Pet Transports – The Pluses and the Perils
Pet Transports – Transporting pet dogs into locations that have not yet solved their own homeless pet population problems fuels a heated controversy. There is a great deal of history and politically fraught discussion about the movement of dogs from shelters in southern states to other shelters and rescue organizations in the north. Hurricane Katrina left a powerful emotional footprint in its wake – giving birth to the pet transport phenomena, as we know it today.
Adopters take pride in identifying their pets as “Rescues” as though the dog is one of a new and highly fashionable breed. Searching the academic literature, scarce evidence suggests that statistics exist on placement success rates. Nor is there yet literature on any constellations of behavioral issues typical of “rescues” or other important data regarding behavior issues that foster or undermine success rates for the dogs being transported long distances to find new “forever” homes. Academic research is badly needed.
Dogs travel via cars and vans driven by members of organized, volunteer, transport relay teams; private and commercial airline pilots, and on commercially operated, climate controlled 18-wheelers carrying 100 or more dogs at a time. The best of those big trucks, although run by for-profit businesses, work in harmony with volunteer rescue organizations. The reputable trucking companies are dedicated to quality care for the dogs and their profit margins are extremely thin. No transplantation of children, families, or pets solves the dreadful conditions they flee, nor can they save all those in need of escape from trauma or death. The dog transports are just one cog in a multi-faceted effort to save dogs and place them in safe, loving “forever” homes. They do not purport to prevent millions of other dogs from dying in kill-shelters. They do save many pets’ lives.
In this lecture we will discuss how pet professionals can support volunteer rescue organizations. We will address the need for public education about the pluses and the perils of advertising dogs on-line for long distance adoptions – sight unseen.
Course Objectives:
- Controversy with transporting pet dogs into locations that have not yet solved their own homeless pet population problems
- Discussion around the movement of dogs from shelters in southern states to other shelters and rescue organizations in the north
- Behavioral issues typical of “rescues” that foster or undermine success rates for the dogs being transported long distances to find new “forever” homes
- Types of transport, who oversees these, and the quality of the conditions
- How pet professionals can support volunteer rescue organizations
- The need for public education about the pluses and the perils of advertising dogs on-line for long distance adoptions
Available as a recording.
Speaker: Barbara Handelman, M.Ed., LCMHC, CDBC
Cost: $25.00 USD
