Transportation

[Kathleen]

Hi I have found a 6 mos old puppy in a kill shelter in GA. I am trying to get some help with either transport or possibly a rescue organization that will hold her until I can drive 8 hours and pick her up.
I have left many messages on doodle rescue but I haven't gotten any feed back yet. It seems there are all kinds of discussions but I really need advice.

[Tricia, Shiloh, Fenway & Tessie]

Have you called the shelter and talked to them about holding the puppy until you can arrive? I had to drive 5 hours to get Fenway and the shelter promised me that he would be there for me when I arrived, because they knew I was coming from so far away.

[Kathleen]

I did tell them that I was 8 hours away and the lady said that I would have to submit an application and they would hold the puppy for 24hrs once the application was received. This is an animal control shelter. I asked her how long they kept the dogs and she said it all depends on how crowded they are. This puppy has been there going on 2 weeks. What complicates all this is that I work fulltime. That is why I was hoping to get her in a safe house and then I could pick her up. the hours at the shelter are until 4 everday and 12 -5 on Sat.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You absolutely must submit an application and be approved for the adoption before any discussion of transportation can even begin. The amount of time & effort required on the parts of many people to arrange transport dictates that your adoption of the puppy must be an absolute lock. Also keep in mind that expressing interest in any shelter animal by filling out an application, prolongs that animal's life. Do not wait. If you fill out the app and are approved, even if you cannot arrange transport, no harm is done.
Once you have been approved, the next question is, will the shelter release the dog to someone other than the adopter? There is paperwork to be filled out & signed. Can that be done by fax or must it be done in person? How will the adoption fee be handled? Every shelter has different policies. This must all be put in place prior to starting a transport attempt.
There also is no such thing as a "safe" house. Whatever volunteer moves the dog from one place to another needs to be able to bring the dog to his new home; It is way hard enough to find people to do the driving & pull the dog from the shelter without also requiring them to house a dog about whom they know nothing, and who may easily bring contagious diseases from the shelter into the volunteers homes, endangering their own dogs. County shelters usually do no veterinary checks of any kind. Plus, the locations do not usually work out so conveniently. There is also liability involved in both the transport and the housing of a dog who doesn't belong to you.
Working full-time, how are you going to deal with a shelter puppy for the first few days? It would be best to make arrangements to take a couple of days off to get the puppy settled and acclimated anyway.
Kathleen, I believe that one of the DRRC members requested further information from you on this, including the location & name of the shelter in question, and did not receive a response. That may be why you did not hear back from us.

[Kathleen]

I have replied to her twice. I am having alittle trouble finding my way around here and I apoloigze for that. Last night my laptop was acting up and I just gave up for the night. However, I did not think anyone had responded and then I saw the reply to my post after I got into work today. This shelter is a county shelter and I have been in contact with them again today. The puppy is still there and as I told Lynne I spoke to a really nice man and he took my number and said he would keep me informed. I was hoping that I could have a rescue group pick up the puppy for me and then the puppy could come as far as she could on the doodle train and I would meet them. I was given 2 numbers from the man at the shelter. 1 for a rescue organizations and another for a possible transport. The rescue lady just called me and said that they usually keep the dogs 7 days but if someone like me shows an interest they would keep her longer. She also told me that they would open the shelter on Sunday for me to pick up the puppy. She is going to talk to the other lady and have her call me. She has seen the puppy but because she is a puppy and needs all of her shots she is unable to bring her to her house and risk the possibility of her getting parvo. This puppy was a stray at 6mos and picked up off the street by animal control.

As far as being able to care for a shelter puppy I would not be getting her if I could not care for her. I have had dogs all my life and as I said before I do not go anywhere without them. I am able to bring them to work if I please but these days my old guys would rather stay home.

I am sorry for getting off on the wrong foot with any of you. I really just want to help to rescue dogs in urgent need. As I said before I will foster when I can or transport or pull from a shelter I just need alittle guidance to find my groove. I hope I will hear back from you now that I know where to look.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sounds like you have some of it in place already; hopefully, it will work out where you are able to pick up the puppy yourself on Sunday.
Thank you for giving a home to a dog in urgent need. There is no reason to apologize, lol. We were just confused as to the details, and busy ourselves with jobs, dogs, etc. We are always there to help doodles in urgent need, and unfortunately, there have been an awful lot of urgent emails lately.
Your desire to help is very much appreciated.

[Tricia, Shiloh, Fenway & Tessie]

Can you fax the application over and then plan to drive there in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow so that you can arrive before they close? Vacation day? Road trip? =)

[Kathleen]

I am going to fax over the application and I have had contact with the shelter and have been told that they would work with me over the weekend. I am waiting to hear back from Gail Posey who works at the shelter and has on occasion transported dogs.