11/17/2025
Placement and Transport of unwanted animals is something Leech Lake Legacy does expertly. But like ducks on the water, we appear calm on the surface while paddling like mad underneath. The weekend before Give to the Max Day is the perfect case in point.
There was a time, before COVID, when we could accept most every surrender request because placement opportunities were abundant. These days, however, our partner shelters and rescues deal with lower adoption rates, limited availability of foster home and kennel space, higher demand for surrender, and difficulty financing veterinary care, all of which limits their ability to accept placement requests from us. Adult dogs continue to be the most difficult to find placement for, which causes us much distress.
Our partner shelters and rescues move heaven and earth to say “yes” to every request we send their way, but we cannot and do not take in animals that we don’t have placement for. This means that, behind the scenes, we stay in constant communication with our partners about available placement spots. We maintain a detailed list (including photos) of surrender requests, which we compare against available placement spots. When we get a match, we schedule a surrender appointment. We improve the chances of a “yes” from our partners by providing some vet care and diagnostics for the sick and injured through Animal Care Clinic of Bemidji, but we don’t have unlimited financial resources for this. We also improve the chances of a “yes” by working with the University of Minnesota School of Veterinary Medicine to have some surrendered cats spayed or neutered before placement.
This weekend before Give to the Max Day, placement and transport was arranged for 74 cats and 37 dogs (putting us over 2,000 so far this year). These animals came from surrenders from Leech Lake, Red Lake, and White Earth reservations. They came from animal control agencies and shelters in northern Minnesota. Some animals even make stops at multiple locations—shelters, impounds, vet clinics—before they find their way onto one of our transports.
To transport all these animals, volunteers made sure we have sufficient temporary animal housing, complete with food, litter, and cozy blankets. They may sure we have clean travel crates. They carefully sort and load those travel crates onto our vans, making sure each animal is as comfortable as possible for a long day on the road. Even after departure, volunteers remain to clean crates and kennels and dishes, do laundry, restock supplies, and bring some sense of cleanliness and order to our building.
We often mention the power of partnerships in our communications. Without those partnerships, we could not accomplish a fraction of what we’re able to accomplish, every day, every week, every year, looking like a duck: calm on the surface while paddling like mad underneath.
Our transport vans “Bertha” and “Trooper” log hundreds of miles every week. They require regular maintenance to ensure they run safely and well, with reliable heat and AC, no matter the season, weather, or road conditions. They not only move animals, but they also pick up and move donated pet food and supplies.
Your Give to the Max donation helps us purchase all the supplies we need to house and transport animals, maintain our transport vans, feed and house our volunteers, keep things clean and orderly, and pay for vet care for surrendered animals in need.
https://www.givemn.org/donate/Leech-Lake-Legacy
We’re especially excited this year to have a $30,000 matching grant available to help us replace “Bertha.” With well over 220,000 miles and a lot of wear and tear on her, we can’t risk expensive repairs or a breakdown on the road. Double your donation a here:
https://give.mn/fwjxrf
