Rescue Railroad

Early one winter morning, Flora, a 6-month-old Gordon Setter mix, hops into a van with complete strangers to begin her journey to her new life. Nearly 800 miles and five states away, Barb P. anxiously awaits word that Flora is on her way and starts counting the hours until she’ll meet her. 

Flora is one of thousands of dogs rescued from shelters each year, then transported to new homes. On any given weekend, a grassroots network of volunteers crisscrosses the country to keep countless dogs from being euthanized.

“It truly takes a village to do this,” says Jane G., transport coordinator for Above & Beyond English Setter Rescue. She relies on a database of 2,000 volunteers and postings to online message boards to fill the five to 10 legs of an average transport. In this case, it will take two days and 10 drivers to get Flora to her new owner.

Want to read the full story? Pick up the October 2009 issue of DOG FANCY today, or subscribe to get 12 months of articles just like this.