BRATTLEBORO — Our local animal shelters are what's known as “no-kill” shelters, meaning that every animal is cared for and every opportunity is used to place a dog or cat in an appropriate foster home, no matter how long it takes.
Also, pet owners in New England have been so diligent about spaying and neutering their pets, there are fewer animals available for adoption.
At the same time, in too many other shelters outside New England, it's not unusual for animals to be euthanized after a certain time, or if there are too many animals and not enough space.
Faced with this regional gap between supply and demand, there is now a vigorous effort to bring shelter dogs from the Midwest and South to New England for adoption.
Alpha Dog Transport (www.alphadogtransport.com) of Leicester, Mass., has been making this run for about six years, according to founder Jeff O'Brien.
Their trailer truck, which ferries dogs to their new homes, stops in Brattleboro every other Saturday around noontime.
On this Saturday, they are running on schedule as Alpha Dog's long silver trailer pulls into the back parking lot of the Outlet Center on Canal Street. Waiting for them are their new foster parents.
Alpha Dog picks up the animals from high-kill shelters in Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee, and drops them off to adoptees and shelters in the Northeast.
Alpha Dog's route and routine is well-established. They swing through Ohio and Indiana on Wednesday nights, head to Missouri and Arkansas on Thursdays, and Tennessee on Fridays to pick up dogs.
“We pull in as many dogs as we can,” said Jeff Almstrom, who has been with Alpha Dog for about three years. “It's great that these guys are getting a second chance.”
He said the trailer can hold up to 92 dogs, and pointed to the two long rows of transport carriers - small dogs in the top berths, medium-sized dogs in the middle, big dogs in the lower berths.
The trailer has air conditioning, heat, and ventilation. The dogs are walked every four hours during the day, and are fed and watered regularly.
No dog gets on board without their papers, starting with an Interstate Health Certificate, required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, stating that the animal is both free from infectious disease and current on vaccinations.
Each dog has to have had at least two weeks away from the shelter or pound it was rescued from, mainly for quarantine purposes.
Saturdays are drop-off days. At midnight, they're in Hagerstown, Md., and at 2 a.m., they're in Harrisburg, Pa. Parsippany, N.J., is the 4:15 a.m. stop, followed by Waterbury, Conn., at 7 a.m. and Plainfield, Conn., at 9 a.m.
Brattleboro is the last stop this particular Saturday. Otherwise, they would end their day in Kittery, Maine.
On this day, about a dozen dogs are being dropped off at the Outlet Center. The first one off the truck was Callie, a six-month-old female dog from Tennessee. Taking her in are Arnold and Roberta Garland of Dummerston.
“My daughter got five of these dogs and they all turned out super,” Arnold said. “Roberta wanted one to keep her company while I go snowmobiling this winter.”
Callie, for her part, seemed happy to meet her new family, and was filled with energy despite the long ride. Other dogs, particularly the smaller ones, shivered on meeting the brisk Vermont air. Their new families promptly swaddled them in blankets.
Linda McCann, a PAWS New England volunteer, was picking up three dogs this day. She said she had to take them to a kennel in New Hampshire first, for Massachusetts law requires a three-day quarantine before the animals are released to foster homes.
PAWS (www.pawsnewengland.com) has partnered with a shelter in Tipson County, Tenn. According to PAWS online, the rural shelter has an 85 percent euthanasia rate. The Massachusetts-based group has rescued more than 5,500 dogs over the past four years from the Tipson shelter.
Alpha Dog isn't the only outfit bringing dogs to New England: Petersen Express Transport Services (www.petslic.net) also uses Brattleboro as a drop point for local foster homes and shelters.
Run by Kyle and Pam Petersen, PETS also stops at high-kill shelters around the Southeast, and maintains a Wednesday through Saturday schedule covering similar ground.