Animal Rescues Work Together to Save 14 Dogs Set to Be Euthanized Right Before Christmas

Best Friends Animal Society transported 14 dogs set to be put down from a shelter in Texas to a New York rescue with room to care for the pups with help from numerous animal rescue partners

Photo: Best Friends Animal Society

Dogs set to be euthanized before 2022 got to celebrate the new year thanks to the hard work of several animal rescue groups.

In December, Best Friends Animal Society received an email from a concerned animal lover about a Texas animal control shelter planning to euthanize 14 dogs because the facility could not care for the pets while the shelter was closed over the Christmas holiday.

Best Friends sprang into action and reached out to their extensive network of animal rescue partners to see if a shelter could take in the canines. Helping Hounds, a dog rescue near Syracuse, New York, volunteered to provide a holiday home to all the dogs, so Best Friends set to work getting the 14 pooches from Texas to New York.

Best Friends Animal Society

The pups were loaded up in a pet-safe transport van and driven to Indiana, arriving in the state right before Christmas. Instead of finishing the long trip over the holiday, the dogs' rescuers reached out to local shelters for assistance. Indiana's Brown County Humane Society and Bartholomew County Humane Society offered to house the rescue pets over Christmas weekend.

Several dogs became so comfortable in their Indiana stopover shelters that the facilities agreed to keep the pups until they could find forever homes for the pets. Best Friends Animal Society drove the remaining dogs to Helping Hounds, where all of the pups received a warm welcome.

Best Friends Animal Society

Those dogs are now receiving treatment for previous injuries and health issues and will soon be placed for adoption. Until then, they are enjoying a little rest and relaxation after an eventful few weeks.

"We are grateful to the many people who jumped in to help transport these dogs across the country during the holidays," Audrey Lodato, a senior strategist for Best Friends Animal Society, said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. "The only way to achieve no-kill in the U.S. is through collaboration like this transport between shelters, rescue organizations, and community members. Shelter staff have been overwhelmed during the pandemic and need extra support from the community to provide services for pets."