Reducing euthanasia in overcrowded animal shelters by preventing heartworm disease in shelter dogs is part the goal of an annual program that kicked off early this month.
In honor of Heartworm Awareness Month, Greater Good Charities, in cooperation with Boehringer Ingelheim, launched the fourth year of the Good Flights program last April 8, which successfully transported more than 12,800 at-risk shelter pets from the South to new homes on the East Coast and in the West. That number includes nearly 1,300 asymptomatic heartworm-positive dogs as part of the Save a Heart initiative.
“It is truly amazing to know that in three years, Save a Heart, a life-saving initiative of our Good Flights program, has provided thousands of at-risk shelter dogs in the South with a second chance and a new home where they can flourish,” says Liz Baker, CEO of Greater Good Charities.
Good Flights conducts air and ground transport missions around five times each month, frequently including pets from the Save a Heart program. Alongside relocating nearly 1,300 dogs that are asymptomatic but heartworm-positive to safe locations, the Save a Heart initiative has also provided medication to thousands of heartworm-positive dogs in shelters in Louisiana and Alabama.
For more information, visit the Greater Good Charities website.