#40: Transports
HAWS transport program was initially a result of our shelter partnering with the Humane Society of the United States (now Humane World for Animals). A particularly bad hurricane season in 2018 in the southern US, stretching all along the Gulf, stressed those local shelters to the breaking point. Their already adoptable animals needed to be moved out to allow the facilities to act as emergency shelters for pets with known owners planning to reunite when their lives and homes were restored.
Hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria arrived in quick succession, and HAWS was able to assist with finding new loving homes for hundreds of dogs – 120 of them from Puerto Rico alone! These transports didn’t just start a tradition but also opened minds to the importance of helping pets from other parts of the country.
Waukesha County and Southeastern Wisconsin are full of amazing people who were thrilled to help these pets…and continue to want to help to this day. HAWS “transport team” is a group of regular staff and volunteers who meet the van and plane loads with smiling faces and open arms. After a medical check in, these pets get a spa treatment (bath, as needed), a nutritious meal, a nice warm blanket, and snuggles. LOTS of snuggles. They also become stars on everyone’s social media feeds!
Once you’ve greeted a van full of wagging tails, or stood on the tarmac at the airport to welcome a plane, you want to participate over and over again. (Some of us have even called “dibs” on a pet as it is unloaded, because sometimes it IS good to bring your work home with you.)