Save Us!!

HELP SAVE AN ORPHANED ANIMAL

Millions of dogs and cats are killed in shelters every year because there aren't enough homes for them all. Many of these are killed in gas chambers, which is a horrendous way to die.

The shelters listed below are particularly crowded, and animals are killed there daily due to lack of permanent or foster homes.

If you choose a homeless animal from any of these shelters, we will work out transport to your area.
(If you'd like to join the UnderHound Railroad and help with transporting or fostering rescue animals, notify us).

Please consider adopting an animal from any of these shelters (your local shelter should be your first choice, but consider adding a homeless animal from one of the shelters below to your family, too). Foster homes and rescue drivers are also greatly needed.

If you can help, notify us at info@GoBlackBeauty.com.

For transport help, notify Dena@UnderHoundRailroad.com.
To find a homeless animal in your area, go to www.petfinder.org.

Furry Friends Foundation
Indiana shelters:
Huntington County
New Castle
Lagrange
Evansville
Vincennes
Kentucky shelters:
Mercer County
Virginia shelters:
Rockbridge
Pulaski/Giles/Floyd County
Westmoreland County
Martinsville-Henry

West Virginia shelters:
Monongalia
Mingo
Mason County
Ritchie
New Milton
Jefferson County
Brooke County
Boone County
Mercer
Marion County
Taylor County
Barbour County
Tucker County

UnderHound Railroad

The UnderHound Railroad is a team of diehard "Road Warriors", an ever-evolving, fastly-growing group of animal devotees dedicated to the peaceful liberation of our nation's most desperate castoffs languishing on Deathrows across America 's shelters. We are a team of like-minded animal rescuers, activists and protectionists. We are transporters. We are philanthropists. We are shelter staff. We are receiving rescue groups. We are coordinators.

We are UnderHound Railroad. Our Philosophy

To help save the most animals per mission as is practically possible. We aim to maximize efficiency without sacrificing the safety of our precious cargo and the team that serves them. We recognize that the journey for our furry friends is oftentimes nothing short of grueling. It's a long day that starts before daybreak. Sometimes we're pulling into the last station just before sunrise the next day. We are committed to saving lives. To effect that goal, we offer coach class tickets to first class lives.

How We Work and Who We Serve

We are dedicated to helping any shelter facility who is committed to saving lives. Our key point of differentiation is the transfer of "due diligence" from the transport coordination team to the shelter of origin. This allows UHRR to do what we do best and do it efficiently. All participating shelters must have a thorough review process of all destination groups. We want to know that everything within the shelter's power has been done to ensure the safety of their animals.

Marketing Strategy

We employ a "push/pull" strategy of matching shelter animals with rescue groups. A more passive strategy, the Pull Strategy is the predominant style of getting animals out of shelters and into rescue groups. Most shelters have rescue groups they work with who pull regularly. To augment the pull strategy, UHRR is employing a Push Strategy through what we call "Hit Lists". A Hit List is a group of our shelters' most Desperate Deathrow animals needing to get out before the gas chamber door shuts them out for life. Prior to a mission, we will aggressively market these Deathrow Animals to the rescue community. The focus of UnderHound Railroad is in networking, in branching out and forging new relationships so that no one group gets worn out. We are a virtual "Critter Cafe" comprised of a labyrinthine maze of computer terminals coming together to accomplish the goal of saving lives.

We Are Expanding

The impoundment facilities we currently serve are in West Virginia , Ohio , Indiana , Virginia , Kentucky and Maryland . UnderHound Railroad first blazed trails through the Midwest to as far as Manitoba , Canada . We are now laying tracks up the Northeast corridor. Ultimately, we wish to serve shelters in the South, South Central and Western territories.

What We Need

Drivers - Cargo vans - Overnighters - "Safe Zone" Foster Homes - Regional coordinators - Donation dollars - Public Relations Volunteers - Web Designers.

Cargo Vans: Vehicular capacity is our single most limiting constraint. In the absence of cargo vans, we still welcome drivers with smaller vehicles who can caravan together on legs en route to destination. If you don't have a cargo van, please do not let this deter you from signing up. Overnighters: Our routes are oftentimes very long. In our Midwest missions, we travel as far as Chicago/Minneapolis/Manitoba. We've been doing the runs in one straight shot that is logistically easier but can be a challenge for our passengers. Once we establish other UHR zones, for example the West Coast, we will need overnighters to serve as a stopover connection from the Midwest . "Safe Zone" Foster Homes: Each shelter works differently and under different conditions. Some shelters cannot hold animals past a certain date. Some perfunctorily euthanize on set days of the week. For these shelters we need to establish holding zones where animals who have been pulled can stay until the upcoming mission. Some of our safe zones are kennels who charge a nominal fee or donate unused kennel space, volunteer homes, veterinary practices, etc. Regional Coordinators: The Northeast and Midwest regions have coordinators, but more are welcome to provide relief or assistance to existing coordinators. After we establish these two regions, we'd like to establish UHRR teams in the South, South Central and West Coast states. If you are interested in forming your own UHRR team in these pioneering regions please contact dena@underhoundrailroad.com. The existing UHRR infrastructure will be available to you. Donation Dollars: We need financial support for renting cargo vans (and gas) in areas where we have drivers without large vehicles. Our donors provide assistance for kennel fees where needed. If you're busy with less time on your hands, lending financial assistance is a great way to contribute to saving lives. Public Relations Volunteers: At present, our Midwest coordination team writes press releases and contacts media entities if time allows. Rarely do we have the time to perform this important function. Pushing information out beyond the rescue community and into the homes and corporations is vitally important.

Web Designers: We have reserved http://www.underhoundrailroad.org/ and http://www.underhoundrailroad.com/! We need website designers to volunteer their expertise to develop these sites. At some point down the railroad we'd like to use the .com site for commerce where a portion of the proceeds will go towards funding UHR's rescue efforts. We will need vendors and wholesale suppliers to participate. If interested in developing these websites please contact Dena Allen at dena@underhoundrailroad.com.