It’s almost noon and the line of outdoor kennels are decorated with hot pink papers and white collars. It’s Rescue Waggin’ day, and 21 puppies are about to take a very long trip to meet their new families.
The Rescue Waggin’ is a PetSmart charity that ships dogs from overcrowded shelters to regions where there’s a high demand for adoptable pets.
Puppies slated for Rescue Waggin’ are chosen in advance so there’s time for the necessary shots and checkups. They usually spend their last days in Arkansas in a foster home.
Dealing with so many dogs should be chaos,but adoption coordinator Skip Lunders explains that they’ve got it down to a science - a wiggling, furry assembly line.
One of the pups making the journey this day is Preston, a wrinkle-faced Shar-Pei-shepherd mix that wriggles happily as he waits his turn for his health inspection. After that, he’s off to Wisconsin where he’ll have a home in no time.
It’s a successful program, but Tracy Roark, director of Little Rock Animal Village, says, “we can ship dogs until the end of time. We’re never going to solve the problem unless they’re sterilized.”
Style, Pages 54 on 12/22/2013