By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Thirty-four dogs and 21 kittens were flown out of Del Rio on Friday, en route to forever homes in the eastern United States.
In the warm summer twilight, several dozen local volunteers with Border Animal Mission (BAM) unloaded crates containing the dogs and cats from their personal vehicles and carried them to an airplane parked on the ramp at Del Rio International Airport outside Pico Aviation.
Rio International Airport on Friday, as Jessica Halprin, left, head of Border Animal Mission, and Nelda Corbell, at right, in plane, president of Wings of Rescue, look on. (Photo by Karen
Gleason)
The BAM volunteers had provided foster homes for the animals. After placing the crates near the plane, many crouched beside them, saying their final goodbyes and tearfully reassuring their furry charges they were headed to good homes.
After all the crates were lined up, BAM volunteers assisted Jessica Halprin, BAM founder and director, and Nelda Corbell, president of Wings of Rescue, in loading them into the aircraft, a Saab 340B.
Halprin said Friday’s flight was another result of BAM’s partnership with Wings of Rescue, a nonprofit animal rescue organization.
“Wings of Rescue’s goal is to take animals out of areas where the shelters are packed, like ours, and fly them up to the Northeast, where we have other rescue partners that are constantly calling and telling us they’re empty. They say, ‘Our kennels are empty; please send us some animals,'” Halprin said.
“Wings of Rescue is the link to get our animals there. I work really closely with Nelda Corbell, the president of Wings of Rescue, and she is who I reach out to when we coordinate the different flights,” she added.
Halprin said she and other BAM volunteers previously transported rescued animals to Dallas, where they would be flown to their final destinations. Depending on the size of the dogs, those trips could accommodate about 30 animals.
“We started sending animals in November or December of last year, and we’ve been doing that every month, and the max that we could send was about 30, depending on the size of the dogs. At one point, they were all going in my car,” Halprin said.
Having flights depart directly from Del Rio is a major step forward, Halprin said.
She added one of the best parts of the local departures is that foster families can say goodbye to the animals just before takeoff.
“We cry, and it’s a very feel-good moment, and I’m glad to be able to share that with the fosters,” Halprin said.
Halprin said Wings of Rescue is expected to return to Del Rio in October.
She said all of the dogs and cats on Friday’s flight were pulled from the euthanasia lists at Val Verde County Animal Control and the City of Del Rio Animal Services Department.
“We directly take those animals who were on the euthanasia list, and we send them out of the state. We get them out of the area because we are in an overpopulation crisis right now,” Halprin said.
Halprin added Wings of Rescue also helps BAM fund its spay-and-neuter clinics, along with the Bissell Foundation.
“The transport (of animals) is not a long-term fix, by any means. It’s not going to save all the animals, but the spay and neuter is a long-term fix,” Halprin said. “Transporting animals out of the area is like a supplement to the spay and neuter. It’s getting the animals that have already been born out of here, and then the rest of it is preventing unwanted animals from being born in the first place.”
Halprin said BAM is always looking for additional foster families. Anyone interested in fostering a rescued dog or cat can email fostering@borderanimalmission.org. The group’s foster coordinator will provide an application and additional information.
She also said BAM is working with Val Verde County to place a series of holding kennels at the county’s animal control facility.
The kennels will serve as a temporary holding area until rescued animals can be moved into foster homes and eventually onto flights out of the area.
Halprin said Friday’s aircraft first stopped in Dallas to pick up additional animals before continuing to destinations in Maryland and Maine, where the flight arrived about 7 a.m. Saturday.
She reiterated the next Wings of Rescue flight to Del Rio is expected in October.
Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez, whose animal control division works closely with BAM, joined Halprin and other volunteers on the airport ramp to watch the animals being loaded.
Martinez was accompanied by several members of his animal control division, who regularly work with BAM.
“I wanted to support our partnership with Border Animal Mission. I think they’re a good thing for our community, and I think nothing but positive is going to come from this,” Martinez said.
Val Verde County Commissioners Court has also signaled its support for BAM and Halprin’s work.
On June 17, commissioners approved Halprin’s request to use a portion of the Judge Antonio “Tony” Faz County Annex on July 4 for a free community microchipping seminar.
During the same meeting, the court approved a memorandum of understanding to work with BAM in the future.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
