This will give you an idea what we do, I wrote this for my husband to submit to his company's volunteer/matching grant department:
Every Sunday night my wife and I put on our t-shirts that
say “When all that stood between life and death was a ride, how could I say
no?” Then we jump into a 1996 GMC
Jimmy that has over 190,000 miles on it and we transport dogs to rescues,
fosters or “furever” homes. We are
that ride.
We are animal rescue transporters. We drive for Mobile Mutts, a group that coordinates transport for rescues that pull animals from high kill shelters, mostly in the southern
United States, and transport them into rescue situations in Minnesota and
Wisconsin, sometimes in Illinois. There is every breed
imaginable and every age. Puppies
who have just been weaned and still have yet to receive full vaccinations are
deemed “no paws on the ground” and are handled with great care. Parvo can be picked up by them just
walking on the ground where the virus is present and it can then wipe out a
kennel population that is unprotected from the deadly disease. Seniors that have been coldly dumped at shelters by owners
who simply state “we don’t want her anymore.” Disabled animals that have little chance of getting a home
because of their special needs.
There are many Pitbulls simply in their situation because of human
assumptions or abuse.
These drives bring joy and tears on many levels. There is the joy of looking at that dog
and knowing that it escaped death in a gassing chamber in Louisiana or a
heartstick facility in North Carolina (yes, that is exactly what you think it
is) to be driven, leg by leg, to places where they will be vetted and loved as
every animal should be. There are
the tears when they look into your eyes and thank you, as only a shelter animal
can, for driving them to a place that literally chose to save their lives.
One snowy winter night Sally and I transported
Snowball (WHO IS NOW NAMED ROO.) He was a Rat Terrier mix
from Alabama and his front paws were deformed. As he settled into the ride to meet his rescue, he took his
little deformed legs and pulled the blanket on Sally’s lap under his chin and
let out a heavy sigh. He is now at
Home for Life in Star Prairie, WI using a wheelchair to get around and is
living his dream. There was Teeny,
a Chihuahua mix only 10 weeks old that rested in my hand and snuggled my
neck. And there was Precious and her
sister Queenie, two seniors that looked up at me with hearts and eyes full of
thanks as they left to go to Homeward Bound Rescue in Monticello, MN and
hopefully be adopted into a loving family of their own.
Transporters simply drive. Some an hour, some more. It’s like a puppy underground railroad. We meet at gas stations, truck stops,
mall parking lots, and such places to pass our passengers and their paperwork
on to the next person to move along the line. All dogs have been spayed or neutered and have all shots,
with the exception of some puppies too young at the time of transport. Some want or need to be in crates and
some just ride along and fall asleep next to their fellow passengers. The legs typically start in the south
on a Friday or Saturday and overnight Saturday night to move along again bright
and early on Sunday morning and we are that last leg on Sunday night; Hudson,
WI to Brooklyn Center, MN where we meet in a parking lot filled with people
picking up their passengers.
Fosters, furevers, rescues, we are all there to celebrate their new beginnings.
It’s easy, you just drive. Maybe a few treats would be in order and a rub under the
chin, possibly a belly scratch.
But it’s the best drive you’ll ever be on looking into eyes that are so
grateful for you spending a couple of hours on the road and some gas
money. We can’t do everything for
them but we are comforted knowing we can do something.
We so rarely ever know where they go or how their new homes are or if they are happy and content in their new lives. We just say a lot of solid prayers for them...
And today I was on Facebook while my documents are printing and found this story about ROO that I wrote about in the story above. I am OVER THE MOON to read his story and see the sweet smile on his face. And on a cloudy, chilly day when I needed to know this, it was confirmed...our drive made a difference. What we did really made a HUGE difference to a crippled pup from an area of the country where he would have never survived, we made the difference in him getting to an amazing new life.
Make a difference. It does not take much... But first read about my sweet pal Roo:
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