Check out this great blog entry from BRAT volunteer Wendy Hodges. She spent 8 hours this weekend picking up a basenji boy named Banjo and getting him to a foster home in Dallas, TX, where he will be evaluated and vetted and then posted up on the BRAT website for adoption.
Banjo is an AWESOME, well-behaved, and expressive little basenji boy, who will be ready to find his forever home very soon! Many, many thanks to both Wendy Hodges and our district coordinator Rick Reinhold for making this happen for Banjo. With just a few hours of driving, they have saved a dog's life and put him on the path to finding a happy and loving home.
If you think you would have a few hours to transport or perhaps a space in your home for a few weeks to help a basenji find a better life, VOLUNTEER! You'll feel great when you help out, and you'll make all the difference in the life of a dog. Thanks, Wendy!!
Showing posts with label transport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transport. Show all posts
Monday, August 29, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Great Volunteer Experience
I just wanted to let you know of my great experience working with BRAT, which I posted about on my blog tonight. I'm trying to get the word out to my network of friends and dog owners about BRAT and the wonderful work you all do.
My wife Lisa and I had a wonderful experience transporting a Basenji mix today through the Pittsburgh area. The dog's name was Emma. She was an absolute sweetheart. This was our second transport and we hope to help out again.
I also wanted to say thank you for connecting us with Jacob, a Basenji that Suzanne [Sarlls-Hartwell] fostered a few years ago. He has been a dream come true.
I hope my blog posting helps you out with donations or better yet, another loving home for a Basenji.
Please keep up the great work.
Sincerely,
Brian and Lisa Moore
http://designcrush72.com/2011/01/17/whos-a-brat/
My wife Lisa and I had a wonderful experience transporting a Basenji mix today through the Pittsburgh area. The dog's name was Emma. She was an absolute sweetheart. This was our second transport and we hope to help out again.
I also wanted to say thank you for connecting us with Jacob, a Basenji that Suzanne [Sarlls-Hartwell] fostered a few years ago. He has been a dream come true.
I hope my blog posting helps you out with donations or better yet, another loving home for a Basenji.
Please keep up the great work.
Sincerely,
Brian and Lisa Moore
http://designcrush72.com/2011/01/17/whos-a-brat/
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Is There a Golden Rule for Transport?
As I become more involved with BRAT, I have had the pleasure of playing more roles as a volunteer and having fun meeting more basenjis and their families. To date I have done two transports. Fortunately both of them -- Gracie (who is now living the good life in her forever home up in Seattle) and Chief (whom I took from San Francisco to Davis a couple of weeks ago) -- were a perfect little lady and mild-mannered gentleman respectively.Transporting these two was easy because I knew a fair amount about them in advance and felt confident that I could move them without having them put in a crate. The comfort level of both in a crate was an unknown, but I also wanted to make sure that they didn't distract me from driving. I decided to use the same method I use with my basenji girl Bow -- attaching the leash to the back, clasped seat belt so they are secured but can move about enough to avoid feeling restrained. In both cases, they stirred around the car during the first 10-12 minutes but were soon sleeping soundly in the passenger seat beside me. In both cases the only time they tried to get in my lap was when we stopped at a toll booth. That rolled down window and a new person offering a hand to take money (you never know, it might be a treat, I am sure they thought) was too tempting.
I'd appreciate tips from those who've done more transports since I know not every basenji will be as easy as Gracie and Chief. I certainly don't want to compromise our safety with a stressed out dog as I maneuver the S-curve of the East Bay Bridge which is challenging enough without a basenji pawing at the steering wheel.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Lady and Champ
Lady and Champ had been living outdoors for many months, due to a change in the family structure and priorities. Luckily, their family was very responsible and contacted BRAT. The pair were no longer house trained and not guaranteed to be able to get along with other dogs. Because of this, it was difficult to find a foster home. Most of our foster homes in the mid-Atlantic and southeast already have at least one basenji, many with more than one. Thankfully, we were able to find a foster home for Lady and Champ in Zion, IL. However, since they were coming from North Carolina, we were faced with a huge transport problem to get them to Illinois.
Traditionally, BRAT coordinators arrange most transports as car trips, where we recruit multiple drivers to drive different legs of the trip to get the dogs where they need to go. This is typically what we refer to as the Basenji Underground Railroad (BUR), and it is very time-consuming to arrange and relies heavily on the goodness of our volunteers to “pull through in a pinch.” However, doing long-distance transports this way is not really feasible – for example, if Lady and Champ were to be driven to Illinois from North Carolina, their travel time would have been at least 16 hrs by car (not including stops or overnights) with approximately 13 different drivers, increasing the probability driver delay or worse, the possibility of escape!
Recently, BRAT coordinators have been trying to find alternative ways to arrange long-distance (or sometimes even short-distance) transports. Rather than traumatize a dog by putting them through multiple drivers and multiple transfers, we can often get dogs where they need to go using air transport. Organizations such as Pilots ‘n’ Paws, Animal Rescue Flights, and more will give free air transport to rescue animals through their networks of private pilot volunteers. For Lady and Champ, BRAT coordinator Michelle Martenis reached out to Animal Rescue Flights and was able to arrange a free air transport that spanned 6 states and involved 3 pilots (instead of 13+ drivers) to get Lady and Champ to Illinois in a matter of hours instead of days. Because of ARF, Lady and Champ are now happily in their foster home in Zion, IL. On behalf of BRAT, a big thank you to ARF!!
Here are Lady and Champ at the beginning of their first flight.
Here is the flight path from Lady and Champ’s itinerary.
Here are some tips from BRAT coordinator Michelle Martenis for setting up a flight with ARF:
• Go to the ARF Transport Request Website to post a transport request. It's most important to read, follow the directions, and fill out the request form as complete as possible. Give them at least 2 to 3 weeks notice if possible. The coordinators (Julia and Clark) are volunteers as well and may not be able to respond to your emails very quickly, so it may take some time to post the request.
• To help determine the best airports to start and end your transport, use this website to find small public airports. The volunteer pilots generally like smaller airports because they’re easier to get a small plane in and out of.
• When filling out the transport request, the information placed in the "sending shelter/rescue" portion of the ARF Transport Request Form will be the address of where they base the starting airport. The individual's name used here will be the person that the pilot will expect to drop off the dog. Similarily, the "receiving rescue" will be the person that the last pilot will have instructions to turn the animals over to.
• From that transport request form, ARF posts the flight request on their website. You may not be able to see it on the website when they post your request, but the pilot volunteers will be able to see it and will begin responding to it. You can also join the aviation meetup group (follow the “Pilots and volunteers” link on the ARF home page), so that you can monitor your transport request and the responses posted to your flight plan.
• Once all legs of your flight request have been filled, you will be contacted by the ARF coordinator with instructions for the day of the flight. They will send you an "Animal Rescue Flights Final Flight Sheet" with all the details of your transport.
• Because the flights are weather-dependent (including variables like wind speeds, etc) and these are small planes that are more vulnerable to weather conditions than large commercial jets, you may not know until the night before that a planned flight is definitely going to take place. So, you may want to keep a backup vehicle transport plan just in case.
• All animals must be crated for plane transport. Some planes are very small, so keep crate size in mind when planning your flight.
• During the process, any questions can be directed to arfmail@aol.com or for help getting started, PLEASE call BRAT Coordinator Michelle Martenis at 252-571-7659
Here are some pictures of successful ARF rescue flights!
Traditionally, BRAT coordinators arrange most transports as car trips, where we recruit multiple drivers to drive different legs of the trip to get the dogs where they need to go. This is typically what we refer to as the Basenji Underground Railroad (BUR), and it is very time-consuming to arrange and relies heavily on the goodness of our volunteers to “pull through in a pinch.” However, doing long-distance transports this way is not really feasible – for example, if Lady and Champ were to be driven to Illinois from North Carolina, their travel time would have been at least 16 hrs by car (not including stops or overnights) with approximately 13 different drivers, increasing the probability driver delay or worse, the possibility of escape!
Recently, BRAT coordinators have been trying to find alternative ways to arrange long-distance (or sometimes even short-distance) transports. Rather than traumatize a dog by putting them through multiple drivers and multiple transfers, we can often get dogs where they need to go using air transport. Organizations such as Pilots ‘n’ Paws, Animal Rescue Flights, and more will give free air transport to rescue animals through their networks of private pilot volunteers. For Lady and Champ, BRAT coordinator Michelle Martenis reached out to Animal Rescue Flights and was able to arrange a free air transport that spanned 6 states and involved 3 pilots (instead of 13+ drivers) to get Lady and Champ to Illinois in a matter of hours instead of days. Because of ARF, Lady and Champ are now happily in their foster home in Zion, IL. On behalf of BRAT, a big thank you to ARF!!
Here are Lady and Champ at the beginning of their first flight.
Here is the flight path from Lady and Champ’s itinerary.
Here are some tips from BRAT coordinator Michelle Martenis for setting up a flight with ARF:
• Go to the ARF Transport Request Website to post a transport request. It's most important to read, follow the directions, and fill out the request form as complete as possible. Give them at least 2 to 3 weeks notice if possible. The coordinators (Julia and Clark) are volunteers as well and may not be able to respond to your emails very quickly, so it may take some time to post the request.
• To help determine the best airports to start and end your transport, use this website to find small public airports. The volunteer pilots generally like smaller airports because they’re easier to get a small plane in and out of.
• When filling out the transport request, the information placed in the "sending shelter/rescue" portion of the ARF Transport Request Form will be the address of where they base the starting airport. The individual's name used here will be the person that the pilot will expect to drop off the dog. Similarily, the "receiving rescue" will be the person that the last pilot will have instructions to turn the animals over to.
• From that transport request form, ARF posts the flight request on their website. You may not be able to see it on the website when they post your request, but the pilot volunteers will be able to see it and will begin responding to it. You can also join the aviation meetup group (follow the “Pilots and volunteers” link on the ARF home page), so that you can monitor your transport request and the responses posted to your flight plan.
• Once all legs of your flight request have been filled, you will be contacted by the ARF coordinator with instructions for the day of the flight. They will send you an "Animal Rescue Flights Final Flight Sheet" with all the details of your transport.
• Because the flights are weather-dependent (including variables like wind speeds, etc) and these are small planes that are more vulnerable to weather conditions than large commercial jets, you may not know until the night before that a planned flight is definitely going to take place. So, you may want to keep a backup vehicle transport plan just in case.
• All animals must be crated for plane transport. Some planes are very small, so keep crate size in mind when planning your flight.
• During the process, any questions can be directed to arfmail@aol.com or for help getting started, PLEASE call BRAT Coordinator Michelle Martenis at 252-571-7659
Here are some pictures of successful ARF rescue flights!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Adopting: Should I Apply for a Basenji in Another State?
"Should I apply for a basenji in another state? How far away will I be expected to drive to pick up my basenji? Can't we just fly the dog to my house? What about using the BUR (Basenji Underground Railroad) to get the dog to me?"
These are questions that BRAT Coordinators are asked frequently, and the answer is usually "it depends." The standard response is: "You can check on a Basenji in states near you. BRAT can sometimes arrange long distance placements (up to a maximum of approximately 400-700 miles) using our Basenji Underground Railroad to transport the Basenji to you. If needed, adopters are expected to drive a minimum of 200 miles. There may be other costs involved with a transport to defray the expenses incurred by our volunteers. If the Basenji can be crated and flown, you will be responsible for the cost. Not all Basenjis have the personality to be transported or flown and the coordinator will usually make that clear in the announcement."
What this actually means is that the dog's BRAT Coordinator will usually strive to find a good adoptive home within a few hours' driving radius. If the absolute best adopter for the dog lives more than several hours' drive away and cannot drive the entire trip themselves to pick up the dog, often a BRAT Coordinator will try to recruit volunteers who live along the route to help out with driving the dog for a portion of the trip to get within several hours driving distance for the adopter (we call this the Basenji Underground Railroad, or BUR). However, it is often difficult to coordinate a BUR, and it relies on the goodness of our local volunteers to drive, so we try to avoid this if at all possible. So, what usually ends up happening with adoptions is one of these scenarios:
1) There are several really good applicants for the dog. Some of them live close (within a few hours driving distance of the dog), some of them don't live close but are willing to make the entire drive themselves, and some of them don't live close and would require a BUR to be set up to transport the dog to them. Because there are several good homes available for this dog, the Coordinator will choose the best home out of the ones who are close AND the ones who are not close but are willing to make the entire drive themselves.
2) There are several really good applicants for the dog. None of them live close, some of them don't live close but are willing to make the entire drive themselves, and some of them would require a BUR. Because there are several good homes available for this dog, the Coordinator will choose the best home out of the ones who don't live close but are willing to make the entire drive themselves.
3) There are several really good applicants for the dog. None of them live close, and none of them are able to make the entire drive themselves. The Coordinator will have to set up a BUR to get the dog to whichever adopter he chooses.
4) There is really only one applicant that seems like the *perfect* home for the dog. This applicant does not live close, and is not able to make the entire drive themselves. The Coordinator will have to set up a BUR or a flight (at the adopter's expense, and only if the dog is able to be flown) to get the dog to this adopter.
So, you can see from these scenarios that while a BUR or a flight is available as an option to help get a dog to an adopter, it really helps increase your likelihood of being chosen as the adopter for that dog if you live close, or are able to make the entire drive yourself to pick up the dog. This certainly does not mean you would not be chosen for a dog you do not live close to, because you can see from scenario #4 that if you are indeed the *perfect* home for the dog, then the BRAT Coordinator will make every effort to set up a BUR and get the dog to you. However, we do try to reduce the strain on our volunteers as much as possible, because they don't get reimbursed for their travel or time. They help out purely because they want to see a dog get to the best home possible, so we want to utilize volunteers only when it's really necessary. We couldn't do this without the goodness of our fantastic BRAT volunteers, so we want to be sure to be judicious about asking for their help!
Hopefully this helps to better answer the questions that Coordinators usually get about transporting and long-distance adoptions. Of course, every situation is different, and ultimately all adoption decisions will rely on the best judgment of the Coordinator about which home best matches the specific needs of the dog. So, while the above scenarios are not "rules" and should not be treated as such, hopefully they might help to explain a little bit better some of the variables that a BRAT Coordinator has to weigh when making an adoption decision!
These are questions that BRAT Coordinators are asked frequently, and the answer is usually "it depends." The standard response is: "You can check on a Basenji in states near you. BRAT can sometimes arrange long distance placements (up to a maximum of approximately 400-700 miles) using our Basenji Underground Railroad to transport the Basenji to you. If needed, adopters are expected to drive a minimum of 200 miles. There may be other costs involved with a transport to defray the expenses incurred by our volunteers. If the Basenji can be crated and flown, you will be responsible for the cost. Not all Basenjis have the personality to be transported or flown and the coordinator will usually make that clear in the announcement."
What this actually means is that the dog's BRAT Coordinator will usually strive to find a good adoptive home within a few hours' driving radius. If the absolute best adopter for the dog lives more than several hours' drive away and cannot drive the entire trip themselves to pick up the dog, often a BRAT Coordinator will try to recruit volunteers who live along the route to help out with driving the dog for a portion of the trip to get within several hours driving distance for the adopter (we call this the Basenji Underground Railroad, or BUR). However, it is often difficult to coordinate a BUR, and it relies on the goodness of our local volunteers to drive, so we try to avoid this if at all possible. So, what usually ends up happening with adoptions is one of these scenarios:
1) There are several really good applicants for the dog. Some of them live close (within a few hours driving distance of the dog), some of them don't live close but are willing to make the entire drive themselves, and some of them don't live close and would require a BUR to be set up to transport the dog to them. Because there are several good homes available for this dog, the Coordinator will choose the best home out of the ones who are close AND the ones who are not close but are willing to make the entire drive themselves.
2) There are several really good applicants for the dog. None of them live close, some of them don't live close but are willing to make the entire drive themselves, and some of them would require a BUR. Because there are several good homes available for this dog, the Coordinator will choose the best home out of the ones who don't live close but are willing to make the entire drive themselves.
3) There are several really good applicants for the dog. None of them live close, and none of them are able to make the entire drive themselves. The Coordinator will have to set up a BUR to get the dog to whichever adopter he chooses.
4) There is really only one applicant that seems like the *perfect* home for the dog. This applicant does not live close, and is not able to make the entire drive themselves. The Coordinator will have to set up a BUR or a flight (at the adopter's expense, and only if the dog is able to be flown) to get the dog to this adopter.
So, you can see from these scenarios that while a BUR or a flight is available as an option to help get a dog to an adopter, it really helps increase your likelihood of being chosen as the adopter for that dog if you live close, or are able to make the entire drive yourself to pick up the dog. This certainly does not mean you would not be chosen for a dog you do not live close to, because you can see from scenario #4 that if you are indeed the *perfect* home for the dog, then the BRAT Coordinator will make every effort to set up a BUR and get the dog to you. However, we do try to reduce the strain on our volunteers as much as possible, because they don't get reimbursed for their travel or time. They help out purely because they want to see a dog get to the best home possible, so we want to utilize volunteers only when it's really necessary. We couldn't do this without the goodness of our fantastic BRAT volunteers, so we want to be sure to be judicious about asking for their help!
Hopefully this helps to better answer the questions that Coordinators usually get about transporting and long-distance adoptions. Of course, every situation is different, and ultimately all adoption decisions will rely on the best judgment of the Coordinator about which home best matches the specific needs of the dog. So, while the above scenarios are not "rules" and should not be treated as such, hopefully they might help to explain a little bit better some of the variables that a BRAT Coordinator has to weigh when making an adoption decision!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
"T" Is for Transport
Being a "basenji dad", I have come to believe, is a bit like being the parent of a gifted and talented child. You know other parents love their little ones no more nor less than you do your own, but sometimes it's hard for them to relate to life on a daily life in your household. "It's just a dog, after all," many will say.It's easy to feel isolated in your basenji parenthood, and BRAT has been a wonderful resource during my year and a half in the land of the curly tailed wonders. Support has come from as far away as Vermont, Florida and Texas. It has been a great community, but I've only been around other basenjis and their owners for just a few minutes at a time. I feel that BRAT has given so much to me, and I have really wanted to do more to give back.
So when an opportunity to be part of the "Basenji Underground Railroad" (BUR) to be a part of the transport chain of a basenji girl from Las Vegas to Seattle, I leaped to the chance to join in. On a scale of difficulty, my first foster was a 9.5 on a 1-10 scale, and I would say my adopted basenji ranks around 4.5.So I was prepared for anything when I agreed to transport Gracie, the 13-year-old puppy mill rescue, but I was pleased to read from her profile that she was a real sweetheart. Nothing prepared me for just how sweet and easy she was when Jerry, the South Bay volunteer met me at the Walgreens parking lot around the corner from my house. (We agreed that meeting my girl would not be good for either of them.) She was immediately friendly, and after a bit of sniffing around the car immediately settled into the front seat.
Although there was a good profile about her on the BRAT website, I knew it was impossible to know exactly what she would be like and how she would react to me. I was pleased that she was so immediately trusting and calm.When we stopped a couple of times for tolls or as I maneuvered the S-curve on the East Bay Bridge, she would stir a bit, only to lean in to my leg, sometimes letting out a relaxed sigh. She seemed to behave as if we were old friends. In less than two hours we were already at the Sacramento dog park where I scheduled to turn her over to Jan, the volunteer scheduled to take her for the next leg of the trip to Chico before her new forever family arrived from Seattle.
By that evening, there was this photo of Gracie with her new basenji brother, Tyco, who had a similarly difficult start in life. I was thrilled to hear that they fell in love upon first sight. I love the way Gracie is looking heavenward, as if to thank her lucky stars.Since fostering is not an immediately viable option for me because of my basenji girl's protectiveness, I hope I have the chance to do another transport soon. It was a great way to meet other basenjis and other basenji owners. I felt I got much more out of it than my small contribution of getting Gracie on her way to a new home.
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