Thursday September 10, 2009, 9:39 pm
Looking for love

Puppies happily squirmed as workers at the Tri-County Humane Society started to prepare them for adoption.

The 19 puppies, 18 of which were 5 weeks old or younger, already had made a long trek to St. Cloud last weekend. A volunteer transported the animals from Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue, an animal rescue more than four hours away in Red Lake. Tri-County had space for the puppies, so they agreed to help out the smaller shelter, said Vicki Davis, Tri-County’s executive director.

Such cooperation is not uncommon at Tri-County. The humane society accepts transfers from other shelters if there is room, and has quietly done so since the 1990s. So far this year, Tri-County has accepted 201 transfers, with 97 from Red Lake, said Jessica Peterschick, the shelter’s customer service manager.

No adoptable local animals are ever transferred to outside shelters, Davis said. Tri-County does not accept transfers if the shelter is full or expects an onslaught of local surrenders, she said.

Accepting transfers from rescues does not cost the Tri-County Humane Society any additional money. The price of the adoptions generally offset any incurred costs of veterinary care, Davis said.

“If we have room, why not?” Davis said. “We’re trying to help. If we help each other out, then maybe we can make more of an effect.”

Tri-County has helped animal welfare organizations in the counties of Stevens, Polk, Pope, Kandiyohi and Beltrami and other organizations in Roseau, Alexandria, Melrose and St. Joseph. They have even taken cats from a no-kill shelter in Canada, Peterschick said.

No formal network of shelters that accept transfers exists. It’s done on an informal basis, Davis said. Shelters call each other to see which ones have room for additional animals.

The Humane Society of Kandiyohi County in Willmar transferred three small dogs last week to Tri-County and four large dogs to Golden Valley’s Animal Humane Society, said Tari Evenson, office manager. The shelter was out of room, Evenson said.

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Friday September 11, 2009, 2:41 pm
I hope each and every little puppy is adopted!

Saturday September 12, 2009, 7:11 pm
May these pups go to loving and caring homes. And that when they grow up, they will not be abandoned and go back to an animal shelter. Back to square 1.

Thanks for the news!