St. Hubert's Hopes to Speed Dog Adoptions

In a twist on the old cliché, the dogs are going to St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison—by the truckload.

That’s because PetSmart Charities recently selected St. Hubert's as the newest shelter partner for its national Rescue Waggin’ animal transport program.

The first Rescue Waggin’ vehicle, loaded with 19 puppies and dogs from shelters in West Virginia, arrived at St. Hubert’s today at about 2:15 p.m.

The program moves homeless dogs and puppies from communities with high pet populations and few potential adopters to shelters like St. Hubert's with exceptional adoption and spay/neuter programs. The idea is to spare the animals long months languishing in shelters or worse, euthanasia.

St. Hubert's is one of just 16 locations across the country participating as a destination shelter in the Rescue Waggin’ program.

The Rescue Waggin’ vehicle provides the animals with a temperature-controlled  ride, complete with piped-in lullabies to help them sleep during the trip, and video monitors so the drivers can check their activities.

Once the dogs were off-loaded into the arms of St. Hubert's staff, they will receive 12-24 hours of down time before getting a medical check-up, spay/neuter surgery if necessary, and placement on the adoption floor.

"Some of these dogs will be ready to adopt shortly, once they check out, medically," said Heather Cammisa, president and chief executive officer of St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center, who helped welcome the new arrivals.

The Tuesday arrival was the first of scheduled monthly drop-offs for the PetSmart program. The next transport arrives in February.

The new additions brings to 52 the number of dogs awaiting adoption in St. Hubert's shelters in Madison and North Branch. The shelters also have 168 cats. St. Hubert's adopts out slightly less than 4,000 animals each year, Cammisa said.

“We’re very proud to be a part of this program, because it shows we are an efficient model program for distance outreach," said Cammisa. "PetSmart is helping the source community to actually effect change."

She noted that “our priority is always the pets in our community, so no dogs in our shelter will ever be displaced to make room for transported dogs."

St. Hubert's has participated in national adoption programs before, Cammisa said, but they were temporary programs during natural disasters or other crises. This is the shelter's first participation in a long-term adoption program. She pointed out that St. Hubert's is receiving no funding or other compensation from PetSmart as part of the program. Some of the shelter's staff traveled to Colorado for special training, and PetSmart carefully checked out St. Hubert's best practices and screened evaluation videos prior to selecting the Madison shelter.

St. Hubert's shelters in Madison and North Branch are open seven days a week for adoptions. For more information, please visit www.sthuberts.org.