On a quiet country road in Mount Sterling, Kentucky a group of volunteers are busy phoning northern shelters. They have a list of dogs that are scheduled to be euthanized on Friday. They are securing places for them at northern no-kill shelters. Time is of the essence. They have been working on this all week and it is now Thursday afternoon and still, there is no placement for five puppies. They have called all shelter contacts in their rolodex and still no luck. There is no one left to call. But wait…there is one last chance, Roz Manwaring at Rozzie May Animal Alliance a spay/neuter organization in New Hampshire. It’s not a shelter but maybe they can help. A desperate call is made, ‘can you help five puppies on death row?’ Roz’s response, ‘I can’t promise but will try.’ A few moments later the reply, Lakes Region Humane Society in Ossipee, NH would be delighted to save them. Team RMAA would meet the van that was coming from Kentucky then bring them to the shelter.
Thursday evening the puppies’ journey began. A volunteer left Frenchburg, Kentucky at 7 pm driving a rented cargo van loaded with 30 anxious dogs and five puppies squeezed in at the last minute. All headed north for a chance at life. The Kentucky van dropped off the other dogs at scheduled shelters along the route.
Mid-morning Friday, Team RMAA headed south from Conway, NH to meet the van. The weather was terrible. Both vehicles kept moving towards each other working their way through, snow, sleet and freezing rain. Communicating by cell phone, they met at a highway exit in Westford, Massachusetts and made the transfer. Lakes Region Humane Shelter would be closed when they arrived. A call was made to their executive director. She would return to await the arrival of the precious cargo. Twenty four hours after their journey began in Kentucky, the five puppies settled in for their first night in New Hampshire and a whole new world and another chance at life.
Gateway Area Humane Society in Mount Sterling, Kentucky is still an all-volunteer nonprofit organization. Visit their web site www.gatewayareahumane.wordpress.com