Next time you’re rolling down the interstate, think of ARTT. They are the Animal Rescue Transport Team –a coordinated effort between West Hancock Canine Rescue (WHCR) and Quincy K-9 Connections (QKC) to rescue unwanted shelter pets that are in high-kill shelters in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. AART serves the transport needs of both rescues by moving shelter pets to rescue, adoptive homes or fosters in higher population areas to give the pets a chance at a second life.
Animal Rescue Transport Team
ARTT is the brain child of only a few—one being Anne Heckle, a former Midwest Coordinator for ARPH. Having served Aussies for 15 years, Anne moved on to coordinate the efforts between these two rescue groups when her local shelter became a kill shelter. “I felt it was time to help the animals in my own county” stated Anne.
Each Saturday they start in the Quincy area around 7:00 am, taking turns getting the dogs closer and closer to Chicago and its many suburbs. In over 7 years they have NEVER missed a weekend transport—AMAZING! “We have driven in some of the worst weather you can imagine, sometimes only going 20 mph, but we know if we miss a weekend then 24 dogs will have to die because of that.” Some dogs are taken off the transport along the way, with rescue groups, adopters or humane societies meeting the transport at their various, well known pit stops where the dogs are moved to a different vehicle after a potty break and drink of water. Anne is quick to hand off the credit—“ I would be nothing if it wasn’t for my evaluators, drivers and our foster homes, without all of them this would be impossible.”
Animal Rescue Transport Team
It is an amazing effort to see in person because you know that each dog that has made it on that transport is on their way to a better place—a no-kill environment and eventually a forever home. All breeds, all sizes, all ages—looking out at you from a variety of different crates in the back of a vehicle—happy, tails wagging, as if they know they have been saved.
Coordination? After looking at Anne’s transport sheet for the week you would realize that she could run a small country…the incredibly detailed information on that sheet each week ensures that each dog gets to his or her stop on time and without ‘any bumps in the road’. “Last week we had over 80 dogs going north because a few puppy mills were shutting down.” Yes, you read that correctly—80 dogs on one transport. Anne Heckle and her volunteers certainly earn their wings every week.
Simple math puts this unbelievable effort at a minimum of 364 transport runs that have saved nearly 13,000 dogs over the 7 years that Anne and her volunteers have been at this. So if one day you look at the SUV next to you on the highway, and it has a variety of different dogs in the back, think of Anne Heckle and ARTT. To see how you can help the transport as a volunteer or with a financial donation to help cover their fuel expenses, email Anne at anne.heckle@att.net
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