dogs available there and encourage more widespread adoption. Good luck!

Background checks on transporters

Question from Erin:

The volunteers in transport are an awesome group of people, although I have I heard a story or two here and there about people posing as humanitarians and then stealing animals. I wondered just how big that problem really is. What kind of background search should we do on our drivers?

Response from Anne:

This is something we haven't experienced with Northeast Animal Shelter's Puppies Across America Program. This is mostly because we used only the airlines for transport for many years. In recent years we have started having the dog/puppies driven to our shelter, but the drivers are affiliated with the originating shelters with which we have developed relationships. I stress the word "relationship" very heavily because this entire effort has to be based on building a relationship with the shelters sending animals to us. One shelter has been working with us since 1992, and another for at least 10 years. The people running those shelters are people we know well and trust in terms of their business practices, judgment, and just being good, solid people. Their drivers are affiliated with their organizations (either a husband of the director or an employee or volunteer) and make one trip with one or two people in the van. There are not multiple legs to any journey. If an organization is relying on strangers to do the transporting, this obviously opens the possibility of theft. I know lives are in the balance so it's a tough call. But building relationships is very possibly the way around that.

Response from Susan:

I personally do not think this is a big problem at the present time. My feeling is that if someone wanted cheap dogs there are easier ways to get them than to lurk on animal transport lists, go through the headache of getting inserted into a run, and then steal dogs. I think it's more likely that 'creepy people' would be a danger to humans on such transports -- but, again, it's a lot of effort to go to just to meet a dumpy middle-aged woman covered in dog hair.

Of course the transport coordinator should learn as much as is practicable about the person on the transport before giving out personal information and starting the run. Best, of course, is a personal recommendation from another person, someone personally known to the rescuer, and this is how the Canine Underground Railroad (CUR) works. This is the Gold Standard. Failing that, a transporter should be screened the way an adopter or a foster would be screened, forms, vet references, phone and (if possible) in-home interviews. It's a lot of work, but transporters should be regular volunteers, not one-shot drivers.

A bigger problem, I think, is drivers who get involved in a run without checking the transport, and then finding out that the transport is not to their standards (dog going to a bad situation, dog seriously unhealthy, etc.) and then taking action to prevent the flawed transport ( i.e. stealing the dog). It is very important that the transporter understand and be comfortable with the transport -- know about the dog and what situation it is going to -- so that these extremely unpleasant episodes never happen. I have heard of several of these cases, and they are miserable for everyone involved.

I am interested in setting up a validation system for transporters rather like the E-bay rating system, where fellow transporters can leave comments like 'always on time!' and 'makes great coffee' (in privacy-protected areas, of course) about other transporters. If you are a programmer or are married to one, let me know!

Comment from Merritt:

We are now hearing about literally a new scam every week in this area, up from about one a month last year! My ironclad rules for doing humane relocation safely are:

1. Do not do business with non-sheltered rescues on the receiving end. If an organization doesn't have isolation, quarantine, and clinic facilities of its own to handle any problems, don't touch it with a 10-foot pole. Just having a fostering network, a vet, and a day at PETsMART or PETCO isn't good enough. Such arrangements are very precarious and financially shaky if any real problems develop.

2. Do not do business with any organization at either end that does not...
a) Have a published, verifiable physical address, with zoning that allows the presence of the animals.
b) Have a fixed-site telephone number. Just a cell phone is not good enough.
c) Have 501(c)(3) status and file IRS Form 990 in a complete and timely manner, whether or not it has enough income that it is legally required to do so.
d) Have a verifiable Board of Directors, consisting of reputable persons.
e) Keep detailed, verifiable records of the destination and fate of every animal handled.

3. Always move animals with two drivers. Sh*t happens, and when it does, having a backup person is essential.

These are not difficult standards for anyone who is serious about rescue to meet. If people stringently observe them, they won't have disasters. If they don't, they will join the legions of people we are hearing from who have been bilked out of hundreds of dogs, dozens of cats, and tens of thousands of dollars by dogfighters, ordinary con artists, hoarders, and various other cruds who have somehow been persuasive in declaring their alleged good intentions.

NOTE:
Merritt Clifton is the Editor of ANIMAL PEOPLE, the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide, founded in 1992. Their readership of 30,000 plus includes the decision makers at more than 10,000 animal protection organizations. ANIMAL PEOPLE has no alignment or affiliation with any other entity. $24/year; for free sample, send address to:
P.O. Box 960
Clinton, WA 98236
Telephone: 360-579-2505
Fax: 360-579-2575
E-mail: anmlpepl@whidbey.com
Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

Response from Jean Hansen:

It is not always feasible, nor possible, to have two (2) drivers on every transport. We try to plan for additional drivers, and at times, even more than one van for a particular trip, but the circumstances of that particular trip dictate that decision. Primary factors to consider would be

- the number of animals being transported
- any special needs required for those animals
- the distance to be covered
- the type of terrain to be driven in -- busy cities, where help might be more readily available, should something happen, versus expanses of 100's of miles without any service areas
- general health not only of the animals, but also of the drivers
- and, as so expressively stated by another, "sh*t happens!" All you can do is try to plan for anything and everything

Comment from Amy:

Merritt is absolutely right, of course (as usual)! Although I do a limited number of transports & usually in groups, my own criteria 'rule of thumb' is that entrusting the animal to ANYONE should be done with as much or more screening & information as you require from an adoption applicant. My #1 question is always to ask for a vet reference; if they don't have one or try to put you off it's a deal-breaker!

Comment from Karen:

I respectfully disagree that only shelter-based rescues are worth working with. I network with a great and reliable rescue that is 'just' a foster network, a vet, and adoptions through PETsMART. I am a tiny animal rescue and the only rescue for a whole county. I encourage groups to INCLUDE little groups and foster-based groups in their networks.

Comment from Laurel:

At the point I took ownership of the RollingRescue transport group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rollingrescue), the list and most other transport lists did not screen their membership, and had no real polices in place defining the requirements for using the list and the responsibilities for the various roles in the transport network. The changes we've made over time have identified the risks involved with the lack of policies and practices that focus on safety for animals and humans.

Outright theft of a dog in a transport is a relatively rare occurrence. That risk may be somewhat higher with a rare breed purebred but incidents are more apt to involve a transporter who falls in love with their passenger and doesn't understand the proper procedures.

Screening of the list's members helps to ensure that we have responsible drivers and coordinators and identifies those that may lack experience. Our policies, which people are agreeing to abide by when they apply to join, spell out the responsibilities for drivers, transport coordinators and rescues/shelters using their services and identify who the "owner" of a transport dog is and who is responsible for emergency veterinary care if needed en route, who is responsible for screening the receiving end and so on.

We offer to mentor new coordinators who are open to it, although we don't push it unless we see them making mistakes. Then they have a choice to accept and follow the advice of an experienced coordinator or they are removed from the list.

What we have used for the past few years is a "New Member Survey" that collects information including a full name and physical address with phone numbers, the names, website urls and contacts of any rescue or transport groups the individual belongs to, their role in those organizations and the length of time they've served in those capacities. For the person who may be new to transporting and not affiliated with a group, we collect the information needed to get their vet's reference on them.

We do not want to exclude new volunteers. Many ordinary dog-lovers as well as people who have been exposed to transport work when they adopted pets, come to look for ways to help with rescue and driving. For those who can't or aren't ready to foster, transport work is an entry level position. And just as a vet reference is an important part of screening an adopter, it can be used as part of the screening for transport volunteers.

Before someone is given access to the list, the database and our online files, we want to know who they are. Even more importantly, before we move an animal, we want to know exactly where it is going. The risk of ending up in an undesirable situation is by far the greatest threat to an animal being transported.

It's critical to know a dog or cat is being sent to a safe place with proper care, vetting, spay and neuter and good adoption practices. We are responsible for the fate of the animals that we help to move. The buck has to stop somewhere.

Transports carry animals both into rescue and into adoptive homes. It is our job, as coordinators, to know that the rescue is legitimate or that the adopters have been screened with reference checks and a home visit and that any animal going to a forever home is altered and vetted, before we agree to organize a transport of any kind. Drivers should also know that someone has taken these steps before they agree to drive even one leg of a relay transport.

We also like to see an animal going to a forever home have a local safety net in the adopter's area. Someone who can collect and provide for that animal if the adoption fails. We do not need to move a shelter dog from KS to an adopter in NY, only to have that animal end up in a NY shelter when it doesn't get along with the adopter's current pet or isn't what they expected. Proper screening of adopters helps a great deal, but still is no guarantee that a placement won't fail.

Within larger rescue groups with nationwide chapters, that safety net usually comes from within their organization, but for the shelters and for the non-nationwide rescues, this safety net can't come from within. We have to create it using rescues in the adopter's local area and have it ready if it is needed. However we arrange it, it should be there for the protection of the dog.

For some government shelters or non-profit shelters adoption screening is not the norm, but they will do out of area placements or releases to rescues. In these cases the responsibility falls to the transport coordinator to get the home or receiving rescue screened properly before they move the animal and to help with arrangements to get the animal altered and vetted prior to the move if that shelter can't or won't do it.

Help is available for home visits, on site rescue visits, vet reference checks, most anywhere in the country, using the network that is already in place. Cooperation and networking extends the possibilities and is readily available.

And when someone posts a transport run, that post should clearly identify where the animal is going. If rescue inbound, the name, city and state and website URL of the receiving group or if going to an adopter, the same information on the rescue or shelter that is responsible for the placement of that animal in that home.

There should be a full screening behind the scenes, but requiring this information in the post, where the driver volunteer can see it, facilitates the driver volunteer being able to go look at the website and decide for themselves if they have any qualms or other questions for the transport coordinator.

It also allows for someone in the local area or region, who may know something about the receiving end that has escaped the transport coordinator or the sending rescue, to alert them to bad rescues or known Do Not Adopt (DNA) situations. No matter how carefully you screen, there can be those who get by you. I allow for the fact that sometimes a person is looking to adopt or a rescue pulling from out of state because they have been marked as a DNA in their local area.

We have to teach our driver volunteers that it is their responsibility, as the last cog in the wheel, to know where they are taking these animals. They have the right to demand that a transport coordinator tell them who screened the receiving end, what the medical and placement policies are of the rescues getting the animals. If a transport coordinator can't or won't answer those questions, don't drive for them. It tells you, as the driver, that they really don't know where that animal is going.

Additional details on the animals to be transported should also be required in every post for help. Breed, size, age, sex, shots, spay/neuter status, any temperament or health issues, the availability or advisability of a crate, the size of crate needed and whatever is known about the ability of the animal to get along with other animals, its housebreaking skill level and any special handling requirements.

A driver should be able to look at a post and see right away if this is an animal that they can personally handle. Some things like housebreaking are specific to the needs of our trucker volunteers, but also apply to someone offering to overnight a transport dog en route. Full disclosure of all relevant information is the main thing. Having it in the post eliminates the need for a series of emails back and forth to get answers and is yet another assurance that the coordinator has done his/her homework.

I disagree that transports should be limited to delivering animals to shelter-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit groups. Formal non-profit status says nothing about the more relevant issues of how a rescue handles, vets, and alters the animals or screens adopters. Nor does having a nice website or having a page on www.Petfinder.org.

It is more important to know how many animals they bring in and how many they place, what vetting is done and by which vets (for an accurate vet reference check), how and where they house the animals, how many foster homes they have available, contact information for their local animal control agency, if they keep the animals in foster long enough to provide the isolation time and time to get to know the animal before trying to adopt it out, and then, finally, what does their adoption application and screening process entail, and are they using an adoption contract that provides for follow-up and a return to rescue for any animal that loses his/her home down the road.

It seems pointless to move a dog to a rescue that will take it to the local PETsMART next week and plop it into the hands of the first adopter who comes along or to a shelter based organization who may be large and formally non-profit, but whose placement practices don't even come close to the thorough screening that many, many smaller groups and individuals use or who routinely refuse to treat things like heartworm or kennel cough or who don't have the resources to rehabilitate a dog with behavioral issues and will turn around and end up putting down a sick dog or be looking for a small rescue group to give it to. And, many of the larger shelter-based organizations do just that.

Our transport resources are limited, our time and volunteers are too valuable and there are too many animals in need of the services. The transports that we chose to invest in should ensure the safety of the animal, the safety of the volunteers, and ultimately, land that animal in the hands of someone we know will work to meet all of his/her needs.

To the best of our ability, the needs of a particular animal should be known before it is transported, but we all know that we're open to surprises on the receiving end. The shelter pet isn't likely to be showing its true colors until its been in a foster home for a couple of weeks, and its not unusual for undetected medical problems to be revealed only after the animal arrives. If the receiving end isn't prepared to deal with those issues and problems, the animal may as well have stayed and died where it was. Not to say that every animal that gets transported will ultimately turn out to be salvageable, but to say that we need the best assurance possible that the receiving end is committed to dealing with less than perfect animals.

Over the years we've seen our transport posting format being adopted by many other transport groups. That's been encouraging. But, there are still not many that screen their membership, and there are still way too many transport coordinators who don't screen the groups they coordinate for and don't even see it as their responsibility.

Our policies and practices have developed out of finding too many back yard breeders, bad rescues, collectors and DNA adopters trying to use the volunteer transport network to move their animals. It is time consuming but it can be, and has to be, done. Unfortunately, we've also seen where those types that we've uncovered and rejected still managed to get their animals moved using other lists where "anything goes" and generous, well-intentioned, but naive volunteers will jump to help anyone who says they are "saving" this or that animal from death.

There are fates worse than death. Educating drivers and coordinators and requiring them to take responsibility for the fate of the animals they are moving has to be a priority.

Is rescued pet transporting an ethical business?

Question from Michele:

I've been transporting animals for my local, urban shelter for nearly 3 years. My local shelter does not get enough strays to fill its adoption pens. So once a week they take a transport van to poor, overcrowded rural shelters. I'm also finding other urban shelters going "shopping" for primarily small adoptable dogs.

While dogs are being rescued from these less fortunate shelters, there is something unsettling about this traffic. The feeling I'm getting anymore is not an altruistic, helpful endeavor. These are business decisions, the need to provide a commodity (cute dogs and cats) to the local community so you've still got the public walking through your doors. With all the efforts being taken to transport animals to safer shelters we're still not solving the problem of pet overpopulation. Shouldn't those facilities with deeper pockets be contributing to local spay/neuter funds? Giving back in a sense. After all the rescuing shelter gains a valuable commodity, a dog or cat to put up in its adoption kennels.

For example, well-off shelter X takes 15 dogs from crowded shelter Y. Why not contribute at least $5.00 a dog to Shelter Y's spay/neuter fund? That way they could get a dog fixed in their facility, and possibly adopt it out locally, rather than euthanize the dog?

Response from Anne:

You have a lot of parts to your question. I will try to break this down into different points.

Your comment about the loss of altruism that seems to be a part of importing animals is something that certainly does happen. There are shelters that jump on the bandwagon and look at puppies as a commodity but don't have the infrastructure to support the program. There are shelters that haven't thought through all the details and are compromising the health of the animals they are supposedly trying to save. And... there are zealots. But animal relocation seems to be here to stay, and I think we will always have those who push the envelope, do cheap imitations, and take risks with animals' lives. But that doesn't have to mean it's all bad because a few take advantage. If a program is done right, it is a program that saves lives and gets at the root of the problem.

As for your concern about this becoming a "business" yes, these are often business decisions, and they are hopefully based on solid business practices. There are lots of variables to consider when judging these programs.

First is to consider the shelter doing the importing. In the case of Northeast Animal Shelter, we are funded by donors across the country so we are not a "local" shelter. We feel that we have the obligation to help across the country, and are often asked to do so by our donors. If we were a small local shelter, we might have a different mission and might take a different stand. But be sure to consider all angles before you judge a shelter's decision to start such a program. It's easier to make blanket judgments than it is to do some critical thinking and evaluating.

Second, we believe that the arrival of puppies and small and medium dogs at our shelter encourages people to come to the shelter when they wouldn't come if there were only adult dogs. It breaks my heart to say that, but it is often true. So a way to get our adult dogs some attention, while saving imported puppies/dogs lives at the same time and ultimately some great homes, is to get people in the doors to meet the puppies. If they are not suitable for a puppy we can talk to them about the benefits of adopting an older dog.

We have had many, many people who came fully intending to adopt a puppy and they went home with an adult dog that is much more suited to their lifestyle... and they don't go away angry. They go away feeling enlightened, relieved to not have the responsibility of caring for a puppy, relieved that someone else said no to their kids about having a puppy, and they feel they have received good care and attention. So in some ways, it is good customer service, too.

Your final point was about well-heeled shelters helping to finance spay/neuter efforts where the surplus puppies are. There are many creative ways to do this, and it is definitely our responsibility to get at the root of the problem. For example, Northeast Animal Shelter pays the airfare for the puppies who come from a shelter in Nebraska. And in return, because that allows the originating shelter to not have that financial burden, we have required that the Nebraska shelter spay the mother dog if she is known. As a result, 12 years later, there are no puppies in that geographical area for a 2 to 3 hour radius, and this Nebraska shelter is able to now help with the surplus animals in shelters from three other nearby states... and they require spaying and neutering for their animals, too. We have an arrangement with another shelter where we reimburse them for their expenses when they drive dogs/puppies to us. Again, this allows them to put their funds into spaying and neutering and drying up the source. Your scenario about Shelter X and Y could also work.

I hope the above info has helped to answer your questions.

Response from Susan:

The problem of pet overpopulation will have to be ultimately addressed by individual pet owners taking responsibility. While I understand your feelings and have at times in the past shared them, I feel quite differently now. Let me try to explain why.

Let's look at the scenario you outlined: If shelter X takes the dogs, the dogs get neutered and adopted. If they leave them in shelter Y and help pay for the neutering, the dogs are sitting in some rural shelter taking up kennel space while city folks are wondering why local shelters are empty and heading to the pet store or nearest backyard breeder.

The fact is that dogs have to go where the adopters are to a great extent. The urban rescues and shelters can play an important part of this 'market' for adopted animals. We should rejoice that such a demand exists, and try our best to fill it with adoptable pets.

Standards for transport protocols

Question from Lea:

As the transportation coordinator for Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, I am in the process of updating our processes and standards for transporters. We rescue lots of dogs from distant shelters, involving transports of 400 -- 600 miles, which we normally break up into multiple legs, due to weather considerations, time restraints, availability of transporters, and the safety of the humans, as well as the dogs. What basic standards can you suggest in terms of time between breaks, safe hand-offs, crating, etc?

Secondly, what are your thoughts about animals riding in the cargo area of a plane? Because our dogs are too large to ride in the cabin, the cargo area would be our only option if we should decide to transport by plane. We haven't done this as yet, but I'm just wondering, in case the opportunity arises. Thank you for your comments.

Response from Susan:

Some great information about run preps can be found in the public area of the Canine Underground Railroad (CUR) website, http://www.cur-central.net/publicdocs.
Specifically useful for planning a run is the info here, http://www.cur-central.net/publicdocs/cheatsheetp.html; (if asked for a password, just hit 'cancel').

Crated is almost always the best way to transport animals, and as few breaks as possible should be made for animals. As another person pointed out correctly yesterday, they do NOT need to get out of the car every time you do (after all, they aren't drinking a 44-ounce Diet Pepsi. That reminds me... minimize the amount of food and water given to a dog when transporting (probably not a bad idea for the driver either). I think transport runs are why so many rescue people are overweight.

As for the cargo areas of planes... I am not fond of the idea, but in many cases it beats the alternative (death), and in some ways may be less stressful than a long car transport with many handoffs. In general, dogs shouldn't be flown as cargo in very hot or very cold weather, and should NOT be given tranquilizers. Of course, to every rule in rescue there is an exception; I did give Valium, at the vet's suggestion, to an epileptic beagle I was flying cross-country once... although I was sorely tempted to take the Valium myself! Of course when flying you need to get a health certificate from your vet (should probably have one for overland multi-state transports too, but most people don't bother), and be in an airline-approved crate with all the proper information on it.

Response from Anne:

Your question about transporting with a series of drivers and vehicles is something we don't have experience with. So I will leave that to those who are more savvy about the topic. I can speak with more authority on the second part of your question, which asks about flying animals in cargo.

Most of the transporting Northeast Animal Shelter has done over the years has been in the cargo area of a plane. The only problem we ever had was on 9/11 when our gang was in the air and Logan Airport was closed. They were bounced from airport to airport, and it was a bit scary. But we had enough connections to be able to check on the pups, and we finally drove to Philadelphia to get them. Other than that we have never, ever lost a dog on a plane. However, we are very, very careful about watching the weather, we shoot for the shortest layovers, and we have enough connections in place so that we can call a shelter or volunteer for help in a pinch. We also have developed relationships with the airline personnel in the CARGO area. That is very, very important. They know us and understand that we have precious cargo and the lines of communication are open both ways. We also follow airline guidelines for transporting animals, follow federal and state requirements regarding health certificates, and are very, very careful about dotting our "i's" and crossing our "t's". I hope this answers your questions.

Response from Jean:

At Best Friends, we "fly" live animals, i.e., dogs, cats, feathered friends, rabbits, etc. almost every week, without incident.

Most of the major airlines have established a "live animal" department that deals specifically with the transport of live animals via their commercial passenger flights. These airlines maintain the live animal cargo area at a pressurization of 8000 ft. The temperature is also maintained within that area to not drop below 45 degrees, nor go above 85 degrees. Some airlines have temperature restrictions, but those restrictions are the temperature that the animal may experience on the tarmac at any given airport -- again not below 45 degrees, nor above 85 degrees. Other airlines have no temperature restrictions, because their program provides for special care in a climate controlled vehicle anytime the plane is on the ground for any extended period of time.

Still other airlines, do not allow the transport of live animals either in the cargo hold or in the cabin with a passenger. It is best to always ask, whichever airline you may be considering, what are their particular rules and regulations.

To be sure of your options when thinking about flying a live animal, contact the live animal desk of the airline that you are considering. They can provide you with either their web link to retrieve all of their requirements or can tell you directly on the phone how to prepare the live animal and the crate for flight. I always ask for the shortest, hopefully, non-stop flight between the origination point and the destination point.

Because Las Vegas is the closed large airport to Best Friends Sanctuary, and because Continental Airlines does not have temperature restrictions, we use Continental Airlines much of the time to transport animals in to and out of the Sanctuary. For an example of the rules and regulations for transporting an animal via commercial airlines, you can browse the following link: http://www.continental.com/travel/policies/animals.

Another consideration, when considering the transportation of an animal across the country, is the time factor and the stress level of the animal. A 5-6 hour direct flight from Las Vegas, Nevada to Newark, NY, in my opinion, is less stressful on the animal than a 5-6 days ground transport trip to cover the same distance. In addition, when you consider the cost of gasoline, potential time off of work, meals and motels, the cost to transport an animal via air is much less.

Comment from BJ:

I started a Rescue Railroad at my local shelter 2 years ago. It was slow getting off the ground, but in that time our group has successfully gotten over 1500 dogs and cats out of our high kill shelter and into partner shelters, breed and all-breed rescue organizations. The first 6 months were challenging: finding a team, identifying the rescue groups, getting the kennel supervisor and shelter director to release the animals and raising money to pay for transportation.

For anyone out there who wants to get involved: you don't have to be the rescue; you can be the connection. Taking photos, e-mailing, building networks and gaining a reputation for sending dogs/cats in the condition that you have portrayed are all essential to developing a successful program.

If you volunteer for a shelter, you will need to educate yourself quickly about breeds, temperament testing, and basic health assessments. If no program exists yet, you can create one.

One of the difficult components is identifying and confirming the policies of the receiving rescue/shelter. We have to have proof that all animals will be altered prior to adoption and that proper screening will be done before placement in homes. Again, networking works! People love to talk; you just have to ask the right questions.

It was an uphill battle convincing the staff and Board of Directors that it is actually more cost effective to release to a rescue than to board and ultimately euthanize, but we got there! With regard to 'bail-out' fees, our shelter does not charge any fees unless it is a breed specific rescue and we have already paid for the spay/neuter surgery. In that case we ask for the rescue to cover that cost, which is usually much less than they would have to pay their local vet.

Occasionally a rescue group will make a donation to the Rescue Railroad to help cover transportation costs. We also try to be available to help with transport for our partners, even when it doesn't involve one of our dogs; it is all part of building friendly partnerships.

A typical rescue for us now (with a partner shelter) consists of determining a date, working with the kennel supervisor and in some cases fostering a few animals until the transport date. We evaluate all the animals that are going and providing temporary id tags and collars for them. We also ensure that all the paperwork is done properly and copies distributed. We load the animals at 6 am into the shelter van then drive about 3 hrs to a halfway point where they are re-evaluated by the receiving organization.

It is understood that if any animal fails to pass the evaluation we return him/her to the shelter. Overall it takes about 40 volunteer hours and a tank of gas to rescue a group of about 20 dogs. That's a VERY small price to pay for their lives! In addition to the 'big' rescues we work with many smaller groups transporting 1 at a time when necessary. Sometimes the biggest deterrent to getting an animal rescued is transportation. My advice is: if you can only do 1 thing, focus your efforts on transport!