Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/clear-the-shelters-aug-30/

One Friday during rush hour, a concerned citizen called about a puppy she saw wandering alone on a busy road in an industrial part of town.

The woman worried about all the cars zooming past, but also for the health of the puppy herself. The 5-month-old terrier mix was starving, hairless, and covered in scabs, without any fur to protect her body or paws from the hot asphalt or sun while she looked for food scraps.

“When we arrived on the scene, Dobby was emaciated, scared, but had the sweetest eyes that were screaming for help,” said rescuers, who plucked the innocent puppy from traffic and placed her in foster care.

Later that afternoon, Dobby finally received a warm bath, healthy food, and a soft bed where she napped for hours.

“Immediately, the exhaustion and worry left her eyes,” said Dobby’s foster mom, describing the moment the puppy realized she was finally safe. “The weight of being a hungry stray with Demodex [mites] was over and you could see it all over her cute hairless face.”

But even though Dobby–whose foster mom considers her one of the “sweetest, most accepting and loving pups” she’s met in a long time–-is feeling much better, her chances of getting adopted are still slim in Louisiana, where shelter overcrowding leaves animals (especially sick, injured and/or heartworm-positive dogs) at risk of euthanasia.

This led Dobby’s caretakers to book her on our upcoming Clear the Shelters flight, which will fly 120 at-risk shelter dogs and cats from overcrowded Southern shelters to safety in New Jersey on Aug. 30.

NBCUniversal Local, Greater Good Charities, The Animal Rescue Site, and Hill’s Pet Nutrition are partnering on these special life-saving airlifts, which have been timed to coincide with Clear The Shelters, NBCUniversal Local’s annual pet adoption and donation campaign in August.

On Aug. 2, our first Clear the Shelters flight flew 155 at-risk shelter cats rescued from overcrowded shelters around South Florida to safety in Massachusetts, where they were transferred to local shelters for adoption.

On Aug. 30, a second Clear the Shelters flight carrying 90 at-risk dogs and 30 cats rescued from overcrowded shelters around Louisiana and Alabama will depart from New Orleans, right as Clear the Shelters 2022 draws to a close. This life-saving flight will land in New Jersey, where demand for adoption is soaring.

Here all 120 shelter pets will be transferred to local shelters where they’ll receive any necessary medical care before being put up for adoption. Many shelter pet passengers are adopted in days!

Both Clear the Shelters flights are focused on saving harder-to-adopt cats and dogs, including asymptomatic heartworm-positive shelter dogs, homeless cats, and large dogs rescued from overcrowded shelters around Louisiana and Alabama. Without these life-saving flights, many of these shelter pets would be at risk for euthanasia.

Clear the Shelters 2022 arrived just in time for many of this year’s shelter pet fliers, including Omari and Kojo, two malnourished black labs abandoned in rural Louisiana. By the time the skinny dogs were rescued from traffic on a winding country road, one of the emaciated pups had an extension cord wrapped snugly around his neck.

“Both lab mixes happily came straight to the officer with tails slowly wagging and very empty bellies,” said shelter workers, describing the dogs as dirty and very thin.

After the officer removed the extension cord, Omari and Kojo were brought back to the shelter, where they both got a good meal and medical care, including treatment for heartworm disease. Staff also gave the presumed siblings unique, noble names to help set them apart from all the other black labs in the shelter, which was crowded with larger dogs still waiting to get adopted.

An 8-month-old Shepherd mix named Daphne will also be flying to New Jersey on our upcomingClear the Shelters flight, which will depart from New Orleans on Aug. 30 filled with shelter dogs and cats eager to start over in the Garden State.

After several days of running loose in rural Louisiana, the stray dog found herself at Lafourche Animal Shelter–one of 8 Southern shelters sending animals on our Aug. 30 flight–where the loving dog charmed shelter workers with her sweet personality.

“She’s never met a stranger she didn’t like,” said shelter workers, who swiftly booked Daphne on our Aug. 30 flight to help the young dog get a fresh start in the Northeast!

Kane will also be flying to safety in New Jersey on Aug. 30. After being passed around to several homes as a young puppy, the 10-month-old lab mix was surrendered to the Louisiana shelter after his owner moved into an apartment that didn’t allow large breed dogs.

Now Kane will get a second chance in New Jersey, where Kane and his fellow shelter pet fliers will quickly find forever homes!

These airlifts are part of Greater Good Charities’ Good Flights program and funded by Hill’s Pet Nutrition and The Animal Rescue Site, which is also donating much-needed supplies to shelters participating in this year’s pet adoption campaign.

The Animal Rescue Site is also hosting fundraising for the annual shelter donation drive and covering 100 percent of transaction fees to ensure every cent goes to shelters and rescues in need. Support your favorite shelters here!

But we can’t fly all these shelter pets to safety without support from our GreaterGood family, whose generous donations help us fund air miles for shelter pets traveling on our Clear the Shelters flights. Can you spare $5 to help us fly 120 shelter pets to safety in New Jersey? Just $5 helps us fund 125 air miles for a needy shelter pet flier and, for a limited time, your gift will be matched by Hill’s Pet Nutrition up to $30,000. Thanks for helping us clear the shelters and give dogs like Dobby, Omari, Kojo, Daphne, and Kane a second chance at life!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog