Free to a good home?

I see ads like this all the time..."free to a good home." I know the people mean well. They need to find a new home for their dogs or cats, sometimes animals that are well past the puppy/kitten phase and therefore harder to place. They feel that if they offer them for free, they're more likely to find someone to take them and take them quickly.

The animal might end up in a great home. But this is not always the case. For anyone considering offering their pet as "free to a good home" or know someone who is considering it, for anyone who has seen one of these ads, please go to this page:

Free To Good Home?

It describes the many perils of an animal in this situation: from being used as bait for a dog fighting ring, to being used as a breeder in a puppy mill, to being a dog chained up with no room to move.

If you do need to find a new home for an animal, please consider these steps instead:

(1) Decide if you really do need to find a home for an animal. A lot of times people give the "we're moving" reason for rehoming their pets. This is not always necessary. Animals adjust well to moves. You can easily transport them even across country or to a new country and they will adjust quickly. Finding an apartment can be trickier, but it is not an impossibility. The first thing you should always do is to consider keeping your animal(s). You are their home, not the house or town or state or country you live in.

(2) If you absolutely cannot find a way to keep your animal (dog, cat, rabbit, etc.), check with friends and family to see if anyone is interested in adopting it.

(3) Contact local no-kill shelters and rescues to see if someone can take your dog. If your dog is of a specific breed, there are guaranteed to be breed-specific rescues that may be able to take it in. If you are afraid that because your dog is a mutt, you will not find a rescue for it, then I have good news! There are plenty of rescues that are all-breed (including mutts) rescues. Some breed-specific rescues will also take in dogs that are clearly mixed with their breed if they have room. Ask around or look on petfinder.com for nearby rescues.

(4) If you absolutely must post an ad on Craigslist or some other similar place, always ask an adoption fee. Always ask the person questions, set up an interview, maybe even do a home visit. It is your responisbility to ensure that your companion finds that good home. This means asking a lot of questions. If the person is not interested in answering them, then they are not interested in adopting your dog. You can find many adoption applications on the internet. Here is just one that you could use as an example: http://www.adorableadoptables.com/Our_Adoption_Application.html


This certainly takes time, but very few people move so quickly that they can't take a couple weeks to find their animal a good home. Once you know you are moving, set everything in motion and give yourself the time to find a good home for the pet. I notice many ads that sound frantic and I wonder how long those folks knew they were moving before they posted the ad.

Please remember that your pet is a commitment and part of that commitment is always ensuring that the animal has a good life. Do not ever get a dog or a cat if you think you may be the sort to dump it if you have to move.

Books

Someone in a dog lovers community recently asked for suggestions on books to read. I made some and then thought I should put together a more comprehensive list. Here are the books I recommend, followed by a couple I read that I don't recommend!

Memoirs
These are books people wrote as a tribute to the dogs in their lives.

What the Dog Did: Tales from a Formerly Reluctant Dog Owner by Emily Yoffe -- Yoffe is one of those people I never quite "got" -- she didn't want a dog and yet ended up with one anyway. Funny at times, a very good read with a happy ending.

Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan -- John and Jenny Grogan bring home Marley, their "Labrador Evader," who gets into a whole lot of trouble. A fantastic read, follows all of Marley's life so you can imagine what the ending is like.

For Bea: The Story of the Beagle Who Changed my Life by Kristen Von Kreisler -- This was a sweet story about a woman who finds a beagle who had been used in medical experiments and her rehabilitating her. It was well-written and both funny and sad at the same time.

A Good Dog: The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life by Jon Katz -- Jon Katz adopted a neurotic border collie without really understanding what border collies are like. The book is funny, a good read, but will make you angry at times if you're a lover of herding dogs and understand them. As a warning, because it surprised me and I wish I had known: the book has a really unhappy ending.

The Dogs Who Found Me: What I've Learned from Pets Who Were Left Behind by Ken Foster -- While not entirely a memoir of his dog, this book tells the story of how Ken Foster came to adopt a shelter dog and how he got involved in rescuing dogs. A very good read.

Beautiful Joe by Margaret Marshall Saunders -- This book is told from the dog's point of view. Beautiful Joe was horribly abused and finds a new home with a family of animal lovers. Densely-packed, without a lot of action, but a lovely story nonetheless.

Dogs of Dreamtime by Karen Shanley -- Another book about working dogs that end up being a bit of a problem. It starts off warm and fuzzy, but quickly turns to the darker reality of dealing with problem dogs. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic book. Shanley is a great writer. She has a blog which is well worth reading: http://www.karenshanley.com

Amazing Gracie: A Dog's Tale by Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff -- Dye and Beckloff are the founders of the Three Dog Bakery. This book tells the story of the Gracie, a partially blind and completely deaf Great Dane who was the inspiration for starting the bakery.

Dogs I have Met and People they Found by Ken Foster -- A continuation, of sorts, of the other book by Foster. In this one, he introduces some of the people and their dogs that he met while promoting the other book.


Shelter dogs
These are books that generally have a bunch of shorter tales about dogs who are adopted out of shelters (or not, in some cases).

Disposable Dogs: Heartwarming, True Stories of Courage and Compassion -- Sweet book, definitely heartwarming. Many of the dogs in the book were on the brink of being euthanized when they were rescued by some loving person and given a second chance at life.

Stories of Dogs and the Lives They Touch -- Another sweet compilation of short tales from people about dogs they rescued.

More Stories of Dogs and the Lives They Touch -- Sequel to the previous book. Sweet compilation, but it didn't click with me as much as the first set of stories did.

Second Chances: Inspiring Stories of Dog Adoption -- This is Petfinder.com's compilation of stories written by people who rescued dogs through their site. It's a sweet read and it is also a great advertisement for a wonderful site.

Found Dogs: Tales of Strays who Landed on their Feet by Elise Lufkin -- Another uplifting compilation of short stories about dogs who get a second chance.

One at a Time: A Week in an American Animal Shelters by Marilee Geyer -- This is a true to life account of what happens in an animal shelter. Some of the animals chronicled make it out, to new homes. Some don't for varying reasons (no room in the shelter, dog turns vicious from being in the shelter too long, etc.). Some stories make you cry with joy, others make you cry with sadness.


Animal rescue
These books are about rescuing animals -- included are books on rescuing animals from disaster areas and books about animal sanctuaries. While not 100% about dogs, they are still a large part of these books

Out of Harm's Way by Terri Crisp -- This is the story about how Terri Crisp came to rescuing animals from disaster areas. It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

Best Friends: The True Story of the World's Most Beloved Animal Sanctuary by Samantha Glen -- This tells the story of the founding and eventual success of the famous animal sanctuary in Utah. A great read. It convinced me to taking a "working vacation" sometime to volunteer there.

The Man Who Talks to Dogs by Melinda Roth -- This tells the story of Randy Grim, who takes to rescuing stray dogs in the St. Louis area. Very well-written and covers all of his exploits with rescuing dogs -- from dealing with puppy mills to rescuing dogs off the street.

Miracle Dog: How Quentin Survived the Gas Chamber to Speak for Animals on Death Row by Randy Grim -- Quentin is an amazing dog and while much of this book is more about Grim's speaking out for animals and Quentin's being his "spokesdog," it tells a fantastic story.

Fifteen Legs by Bonnie Silva -- Bonnie Silva discovers the wonder and joy of animal transport. While I was disappointed that many of the stories were not about dogs, it was still nice to see someone writing about what I do!


Other books
Books that don't fit the other categories.

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul -- Typical chicken soup book...short tales sent in by people. Most are sweet and fun to read.

Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul -- Similar to the last book, except all the books are about dogs.

Thurber's Dogs by James Thurber -- This is a compilation of articles written for the New Yorker by James Thurber. He often wrote of dogs and drew dog cartoons to go along with them. Some of the stories are very funny, others sad and heartbreaking. It appears the book is out of print, but you can still purcahse used copies on Amazon.com.

No Dogs in Heaven?: Scenes from the Life of a Country Veternarian by Robert T. Sharp -- Sharp, a small animal vet, ends up in rural Ohio working on large farm animals. It's a great read and while there are only a handful of stories about dogs, I still recommend it.

A Cup of Comfort for Dog Lovers: Stories That Celebrate Love, Loyality, and Companionship -- This is similar to the chicken soup books...a quick easy read of many short stories



Books I do not recommend
The Gift of Jazzy by Cindy Adams -- I wanted to like this book. I really did. The parts talking about Jazzy's life and the crazy things he did was great fun, and the parts where she talked about her aging husband's struggles and finally dying were poignant. But then it all became about name dropping...which big stars and political people she had lunches with, etc. That got annoying really quickly. She wrote a sequel, but I won't be reading it.

Stealing Love: Confessions of a Dognapper by Mary A. Fischer -- I honestly didn't think I'd finish this book. I had started at one point and then point it aside, finally picking it up later determined to finish it. The problem? She starts with a bang, about how she was sneaking in to take the dog belonging to some guy who abused it. But then she veers away and says she needs to explain how she got to this point. That took all but about 30 pages of the book. Well over 200 pages devoted to her life, with little mention of dogs. So it wasn't so much about the dogs she rescued and found good homes, but more about the way she grew through the years. She wrote well, but the title was terribly misleading. I'd love to see her follow up the book with one actually about the dogs because I would certainly read that.

Dog Culture: Writers on the Character of Canines -- I read books about dogs because I love dogs. Many of the stories in this book were more about people who didn't like dogs coming to tolerate (but not love) their presence. Some of the stories were quite good, but overall, it left me feeling cold.

FAQ

I have been talking about my dog transporting endeavour with a lot of people and I've gotten a fair amount of questions from them, many of the same, so I thought I'd write up an FAQ on what it is I do.

Do you work through a particular organization, like the Humane Society?
No. This is set up by various rescue organizations in the USA and Canada. Someone finds dogs (or cats or bunnies or horses) from a place where they're in dire need of help (kill shelters, etc.) and says "I can take this animal into my rescue." From there, the coordinator puts out a call for people to help and if they can fill the transport, the run will go.


How do I find out about these transports?
I made a post earlier with some information, so you can read more about it there. Basically, I use one of two major sites to find out what's going on each weekend: Acme Pet Transport has a message board where I look for transports in my area. You can also post your information so that those looking to fill a transport can contact you. The yahoo group, Canine Rescue, also has information on transports. It's a very busy group, so I find it easiest to filter them to one folder and search for messages that contain "NY."


How exactly do these transports work? How do you get these animals across country?
Each person will volunteer for one leg of a longer trip. You drive your leg, meet up with the next person, and then pass the animal(s) off to them.


What kinds of animals are being transported?
There are transports for every animal imaginable, from rabbits to cats to dogs to horses. I mainly focus on dogs, since dogs are my passion. The dogs can be of any size. I've transported two 5 lb beagle puppies and a St. Bernard/Bernese Mountain dog puppy who was 10 months old and weighed over 85 lb.


How do I know specifically what animals are on each transport?
Each call for transport will include information on the dog(s) needing help, including age, gender, neutered/spayed, weight, and any personality information they know of. They will tell you if the dog needs to be crated or tethered (tethering is clever way of keeping the dogs in the car when you open the door -- you do up the seatbelt through the loop in their leash -- this means that even if the dog tries to bolt when you open the car door, they're safely attached).


How many animals go on each transport?
This varies greatly. I've been on some transports where I've taken just one dog. Those are generally the easy ones! I've also been on two transports where I've taken three dogs each time. I've seen transports that have had several animals (upwards of 15 or more!) where they required 2, 3, or even 4 drivers for each leg.


I only have a small car. Can I still do transporting?
Yes! I drive a 1998 Chevy Prism. It's a pretty small car. Having a small car just means you have to pick and choose which transports you can comfortable do. If there are too many dogs or too many large dogs, you just don't do it. There are plenty of transports for just one dog or for a couple smaller dogs. You do what you can. Any bit helps!


I don't own a crate of any size. Can I still do transporting?
Yes! Some dogs will need to be crated, but many will not. I've only used my crate once on a transport (though I wish I had brought it for another one!). The rest of the times I've tethered the dogs.


How do I know a transport is going through my area? How do I know which legs are available?
Each post for the transports is set up in a very specific way to make it as easy as possible for the coordinators to fill and the volunteers to find a leg they can cover. Here is an example of part of a run sheet:

Leg 4
Fredonia, NY to Buffalo, NY
47 mi, 1 hr
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM
NEEDED:

Leg 5
Buffalo, NY – Henrietta, NY (Rochester)
69 mi, 1 hr 20 min
11:45 AM – 1:05 PM
NEEDED:


Leg6
Henrietta, NY – Syracuse, NY
85 mi, 1 hr 35 min
1:05 PM – 2:40 PM
FILLED

Looking at the sheet, you know exactly what time, how far, and where the legs are. You know what has been filled when the message is sent out and what hasn't been filled.


What happens to the dogs if a transport doesn't get filled?
I've seen a handful of these transports not get filled (a surprising amount do) . Generally, they try to fill it the next weekend. I've also seen transports get postponed due to weather. I live in an area of the country that is precarious for weather (snow/ice/wind/sleet/etc.) from about November to April. I've had transports I was supposed to help with postponed and I've helped ones that were postponed.


Ok. I want to get involved...how does all of this work?
Let me lay out the steps for it all:

1. Find a leg of a transport you're interested in taking.

2. E-mail the transport coordinator. Be careful when e-mailing! These are often crossposted by some well-meaning person, so the person who is sending the e-mail you received might very well not be the transport coordinator. The information they'll need from you is your name, e-mail address, home phone number, cell phone number, and car information (make/model/sometimes license plate #).

3. The transport coordinator will get back to you and let you know if the leg you wanted is taken or if they now have you down for the leg.

4. They will generally put you on the list of people involved in the transport at this time, so you'll get updates as to whether or not the transport is filling. Hopefully all the legs will get filled by the time the weekend rolls around!

5. Once it's filled, the coordinator will send out an e-mail with everyone's information on it. if the transport is monitored, they will also include their phone number.

6. At this point, you should contact the person before and after you to find out where they want to meet. In NYS, where I do my driving, we often meet at the park and rides right at the Thruway exits. People also meet in hotel parking lots, gas stations right off of exits, etc. Generally people who have been doing this for awhile have spots they prefer for meeting so let them guide you in picking a spot.

7. During the transport, if you're one of the later legs, you will get multiple updates from the coordinator letting you know how things are going, if anything has come up concerning the dogs (fighting or health problems), and if the transport is running ahead or behind. You will occasionally even get pictures of the dogs forwarded from others who have already done their legs.

8. Plan to arrive at the meeting spot about 10 minutes before the other person is supposed to arrive. This is especially important if there are multiple dogs. You can help each other get the dogs out, walk them, and let them get a potty break. Things go much smoother when there are more people there to help out!

9. When the other person arrives, the first thing you want to do is get the paperwork. I know that going right to the dog will be awfully tempting! But most of these dogs are traveling with important paperwork and sometimes even food. You'll want to have that in the car ahead of time.

10. Once you take off and drive your leg, you will repeat the procedure at the next stop on the trip. Again, make sure you hand off the paperwork before the dog! Often, people will give the dog a little bit of water between legs. Since they are allowed a potty break every hour to hour and a half, this is ok.

11. Once the dog is off with the next person, you need to call the transport coordinator and update him/her on the progress. That way the rest of the group still yet to go is kept up-to-date.

12. At this point you're done! You can now go home, feel good about what you did, and upload any photos you took that you want to share! I always take my camera along so I can keep pictures of all the dogs I've helped.


Should I bring anything with me on the transport?
I always make sure I have the following items: paper towels, a pooper scooper, some plastic bags (i.e. like the ones you get at your grocery store), a pet blanket, an extra leash, a bowl and some water, and some old towels. I also always bring a book (in case you arrive too early or the transport is running behind) and my camera.


Phew! I think that's all I can think of for now. Please comment if you have any questions.

Some dog rescue resources

I thought I would share a few resources on dog rescue for anyone interested in helping out with transporting or for anyone interested in rescuing a dog him/herself.

I find out what sort of transports are going on, where they're going through, and contact people to help out through two sites:

Acme Pet Transport
This link will take you directly to the "transport needed" section of the message board. Each transport will list the states it will be going through in the subject header. Within the body of the message, you will find the legs of the trip (each will include location, date, time, and how many miles it is). Generally legs fall between 50-75 miles. You contact the person listed with your information and this will hook you up with the transport! Warning: It's addictive once you start!

Canine Rescue (Yahoo group)
This is a mailing list that includes not just transports, but dogs that desperately need to be pulled out of shelters. It's a resource for rescue associations, transporters, and kill shelters looking to move animals out to rescues. It is a very active group and at times can be heartbreaking to read. I have it filtered so I can easily sort through what comes in.


If you are interested in rescuing a dog to make your own pet, I know of two great sites to help you out.

Petfinder.com
This is really the site for finding a new pet. Here you can find pets of all types located in all places in the USA. You can search by area and breed. You can make sure your potential new friends is good with cats or young children, if those are important to your situation. You can search for animals with special needs, if you want to adopt a truly needy animal. Also included on the site is information on what to do before you plan on adopting a pet and a place to list and look for lost animals.

Rescue Info Center
This is a part of the larger dogbreedinfo.com site. If you've always wanted a particular breed of dog, this place is for you! There are listings of rescue associations for every type and breed imaginable (cats, dogs, small animals, and farm animals included). If you're not sure if the breed you're interested in is really right for you, you can head over to the main site (dogbreedinfo.com) and read up on the breed and see pictures. The entire site is a great resource.


The other place to look is at your local shelter. There are so many unwanted animals in the USA. Please do not adopt a puppy from a pet store! Do not support puppy mills! There are many wonderful dogs and puppies languishing in your local shelters. Give them a home. You and he/she will be happier for it.