Home > Out of the Cage! > September 2005 > Alliance Transport: Happy Trails & Tails: On the Road with Liz

Alliance Transport

Happy Trails & Tails: On the Road with Liz

by Liz Keller, Glen Wild Animal Rescue

Editor's note: Coordinating the transport of animals from AC&C to other rescue groups that will find good homes for them is complicated. It involves making coordinated arrangements with the person who drives the Alliance transport van, AC&C shelter personnel, and the rescuers on the other end who will receive the animals. Schedules and timing are crucial, and all arrangements must be confirmed before the transport can begin. A lot of work? You bet. But the rewards are tremendous, as these animals move one step closer to their new forever homes. Liz Keller tells us in her own words how it feels to facilitate a transport mission, and of the great rewards for the transporter — and the transported.

Last year I had the honor of working with the staff at the Manhattan Care Center for Animal Care & Control. It was a pleasure to work under the direction of Ed Boks and Richard Gentles as a Care Center supervisor.

One of the drawbacks was that I very rarely saw the outside world. My workdays were very long. So I decided on my days off to offer to help the Mayor's Alliance with transports. (What was I?…crazy?) I thought it would help move the animals out of the Center. And it would give me an opportunity to relax and see some of the nice outdoors again!

What originally was a plan to just do something different became a lesson in how hard everyone involved with helping AC&C become no-kill is working.

It felt great to load the animals onto the transport van. They were all so trusting. And I told them as they jumped in that they were going to a great place in the country and they would be finding a new home.

Once the van started rolling, they all settled in for a long trip. My first trip was to North Country Animal League in Vermont. The drive was beautiful, and when we arrived at the shelter, words cannot describe how picturesque the setting is. Nestled in the foothills of the Vermont mountains was a newly constructed animal shelter. It was immaculate. And the shelter manager was waiting for us, even though it was her day off.

One by one the dogs jumped out of the van and went for a quick walk and long back-scratching roll on the green, green grass outside the shelter. We walked them into the kennel. Each dog had a large kennel with a bed and treats. It was like checking them into the Marriott Hotel. All the kennels faced out to a beautiful view of the mountains, with plenty of sunlight shining in on the dogs. I knew they felt safe and were so happy to be in such a nice place.

The manager and I reviewed the paperwork, and she told me she would keep me posted on the dogs' progress. I said "goodbye" to the canine crew, wished them luck, and headed back to New York. While driving home, I wished I could convey what I had seen to the staff in the Manhattan Center. It would have made their day. So I called Renee Collins, the New Hope Coordinator, and explained the best I could about the dogs' new home.

Renee was so moved, and I know it made her day just a little more special knowing that she helped these dogs get to a great place.

I hope the Alliance can start videotaping these trips so that we can share these happy endings with the staff at AC&C. (Maybe someone will donate a video camera?)

I was truly amazed at all the work on both sides that goes into making a transport a happy ending for all.