Volunteers rescue animals via ‘underground railroad’

"I read about animal-rescue transports in an article, and I thought, 'You mean complete strangers get together in cyberspace and sign up for "legs" to drive an animal an hour and pass it off to the next person until it finally makes it home?'" says Silva, whose two years of research culminated in a book, "Fifteen Legs: When All That Stands Between Death and Freedom Is a Ride" (Riverbank Press, $22.95), and a documentary that she is shopping around.

Anyone who rescues animals knows that geography plays a huge role in saving animals facing euthanasia at kill shelters. Certain parts of the country, such as the South, have an overabundance of adoptable animals. Other areas, such as the Northeast, where greater compliance with spay-neuter practices and leash laws means fewer strays and unwanted litters, have a better adoption "market."

If a dog - or a cat, or a parrot, or a potbellied pig - is in Atlanta, and an adoptive home awaits in Pittsburgh, the big challenge is getting it there as cheaply as possible.

And so, "rescue railroads" were born.

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