TEXARKANA, Texas - Friday evening a vehicle transporting 30 or so dogs from the Houston area stopped in Texarkana for a break. These were animal shelter dogs being transported by Ruff To Rescue Express.
The organization transports dogs in need of homes to the Northeastern United States, mostly New York and Michigan. This group was headed to Rochester, New York, with several stops along the way, including the Texarkana Animal League.
"In the Northeast region, they have much more strict rules about spaying and neutering animals," said Sabra Crabtree, office and facility manager of Texarkana Animal League. "They have shelters, but theirs are much more sparsely populated and animals get adopted quickly. Folks there are really looking at the shelters for animals to add to their families. So animals from the Southeastern U.S. needing their forever home are headed there to get one."
Texarkana Animal League sent out an invite on its Facebook page calling for volunteers to help care for the animals when they stopped here Friday. It as their first stop after leaving Houston. They were needed to help walk the canines, most of them puppies, as well as feed them water them and give them rest for the next leg on their journey. The next stop will be Nashville, Tennessee.
"We've been running this operation for about six years," said Ginelle Baker, a rescuer with Ruff to Rescue Express. "Over the years, we have transported 2,600 dogs, 90% of which have come off the street, 5% have come from shelters and 5% are owner surrenders."
The volunteers took to providing the needed care, without which the pit stop would take hours.
"We've been helping out with Ruff To Rescue Express for a few years," said Georgette Peckham, vice president, Texarkana Animal League. "This is just a place to stop for the comfort of the dogs."
(Texarkana Animal League is located at 5820 Richmond Road, Texarkana, Texas. Ruff to Rescue Express is on Facebook, their web page is at rufftorescueexpress.org.)