In Jackson, Tenn., Paddy gained a companion. Whenever possible, Sescilla tries to move more than one dog per trip, and for this trip she arranged for a cruelty case named Buck to join the caravan from Tennessee to New Mexico.
A skinny white terrier -- or possibly pit bull mix -- Buck has nubs for ears, the result of a bad home ear-cropping attempt. He was taken from abusive owners and placed in a county pound with a high euthanasia rate.
Hearts of Gold Pit Bull Rescue in Memphis, Tenn., paid to spring him. They posted his story and photo on Petfinder, and an Arizona truck driver and his wife decided to adopt him as their fourth dog.
Julee Fleming, 46, who "fostered" Buck for three weeks in her home while waiting for a transport to be arranged, said she would miss him.
"He's sweet, sweet, sweet," she said.
Fleming said she decided to work with animals rather than the elderly or children after consulting her Bible.
"It said, 'The man who cares for his domestic animals is blessed. God gave man dominion over the animals.' So I said OK, I'm doing animals.... They are not masters of their fate; they're just floating along in the human deal."
The rest of the first day was a blur of strip malls and chain stores. As the hours and miles dragged on, Paddy and Buck were passed from one strange set of hands to the next, through Memphis and the Ozarks, and on into Oklahoma.
At 11:45 p.m., after 19 hours, 894 miles and eight cars, the bone-weary dogs arrived at the home of Jennifer and Doug Shultz, where they would spend the night.
Pullen of the Humane Society says it is possible to drive an animal too hard.
"There's so much emphasis on not euthanizing animals that in some cases we have failed them by not euthanizing them," she said. In their zeal to rescue animals in need, people sometimes "do not ask, 'Can this animal make this trip? Is this an animal that is adoptable?' The answer is often no."
Cinnamon Muhlbauer, who took over the Canine Underground Railroad from Banks in 2002, agrees that some transporters fail to assess which dogs are suitable candidates. She said when 38 puppies were recently moved from a Bakersfield shelter to Oregon, for instance, seven of them died. They were too young, she said.
"The Internet has been a great boon to [animal] transport and rescue," she said. "There are lots of great folks out there ... who are ethical and dedicated. But it has also brought out a lot of nuts I wouldn't trust to transport my garbage."
