Transport 2.0
A fresh approach to animal transports is an important part of the push toward no-kill
When Aimee and her puppies got a ride from Atlanta to New York City, it ultimately saved their lives. The brown dog with soulful eyes had ended up initially at a shelter in Georgia, but she wasn’t alone. She had her babies with her. Their story is still common in the area, where spay/neuter efforts haven’t yet curbed the number of “surprise litters.” Thankfully, the shelter is one of Best Friends’ partners, so mama and her pups went to our lifesaving center in Atlanta and, soon after, they were tucked into a van for the long road trip to New York. They were headed to a community where it’s now relatively rare to find puppies in shelters. In other words, the little sweethearts were sure to find homes fast.
As the canine family rolled north — accompanied by dozens of other pets from the area — they represented a small handful of the thousands of pets who land in shelters in one part of the country and are transported to another state for adoption. For years, this has been the best option for animals like Aimee and her offspring. But now, it happens in a way that helps communities advance toward no-kill at a more rapid pace.
IN SEARCH OF THE ROOT CAUSES
Historically, transports have been a means to save highly adoptable pets who are at risk of being killed in shelters because those shelters are full. These pets get a ride to another shelter — one that has space — in another part of the country. Over the past decade, as transport programs have gotten more efficient and more shelters have increased their save rates so they are in a better position to receive animals, transports have become more popular.
But here’s the thing: “Transport is an important piece of the solution,” says Bethany Heins, director of operations and strategic projects for Best Friends. “It’s not a forever solution on its own, though.” After all, right now, depending on where a pet happens to be born, that animal can be at risk of being killed if he ends up in a shelter. What needs to be tackled are the obstacles that put pets at risk in the first place.
For example, while transport to another state saved Aimee and her little ones, there are some vital questions to ask: Why wasn’t Aimee spayed, or the male dog neutered? Why did Aimee and her puppies end up in the shelter? Were no other options available for them? And why was the shelter so full that it couldn’t handle them or place them in a local foster home? Aimee’s story isn’t meant to point a finger, but rather to remind us of what work needs to be done where. Entire communities — with shelters, rescue groups and individuals working together — must supply the solutions to challenges that put pets at risk.
“Think of transport in the context of Feeding America or any kind of food security program,” Bethany says. “We have to figure out why people don’t have enough to eat, and we have to fix that. But in the meantime, people still need to eat right now. Animal transport is that for shelters. It provides some immediate relief while those shelters and communities start to identify and treat root causes.”
Clearly, transport can — and does — play a key role in the lifesaving process. It’s why Best Friends runs transports as part of several of our regional programs and gives out grants to support them. Best Friends is also laser-focused, however, on helping shelters address the reasons that animals are coming into shelters without enough options to get them out alive. Bethany says, “While a good transport program will save lives right away, it needs to be done concurrently with programs that will save lives long-term.”
Some of those core programs involve removing barriers to adoption, actively marketing pets to local adopters, and giving people access to spay/neuter and medical care for their pets. Regarding the latter, it’s not enough to have free or low-cost spay/neuter. If someone doesn’t have a car and the public transit system doesn’t allow animals, the free spay/neuter clinic
five miles away isn’t a viable option. And one bonus of making adoption available for anyone in the market for a new pet is that animals from shelters are often spayed or neutered. Pets whom people buy from breeders (or Craigslist or other questionable sources) frequently are not, which means they often end up having unwanted litters.
It’s about getting down to the nitty-gritty — teaching someone to fish, so to speak, versus giving them fish. “Anytime we have a conversation with someone
“While a good transport program will save lives right away, it needs to be done concurrently with programs that will save lives long-term.”
~ Bethany Heins, Best Friends director of operations and strategic projects
at a shelter who wants to start a transport program, we also look at how they are doing adoptions and how they’re providing services for things like vaccines and spay/neuter,” Bethany explains. “We want to see how we can help them fix some of the systemic challenges that make them feel like they need transport right now.”
Over time, thanks in part to transports, shelters that are only saving a small percentage of pets start to do better. When those shelters begin to see the positive results, they have choices to make. Should they relax and enjoy the fact that they have empty kennels? Sure, some do. Many others, though, have risen to the occasion to help pets who might not be in the same city or county or state, but who certainly deserve a second chance.
MISSISSIPPI MIRACLE
“Back in 2010, we were taking in 12,000 animals yearly and were only saving 20% of them,” says Ginny Sims, executive director at Southern Pines Animal Shelter in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Today, what makes Southern Pines stand out isn’t that once-paltry save rate. It’s the fact that they’ve made sweeping changes in order to save significantly more pets. Ginny explains: “We looked hard at what we were doing. We decided to put the emphasis on customer service. We removed barriers to adoptions. We built trust in the community and built up our foster programs.”
They also started a robust transport program, sending pets to receiving shelters farther north. It took a few years — all great advances take time — but they turned things around. There were fewer pets coming in and more going out than ever before. Southern Pines reached a point where they didn’t have that many pets to send north.
They didn’t shut down their transport program, however. Instead, Ginny says, “When we hit a 90% save rate for the first time, we opened up the transport program to rescue groups and shelters partnering with us. Our transport service grew to help 12 partner shelters and rescue groups in Mississippi and Louisiana.” There are so many bright spots in the no-kill movement, and organizations like Southern Pines Animal Shelter shine pretty fiercely as a beacon to guide those around them who need help and inspiration to save lives.
Of course, transport isn’t possible unless the animals have someplace to go. That’s where receiving shelters come in.
WELCOME TO YOUR NEW STATE
Aimee and her puppies arrived safe and sound at the Best Friends Lifesaving Center in New York City. And like any adoption story with a happy ending, as soon as they were ready, they all went to new homes. Transports have helped countless puppies and small dogs over the years, because they’re the easiest pets to find homes for quickly. It’s how most shelters initially get involved with transports.
South Suburban Humane Society in the Chicago area is a great example. The humane society’s ability to take in pets from other shelters began when they changed things on their end. CEO Emily Klehm says that before she began in the role in 2007, the shelter needed to transport pets out because dogs were sitting in the shelter for far too long. As an organization, they made it hard for people to adopt and the foster program was meager. Emily says, “The shelter had a really negative reputation within our community because
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~ Ginny Sims, Southern Pines Animal Shelter executive director
of the high kill rate.” Just like Southern Pines, they worked hard to fix those problems and, over time, they did. And when South Suburban Humane Society was finally in a position to consider taking in pets from transports, Southern Pines was a natural partner.
Bethany says, “Southern Pines’ program is phenomenal, and South Suburban is really good at understanding how to take animals from another organization.” That means receiving pets in a way that benefits both shelters. Emily notes that about 60% of the dogs they take in locally are pit-bull-terrier-like dogs. “We’re very dedicated to placing those dogs,” Emily says. But adoptions can start to lag when most of the dogs at the shelter are the same type, and when there are no puppies. So, the transport partnership between the two shelters began there — with puppies. No problem: There were puppies in need in Mississippi. But it didn’t stop there.
A VARIETY OF MUTTS
As the two shelters worked more closely together, it was clear that it wasn’t only puppies who needed help in the South. Adult dogs of all shapes and sizes also needed to find homes. Taking in a mix of adult dogs and puppies felt like the right thing to do for both organizations. Simply getting people in the door at any shelter helps increase the number of adoptions overall, and having a variety of pets available does that: It gets people in the door. So, South Suburban began taking in some adult dogs and bigger dogs, and they were adopted quickly, too.
It seems adopters in the Chicago area love the dogs from the South because they’re different. Emily says, “They’re good old-fashioned Southern mutts. They’re different from our mutts here.” Even better, promoting those pets at the shelter has also increased the adoption rate of local dogs.
With adoptions going so well, South Suburban took the next step in helping their partner in the South. There were dogs who needed heartworm treatment or major surgery (for example, to remove an injured leg or eye) and they started saying yes to some of those animals. Emily says, “We’ve really expanded from just pulling puppies to being a real partner to Southern Pines.” Today, the shelter reports that they take in about 45–50 dogs each month from transports.
THE BIG PICTURE
Transport is an ideal example of how animal shelters have evolved from working alone to helping one another. Look at the partnership between Southern Pines and South Suburban, which are more than 800 miles apart. “Philosophically, we’re both progressive organizations trying new programs and whatever we can to increase and maintain our save rates,” says Emily. “It’s more than a transport partnership. We have a relationship as two shelters, and we care how the other performs.”
We’re at a time in animal welfare when more and more people are looking at the big picture. And it’s not just national organizations like Best Friends that are doing that. With each shelter that chooses to do better within their walls, and ultimately within their community, and then beyond their community, we get one step closer to making the entire country no-kill. Emily puts it well: “We may have reached a place where we’re saving every pet we can. But if our whole community isn’t there, and our country isn’t there, then we’re not there.” Until that time comes — and it will — we simply won’t stop.
We’re at a time in animal welfare when more and more people are looking at the big picture.