Rescue Me: A day at the pet rescue transport
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We adopted our dogs Rosie and Sophie in 2009. Our dog Honey had just died and, after about two months, we knew it was time to bring a new dog into our house. // Thats when we learned that our friend Carol had started a rescue in South Jersey called Puppies and More Rescue (http://puppiesandmorerescue.org). We trekked south to her house, where we met these two absurdly cute puppies, sisters from the same litter. They were about 8 weeks old. Annie picked up Rose, who promptly fell asleep in her arms. I reached out to Lola, who had a dark snout, and she rolled over for a belly rub. That was it. We made our choices. // Rose became Rosie — actually, Rosalita — and Lola became Sophie, and they’re now happy and healthy and with us eight years. It hasnt been easy — do not bring two females from the same litter into your home — but we have no regrets. We’re rescue parents, and we’ve become big advocates for Carol’s foster program and for finding homes for dogs who otherwise might have been killed.
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There are a lot of dogs that need homes, especially in the South where, for whatever reason, spaying and neutering are less common. According to a December story in The Telegraph of Macon (http://www.macon.com/news/local/article118460668.html), homeless pets are an epidemic in Georgia, which results in cases of animal cruelty and dogs and cats being let loose onto the streets. // “Homeless animals really are the largest problem we have here in the state of Georgia,” Monica Celizic of the Atlanta Humane Society told the paper. said. // There have been similar reports in other southern states (our dogs were brought to Jersey from North Carolina). There remains a homeless pet problem in the north — Detroit is inundated — but state’s like New Jersey seem to do better in getting animals spayed and neutered and rehired when there is an issue. So, volunteers travel south, load up their trucks and vans, and bring them north to rescue’s like Carol’s.
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The homeless pet problem is one reason Carol became involved, and it’s why Dante Lasasso started making the trip to Georgia in 2011. He started with a borrowed van, bringing back 23 dogs and now, just six years later, they are about to pass 20,000 dogs and cats rescued. // “I said that wasn’t so bad,” he told me after making the August transport run. And now they make the trip monthly.
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Peg Taylor is one of the drivers. “It’s always worth it to know they’re getting rescued.”
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On this Sunday, Aug. 6, Lasasso’s truck and about a half dozen vans pulled onto Carol’s property in Burlington County. About 200 people were on hand to greet and assist, including a Girl Scout Troop and 10 separate rescues.
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What follows is a remarkably speedy and efficient process, as the volunteers get the dogs (and a few cats) off the vehicles and into the hands of the rescues. By 11, all of the vehicles were empty and the dogs were moving into quarantine, where they will stay for a few days before being fostered out. From there, the rescues look for permanent homes for the pets. Altogether 247 pets were rescued in August by Animal Aid USA, the nonprofit co-founded by Lasasso.
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The volunteers and dogs always get a warm welcome from the kids on hand — and the rest of us. Its heartwarming to see the concern for vulnerable animals like these. (I do often wonder why this concern does not translate to the poor and homeless, but that is a discussion for another day and another forum.)
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The animals can be scared and antsy when they arrive — 20 hours in a crate on a truck will do that. And the trailer and vans smell awful, but the volunteers get used to it — it’s only a small bother, considering the good they do.
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Not everyone is OK with the smells, of course.
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Carol brings in a veterinarian, Dr. Marc Rosenberg (photo from 2016) of County Line Veterinary who checks out Puppies and More’s rescues.
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In the end, there are a lot smiles, even though the work they are doing is barely scratching the surface. There needs to be more resources — money and manpower — and more education. Too many still fail to understand how much of a commitment adopting a dog is, and too many continue to opt for pure breeds or go through pet stores and breeders.
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And it is a commitment — when our two started fighting and it became clear we needed to keep the, separated, we tried to find one a new home for one. We couldn’t do it, in the end, so we’ve created an elaborate system of gates and doors to keep them away from each other. // Sometimes, we’ll be asked why we didn’t just get rid of one, meaning just drop her off at a shelter. Our answer is simple: We made a commitment, which means we have an obligation to make sure they are taken care of for their entire life.