Volunteers rescue animals via 'underground railroad'
Plenty of things are happening on the Internet that you are totally clueless about. Given the depths of some people's depravity, that's really just as well.
But several years ago, film producer and author Bonnie Silva came across a bustling cyber-community that made her surprised, curious and, eventually, inspired.
"I read about animal-rescue transports in an article, and I thought, 'You mean complete strangers get together in cyberspace and sign up for "legs" to drive an animal an hour and pass it off to the next person until it finally makes it home?'" says Silva, whose two years of research culminated in a book, "Fifteen Legs: When All That Stands Between Death and Freedom Is a Ride" (Riverbank Press, $22.95), and a documentary that she is shopping around.
Anyone who rescues animals knows that geography plays a huge role in saving animals facing euthanasia at kill shelters. Certain parts of the country, such as the South, have an overabundance of adoptable animals. Other areas, such as the Northeast, where greater compliance with spay-neuter practices and leash laws means fewer strays and unwanted litters, have a better adoption "market."
If a dog - or a cat, or a parrot, or a potbellied pig - is in Atlanta, and an adoptive home awaits in Pittsburgh, the big challenge is getting it there as cheaply as possible.
And so, "rescue railroads" were born. Silva estimates there are 2,500 such groups, covering umpteen breeds and species. Transport coordinators for each group plot the route the animal must travel, break it up into segments of 60 or so miles, then post the itinerary to an e-mail group (yahoogroups.com is a popular host) to solicit volunteers to sign up for each hourlong "leg" of the ride.
"People do this primarily on the weekends, so the coordinators schedule most of the transports for Saturdays and Sundays," Silva says. "Transporting requires only an hour or so of a person's time - it's easy. And for those who are not in a position to foster or adopt an animal, it's a small but important way to help."
Rescue railroads are pretty diverse: On the Road Again (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ontheroadagain) is a transport group of truckers who allow animals to hitch along. I-90 Rescue and Transport (http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/I-90_Rescue_and...) works coast to coast along the nation's longest interstate, from Seattle to Boston. The Rexcue Railroad (http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rexcuerailroad) dedicates itself to rescuing Cornish and Devon Rex cats, though it will consider transporting other "mutant fur" cat breeds, such as Sphynxes.
There's even a group of volunteer pilots that fly special-needs or emergency rescues (flyingpaws.org).
No matter what their scope or mission statement, rescue-transport groups are a Band-Aid solution to a gaping problem: An estimated 6 million to 8 million cats and dogs find their way into animal shelters each year, according to The Humane Society of the United States. About half of them are euthanized.
The enormity of the problem - and the futility of trying to save every one - remind me of the story of the little boy on the beach furiously throwing starfish back into the ocean. When a passerby pointed out the fruitlessness of his efforts, he replied, as he flung another into the surf, "It made a difference to that one."
"I personally did a lot of crying - you just can't help it," Silva says of her research for the book, recalling a dog she met that had been transported from Georgia to Massachusetts: A previous abusive owner had burned her all over with a blowtorch.
"But I also saw a lot of wonderful scenes of relief and hopefulness," Silva continues. "There's really nothing more beautiful to see than two total strangers exchange an animal's leash and then hug one another as that animal goes off to its next stop."