Truth or Myth? Transporting Rescue Dogs

Truth or Myth? Transporting Rescue Dogs

Read these common myths about transporting dogs into CT from overcrowded Shelters in other states and how Dog Star Rescue is helping match deserving dogs find their forever families and saving nearly 1,000 dogs every year.

Local shelters are at a disadvantage with so many southern dogs up for adoption.

MYTH! Local rescues, like Dog Star, work not only with southern rescue partners to transport dogs to CT but also with local shelters to find excellent and loving forever homes for local stray and owner surrender dogs. We consistently collaborate with local shelters and other rescue organizations to save dogs from all walks of life. Just this year Dog Star worked with a local organization to assist with 2 CT dogs who were seized from a hoarding case. In addition, we also assisted with a local dog who was mistreated and neglected so severely that she required surgery. Our volunteers also work tirelessly to evaluate local owner surrender dogs.

There are enough dogs in the north we don’t need anymore.

MYTH! Just this year we’ve received over 2,500 applications from families interested in adopting a dog. Imagine if you combined that statistic from all shelters in rescues in the area. You’d have tens of thousands of families looking to open their hearts and home to a dog. Most families are looking for family-friendly dogs and there simply are not enough dogs in that category in New England. Dog Star is able to save hundreds of dogs from euthanasia due to overcrowding and overpopulation where that demand does not exist. Animal rescues do not create this demand, they only help satisfy the gap in the availability of dogs of all shapes, sizes, and breeds.

Transport puts too much stress on the dogs and is unfair.

MYTH! The process of transporting or moving dogs from southern states to northern states has come a long way since the practice began. Dog Star’s own transport buses and our transport partner’s vehicles contain top-of-line systems such as air conditioning, generators, driver logging, monitoring services, etc. to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the transporters and the dogs. Dogs are transported in size-appropriate, well-ventilated crates in vehicles that monitor ambient temperatures with round-the-clock monitoring to ensure they are fed, watered, and regularly cleaned.

Dogs transported from southern shelters bring diseases with them.

MYTH! All animals transported into CT by Dog Star are evaluated by a licensed veterinarian prior to travel. Every dog will be provided with age-appropriate vetting including being vaccinated for Rabies, Distemper, and Bordatella. Each dog is also dewormed, tested for tick-borne diseases, altered, and started on flea, tick, and heartworm prevention prior to their transport. Upon their arrival to CT, Dog Star also has each dog evaluated again by a licensed veterinarian so that we can address any immediate medical concerns before a dog meets their forever family.

All I see are puppies! What about adolescent or adult dogs?

MYTH! Dog Star is an all-age, all-breed, all-size rescue. The majority of the dogs we transport into CT are over the age of 6 months. About 33% of our intake is puppies under 6 months old, 22% of our intake is dogs between the ages of 6 months and 1 year and 45% of our intake is dogs over 1 year old. While Dog Star does work with many families looking to adopt a puppy, we prioritze working with adolescent and adult dogs who may not have had the best start in life, including those with special needs.

All dogs, no matter their location, deserve to have unbiased advocates.

TRUTH! No matter where each other of our adoptable dogs comes from, they deserve the chance to find their forever homes. Too often, dogs and cats in shelters are at risk of euthanasia simply due to shelter overcrowding and a lack of resources. Dog Star’s dedicated volunteers work endlessly to advocate for stray, abandoned, shelter, and owner surrender dogs from both CT and our southern rescue partners.