Animal rescue work is extremely rewarding but it can be equally demanding. Since Great Plains SPCA takes in lost, homeless and sometimes, abused, animals from nine area cities, we often don’t know what is coming inside our doors on any given day.
You may have seen our posts asking for a foster for Max, an Anatolian Shepherd mix. He’s a sweet dog with people he loves and he does well with people who set clear expectations and can manage his environment. However, he wasn’t a good candidate for an average home without a lot of training.
We have GREAT news to report: Max was accepted at the end of June into Rocky Mountain Animal Rescue which is located in Alberta, Canada. They are an amazing group of people who specialize in rehabilitating and training animals in deep need of help.
As a no-kill shelter, we are dedicated helping the animals to find a better life and a forever home. One thing we’ve learned along the way is that while we believe there is a home for every animal, that home may not be in Kansas City, or even nearby. A dog or cat’s perfect match may be hours of travel time and hundreds of miles away.
We need your help to save lives of animals just like these through our rescue network. Give today to help us transport animals just like Max to loving homes across the country.
Like most shelters, we work with rescue groups to save animals and find forever homes for them. Our team has a great rapport with rescues across the county, and even into Canada. Many of these rescues are very focused in their work. One rescue might take in giant breed dogs. Another rescue may only be interested in a particular breed, like Huskies. Or a rescue might specialize in caring for special-needs animals.
We partner with rescues when we have animals who are stressed in the shelter; when we’re low on space and they’re a purebred; if the animal has severe medical issues, and for a myriad of other reasons.
When our team IDs a dog or cat that needs to be transported to a rescue, we work with our network of reputable no-kill rescue groups who are committed to finding the right home for each animal they accept.
Once a rescue has responded and offered to take an animal, it’s up to us to figure out how to get them there. Some are close enough that our staff and volunteers can make a quick drive, or the rescue itself can come and pick the animal up.
However, many times we transport animals across multiple states. The cost of these trips – whether driving or flying – adds up quickly. In just the last two months we have transported 28 animals to other rescues and incurred costs of nearly $10,000.
Please consider donating towards our mission to make our community a no-kill metro. If you can’t give, consider becoming a volunteer to help animals in need, or sign up to be a foster home that gets stressed animals out of the shelter.