By Javier Mota
Dec 23, 2023, 19:26 PM EST
Operation Frodo 1650which this year celebrated its second edition, is an initiative promoted by Animal Rescue Rigs https://animalrescuerigs.com, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the manufacture of vehicles specialized in transporting animals in natural disaster areas that are donated to pet shelters throughout the country.
The name Frodo comes from the first dog saved in the inaugural operation that took place in 2022 and 1,650 corresponds to the approximate distance in miles from Omaha and Portland, although the total reached 1,995 miles in 34 hours of driving, once the routes within each of the stops were added: Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah, and Boise, Idaho.
One of the reasons for these starting and ending points is that the organization Basset and Beagle Rescue of the Heartland in Omaha, Nebraska, has an excess of Beagle dogs because the Midwest is one of the centers of commercial pet breeding (Puppy Mills) largest in the country, in addition to the fact that hunters discard them once the season is over and finally, because these dogs are commonly used by laboratories for various medical experiments.
The Operation Frodo 2023 caravan, made up of 14 journalists who drove, a Subaru Crosstrek Sporta Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek Editiona Hyundai Santa Fe and a Ford Expeditionleft Omaha on December 17 carrying 12 dogs – two of which were adopted in Denver – and arrived in Portland four days later to deliver the remaining 10 dogs to the organizations. Cascade Beagle Rescue and Seattle Beagle Rescuewhere these adoption homes will find their adoptive families.
From Portland, the 10 rescued dogs were transported to Seattle in a 2024 Honda Pilot.
“It wasn’t just a car ride, it was about completing a mission,” said Nik Miles, Founder of Animal Rescue Rigs and organizer of Operation Frodo 1650.
According to figures from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, ASPCAfor its acronym in English, approximately 6.5 million animals enter shelters each year in the United States, but only 3.2 million are adopted and according to the Rescue Paw Foundation, the window of hope to save the life of a pet that enters a shelter refuge is only 72 hours.
Efforts like Operation Frodo 1650 have helped significantly reduce the number of animals surrendered to shelters in the United States (more than 20 million in 1973) and provide funding for rescue organizations to continue reducing that number.
Thanks to these and other initiatives, the number of dogs and cats entering animal shelters in the United States in 2020 fell by 32 and 23%, respectively, while the total number of pets euthanized fell by 44%.
Podcast in English: We drove 1,650 miles to save 12 beagles for the Holidays #listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Xb8YpsgRISm8X489u2dql