Five years ago, Animal Humane Society embarked on its first journey south in a brand new truck uniquely designed for safely transporting animals across the country. Since then, thousands of dogs and cats have hitched a lifesaving ride to AHS.

Transporting animals isn’t easy work — it requires expensive equipment, long hours on the road, and true teamwork from one organization to the next. But the impact is worth it. Every animal transported to Minnesota helps create space in an overcrowded shelter and frees up valuable resources, which means another animal is given a second chance — and twice as many families are made whole.

A growing demand for adoptable dogs

In 2020, most of the nation saw an unprecedented increase in demand for companion animals. Rescue organizations all across Minnesota were inundated with requests — AHS alone was fielding up to 8,000 adoption inquiries each week. Our transport program not only allows us to meet the growing demand for adoptable dogs here in Minnesota, it reduces our community’s reliance on commercial breeding operations.

The future of transport

Our transport team is exploring ways to connect even more Minnesota families to animals in need — whether they’re adopting from AHS or one of our local partners. We’re planning the next evolution of our transport program with the hope of bringing even more animals to organizations right here in Minnesota.

With added capacity, we could transport up to 1,000 more dogs each year, increasing the number of animals who can find loving homes through both AHS and other local rescues without centralized transport programs. This increase will help address overpopulation in other states, and ultimately move us closer to the goal of ending animal homelessness — for good.

Transport saves lives

Learn more about Animal Humane Society’s transport program and how it saves lives.

This article was included in our Summer 2021 issue of Animal Tracks, a magazine delivered to AHS donors. See previous issues of Animal Tracks.