• Thank you for choosing to sponsor an out-of-state SPAR Transport.
• Our SPAR Transports take dogs to out-of-state adoption partners. The trips typically run every two weeks during most months.
• $350 covers the fuel costs and van maintenance for the trip. To keep costs low, the two volunteer drivers do not stay overnight. They drive 12 hours to the destination, hand over the dogs, then another 12 hours to home. A 24 hour turnaround.
Why drive Dogs Out-of-State?
In 2014, Saving Pets At Risk, Inc. partnered with the Humane Society’s in Boulder and later in Aurora, Colorado. We couldn’t be happier with what we’re now able to accomplish! Today, our rescue finds homes for 300 to 400 dogs annually.
We sought these relationships to give our rescue a better chance at finding homes where the dogs lI’ve long, safe lives with loving families of their very own! And it worked! At the time, we were saving around 100 pets a year. It became clear we could save so many more lives by driving SPAR Dogs out of state to areas in need of dogs to adopt.
The teams in Colorado have been terrific to work with in every way. The care, attention, and commitment to their shelter pets fall right in line with SPAR values. Our partnership has been everything we hoped it would be. Both Boulder and Aurora are pet-friendly places where dogs are valued and treated with TLC.
Dedication to healing the pets in our care, and running SPAR Transports every two weeks has made our SPAR Transport Program a success. To date, we've placed over two-thousand formerly homeless dogs with wonderful Colorado families.
We have an abandoned dog crisis
Finding enough families to adopt in our area is extremely difficult because the abandoned dog crisis in Pottawatomie County is never-ending! One thing that adds to the problem is that states like ours expect very little of pet owners and offer little when it comes to the consideration of the animals. For example: weak regulations for breeders, ineffective management of local pet laws/ordinances, minimal support from shelters and city/county officials, no spay/neuter support or expectations, etc.) There is usually very little community awareness regarding spay/neuter practices.
Many years of negligence in controlling the pet population in Pottawatomie County created a situation where so very many dogs become neglected and abandoned, often both. This problem is now worse.
Changes in policy at animal control and the animal shelter have also led to large numbers of pets, especially dogs, to be abandoned (AKA Dumped) to fend for themselves. The change is because the pet owners that are no longer able to care for their pets do not know what else to do. To our surprise, the shelter tells citizens asking them for help, to contact us, instead. The rescues are overwhelmed 100% of the time.