It all started with an urgent please to help 25 corgi and corgi mixes that were going to be shot due to their terminally ill guardian not having the funds to humanely euthanize them.
From Nicole, PA Team Leader The story was one of urgency - 25 dogs, located in Missouri, with literally 3 days to find rescue. Their guardian was terminally ill and hospice refused to step foot on the property with all of the dogs. The guardian not having the funds for a vet to humanely euthanize the dogs, took the offer of a neighbor who was going to shoot them, and then backhoe them.
Latichia, an ACO for a neighboring city, sent out the urgent request for help. The request was simple enough -- would a number of rescues be willing to take two dogs each? Immediately, two rescues stepped up and that was six dogs less that needed to be saved. However, there were still 18 dogs that were in urgent need of rehoming in less then three days. Rescuers panicked and began crossposting the message far and wide. Then came the email from Bill Smith of
Main Line Animal Rescue (MLAR). Bill said, "we'll take them." I responded with "that's fabulous, how many?" to which Smith responded with, "ALL OF THEM."
This was great news! Now the problem became, HOW will we get them here? 18 dogs? From MO to PA? There was no way we could pull this off quickly. That was when Latichia picked up the dogs (except for 3 that Carol W. was fostering for her) and brought all of them back to her shelter. A wonderful man named Carl offered to do the transport from the home to the shelter, but Latichia had it covered.
Frantically, animal welfare advocates began searching for transport assistance and a transport coordinator. This is when Kelly Gibson stepped in and offered to arrange, what seemed to be the most impossible transport ever! If a van wasn't rented, multiple cars were going to be needed for multiple legs! In addition, multiple homes would need to be available for overnights for the dogs! Trish, Katie Walter and Rita Fazio, all known crossposters, among many others, began crossposting the message everywhere. At the same time, Judy Bishop posted the transport plea, and her daughters and a friend offered to drive half the distance. A friend of MLAR's, named Carole, enlisted the help of a friend named John to drive the other half of this distance! Finally, it appeared that progress was being made, however, there was still the issue of who would hold these dogs overnight during the transport?
Luckily, that issue never had to be addressed.
The Humane Society of the United States stepped forward with an amazing offer! HSUS was willing to bring
all the dogs, the
entire distance. AND they were willing to bring other dogs on death row if MLAR had the room. Luckily for thirty other dogs, MLAR, HAD the room. Not only did HSUS transport the corgis, they brought dogs rescued from Puppy mills and dogs from overpopulated shelters in the South.
The dogs arrived at MLAR this past Sunday, April 20th. HSUS brought the dogs in a trailer used for natural disasters and transporting dogs rescued from dog fighting rings. HSUS has two of these remarkable vehicles specially fitted for such emergencies. Each one has caging for 60 dogs and 70 cats. The men transporting the dogs arrived in full uniform and could not have been more helpful. HSUS also sent their representative from Harrisburg to make sure everything went smoothly. MLAR employee's and volunteers were all there to greet them. Smith stated, " It was one of the more memorable experiences of my rescue career."
One would think at this point, that the networking had stopped. But it hadn't. Rawhide Rescue in New Jersey stepped up and took 12 of the dogs and Springer Rescue is taking the Springer! MLAR will place the other 35. The dogs are happy and enjoying their time playing in MLAR's dog yards. A few have already been promised to approved adopters! All will be spayed/neutered before they are adopted to great homes.
What's the message here? NETWORKING WORKS. If we all work together we can accomplish so much more then we could ever accomplish on our own. The animals need us to communicate with each other and help each other when we can.
And the other message? That MLAR and HSUS are amazing! They did a remarkable job rescuing these dogs, as did all animal welfare advocates who spent numerous hours crossposting on the dogs’ behalf! Thank you MLAR AND HSUS!
Lastly, Smith had this to say, “I want to thank EVERYONE who tried to help these dogs. The HSUS and all the people who offered to help before HSUS stepped up, and all our volunteers and employees who were there on a Sunday. It was just incredible.”
To donate to Main Line Animal Rescue, click
here.
To donate to the HSUS, click
here.
Pictured above: Volunteers and employees unloading dogs in front of the HSUS trailer that was used for transportPhoto courtesy of Main Line Animal Rescue and taken by Mary Hunt DavisPosted by Nicole, PA Team LeaderLast names of certain individuals are not included due to not receiving permission to use them in time for posting. Upon receipt of permission, last names will be added