Rescue Road Trip

I was able to drive Pendleton to Bay Area Pet Adoptions (formerly the SPCA) in Dickinson to meet the trailer that would take him to another rescue in Tennessee, and through them to his new home. When I first got involved in rescue I became aware of trucks that made passes periodically through some Southern states to pick up adoptable animals and transport them up north to areas that had gotten a handle on their homeless pet population and had empty shelters as a result --- incredible.  I wanted to see how the operation worked and since I knew I was going to an unfamiliar area at dusk, I made sure I took my camera home...never thinking I would want to document it!  So, these are Droid photos, but they do  the job.

I think the transport picked up about 20 dogs with Pendleton, and there were already animals on board.  The kennels were stacked but secured well and clean, and the trailer was airconditioned...but still it must have been a scary trip for those animals.  It is pretty sad that we must send our homeless dogs hundreds of miles and to other states to find forever homes for them but how wonderful that there are homes for them at all and people willing to get them there.  That is why it is so important to spay and neuter your animals and to adopt rather than buy from breeders or puppy mills.

From the www.rescueroadtrips.com site:

Q: Why does the North

      import Southern     

      dogs?

A:#1: Southerners have excellent taste in dogs - they just don’t spay  and neuter or keep them on their property. Some northerners have figured this out and are acquiring first-rate dogs at bargain basement prices.

A: #2: Spay and neuter activism combined with breeder regulation in the North have generated restricted supply and thus high prices for adoptable dogs. The lack of spay/neuter facilities and breeder regulation and the prevalence of warm winters in the South have created excessive supply of adoptable  dogs and thus low prices. Enterprising souls on both sides are making this market work. In doing so they are not only improving the lives of Northern Families but also saving the lives of southern dogs. These are not any dogs mind you, These are High grade, Southern-mannered and styled dogs. Thus the name for this market: “Southern Comfort”.

The drawl is free.