East Coast Paws Transport

East Coast Paws was formed by three very passionate volunteer Transport Coordinators. Mary Ellen House, Mary Newman and Jessica Dulin who were previous transport coordinators with Paws to the Rescue. During our time with Paws to the Rescue, we would transport dogs and cats from South Carolina to various rescues between Virginia and Maine. There would frequently be branch legs it various neighboring states. We would also have the occasional passenger that needed to go to Canada. The transports we coordinated would often have anywhere from 10 passengers to 52 at the largest. The passengers would have various “attitudes” and requirements the drivers would need to handle the passengers by. The passengers ranged from Moms & pups, pregnant females, dog selective and “flight risks”. During our transporting, we would receive requests from various rescues, shelters and followers on Facebook for help getting a dog or cat safe. Because of the requests, we decided to start East Coast Paws. The group focuses on assisting shelters and rescues get dogs and cats out of the shelters and into rescue or providing rides to forever homes!

Transport Request Guidelines: It will take approx. 2 weeks to set up and fill the transport. This time frame is needed because we are a volunteer based organization. We also need the potential passengers to be in quarantine 2 weeks prior to transports. This reduces the possibilities of a passenger being sick and potentially getting other passengers sick. We will not mix passengers from different shelters or rescues. All passengers MUST have a current health certificate that meets the requirements for the state they are entering. We can currently provide transport to the following states: SC, NC, VA, MD, DE, PA, OH, NY, NJ, CT, RI, NH, VT, ME We maybe adding Massachusetts to the list once some additional information is verified. We will consider transports needed to GA, FL, TN, KY, IN and IL. Driver Guidelines: Paperwork MUST be handed off to the driver that has the animal. It is important the paperwork stay with the animal in case he/she needs go to the emergency vet or the police ask for it. (Health Certificate and rabies certificates, if age appropriate, are required to cross state lines.) Plan on arriving at the meeting location at the same time the connecting driver(s) is scheduled to arrive (10 minutes earlier is better) in order to help with the transfer. If a driver is driving multiple legs, they may be early. This will be noted on the final runsheet. Please have your crates set up & ready to use. Have water ready to offer to the animals After your handoff, one driver must call (not email) the Monitor to update her/him on the timing. If there are any concerns regarding any of the dogs, it is important to let the Monitor know! BE ON TIME and if you do happen to run late, always call the Monitor & next driver to let them know; that driver will then call the next driver, and so on. If there are several drivers for each leg, please be courteous & help with calling the other drivers on the leg. If your child comes along with you on the transport, they should not walk the dogs or handle pups. Please understand that the dogs are stressed & could easily slip out of young, eager, well-intended hands. Children are welcome to come along & experience the joy of rescue but should be WELL SUPERVISED! Do not allow small children to hold puppies during the drive. We know they love each other but puppies are wiggly and accidents can happen. Always double check the pup against the picture on the paperwork and the name on the collar! Remember that the paper collars are NOT to have leashes attached to them – the can and will break, which can result in a dog on the run! Always contact the monitor for the day if there are any issues, as the transport coordinators are NOT available. In hot weather, keep pup’s feet off the hot ground as much as possible, offer lots of water, and keep the air conditioner running! NEVER leave a dog in a hot car. Make sure your crates, car, blankets, and any other items in contact with pups/kitties are thoroughly cleaned before and after transport! Laundering blankets and towel in warm/hot water is great! And a bleach solution wipe down of all porous surfaces will eliminate communicable germs! Arrive early to your pickup location and be sure to check your emails on transport day for any important updates! Please be sure to help your fellow transporters, especially those who are new or less experienced! Welcome them to ECPT and offer to share supplies and/or help as needed! Animals on transport may NOT be adopted directly off the transport; dogs must continue on the transport to their receiving rescue. If you are interested in possibly adopting, allow the dog to continue on the transport and contact the Coordinator, Monitor, or the receiving rescue and they will advise you of the next steps. If bystanders are interested in more details of transporting or adopting a dog, please have them contact the Coordinator; again, dogs are NEVER to be adopted directly off a transport. There is no mixing of transports. This means if there is another non-ECPT run using the same legs and close on time, you are NOT to add the passengers to an ECPT transport. We abide by this rule because some passengers have been out of the shelter for 2 weeks or more and others are directly from the shelter. There could be a disease that is being carried from the shelter and could be contagious to other passengers. If you have questions on this, please contact your coordinator to discuss. Supplies For Transport Paper towels Baby wipes Disposable latex/nitrile (not rubber) gloves 10% bleach solution in a spray bottle Nutrical – puppy & kitty Extra collars, leashes/slip leads Plastic bags for poop duty Water & disposable dishes for drinking (if you are leaving a water dish in their crate please do not use something they can destroy and eat.) Newspaper, pee pads, and old towels or blankets Extra crate (if possible) for quick transfer from a soiled crate (good for puppies!) or an unexpected health or behavioral issue that requires further separation Pop top canned cheap, smelly dog or cat food to lure runaway dogs. Vienna sausages are also great for attracting run-away dogs.