Susan Patterson is the founder of Take Me Home Transport, a nonprofit that moves dogs from overcrowded Central Texas shelters to partner shelters in northern states.
AUSTIN, Texas — As the nation prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary this summer, one Austin woman has spent more than a decade quietly doing her part to make it a better place — helping man’s best friend.
Susan Patterson is the founder of Take Me Home Transport, a nonprofit that moves dogs from overcrowded Central Texas shelters to partner shelters in northern states where adoptable animals are in shorter supply.
The idea came to her more than 13 years ago, when she was volunteering at an Austin animal shelter that was routinely over capacity.
“I wanted to transport dogs,” Patterson said. “I wanted to pull dogs out of the overcrowded shelters down here that have to euthanize for space and transport them to the northern states where they can get adopted.”
What started with little money and a lot of cold calls has grown into an organization running two vans and making roughly three trips a month to states including Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine and New Hampshire. Where Patterson once had to work hard to get shelters on the phone, those same shelters now call her — requesting more dogs.
One of those dogs was a stray named Bob, who arrived at a Central Texas shelter with a mysterious leg injury. A New Hampshire SPCA agreed to take him in, so Patterson’s service gave him a lift.
“He actually had two severe breaks in his leg,” said Kelly Marinel, who works at the New Hampshire SPCA. “We moved quickly and scheduled him for the amputation right away.”
Bob recovered in Marinel’s office — and won her over in the process.
“That’s when I really became attached and got obsessed with his personality,” she said. Marinel ended up adopting Bob herself, about a year after losing her previous dog. “I feel like he came into my life at almost the exact right time — like he was being sent to me by my previous dog.”
Patterson said a dog like Bob may have had little chance of survival had he stayed in a crowded Texas facility.
“We just had to give him the chance,” she said.
Take Me Home Transport has expanded its reach in recent years, now working with shelters in Lockhart, Luling, Georgetown and Gonzales. The organization relies entirely on donations to cover fuel, tolls, oil changes and driver pay, and is currently raising money to replace one of its vans.
Information on how to donate is available at takemehometransport.org.
This story is part of an ongoing series highlighting remarkable Central Texans ahead of America’s 250th anniversary celebration.