01/21/2026
10 years ago this month, we made our first trip. It was a little dog in Dallas that needed to go to a rescue in Houston. I had just bought the RV and needed to learn how to use all the RV stuff, so I dropped the pup off and went to Galveston for a few days.
This has been a couple of years coming, but as of this month, we have officially closed. We had cut off donations a long time ago while we were thinking of trying to get going again, but that day just hasn't come. I find it hard to admit but Shiloh is now 11 and already has a couple of spondylosis spots in her spine and arthritis in her hips. Since she has never slept while I drive, she has reached the age where it takes forever to recover from being awake 30+ hours. Okay, I have reached that age as well, but I can't stand to see her stiff AND exhausted. Our recent trips have been limited to vacations with a 4-5 hour max drive, and more like 2-3 hours at a stretch. And I am not about to start leaving her behind in these last chapters.
We didn't know how a no-charge, donation-driven transport would go, but we found success in the generous hearts of so many, many people. People we never met, people we loved working with, and people who heard about us "somewhere" ensured we had anything we needed, when we needed it. We were shocked at how much support we received on a regular basis, and even more how the donations poured in whenever we had a special request. People that allowed us, in just over 8 years, to transport 4,252 dogs and 1 cat. We traveled over 324,000 miles on this journey, over 172,000 of those with dogs on board, the rest coming home. We don't know how big a difference we made, but we feel pretty sure we made a difference for 4,252 dogs, 1 cat, and hopefully a few people. I have my personal RV that now has 234,000 miles on it, we wore out one used one along the way, and donated our most recently purchased one to another 501(c)3 rescue who goes to Colorado on a regular basis. In fact, they had the wiring harness fixed (darn rats), new tires mounted, and were ready to take it to Colorado three days after we signed the title over. There were many tears when we offered, so we know we made the right decision with it. Everything else, including leftover funds, crates, blankets, cleaning supplies, and every other item we had received or bought was parted out to different 501(c)3 rescues to maybe help them out on the back end as well. We always believed every item donated was an item we didn't have to spend money on, so that meant more gas and more miles.
Thank you to all the so many supporters, we couldn't have done it without you, you helped to improve the lives of so many right along with us, and for that we are forever grateful!
To the rescues out there: Start trying better to work with each other. There is more than one way to do most anything, so everyone who does it differently than you isn't necessarily wrong. Some are, but most aren't and you need to judge the difference logically for yourselves. BUT, you can save so many more, solve so many issues, and make it much more enjoyable if you can work together!!!
Thank you for going on this journey with us........
