This past week, we had a transport scheduled from our shelter in southeast Alabama to New Jersey. We work with a driver we hire for these once-a-month trips. It's a 30+ hour drive each way, and we typically transport around 15 dogs at a time. These transports are critical to reducing euthanasia and increasing our live release rate. Unfortunately, this trip did not go as planned. The driver left our shelter in the afternoon, and about three hours into the trip, our transport van broke down in the middle of nowhere in Alabama. Our Director immediately stepped in. She drove to a nearby shelter to borrow their van, drove to the location where our van was stranded, transferred the dogs, returned them safely to our shelter and back into kennels, then drove the borrowed van back to the other shelter before finally heading home. She didn't get home until 7:00 AM.
Best Friends Animal Society stepped up and paid for us to rent an amazing Mercedes-Benz Sprinter to make the transport later in the week. Our Foster Coordinator and Rescue Coordinator drove all 15 pups to their new homes and many have already been adopted.
The van that broke down is a 2017 model, and over the past few months we have spent thousands of dollars attempting to repair it. It has required multiple tows, and this time had to be towed from a very remote area. Thankfully, a community partner was able to tow it back for us, saving us from extremely high towing fees. At this point, we still don't even know what is wrong with it. This van is our only reliable means of transportation for long-distance transport and even routine needs like veterinary appointments. We do have a 2000 model van, but it is not reliable enough for even short 10-minute trips to our vet partners. We also have a very old, very small truck that we use sparingly.
We are desperately in need of leads on grants or funding sources to help us purchase a new transport van. Our Director strongly prefers a new vehicle (or one with extremely low mileage), as these trips are very long and demanding, and reliability is critical for the safety of both our animals and our staff. Any leads, resources, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read and for supporting lifesaving transport efforts.
#TransfersandTransport
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Ella Hammond
Grants Coordinator
CARE Humane Society
Auburn, AL
carehumane.org
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