A new leash on life

PONDERAY - Eighteen dogs and four puppies from Southern California shelters that practice euthanasia gained brighter futures in North Idaho on Monday.

The canines were delivered to the Panhandle via Wings of Rescue, a nonprofit which uses volunteer pilots to distribute potentially doomed dogs to no-kill shelters around the country.

"It's pretty amazing," said Sera Johnson, assistant manager of the Panhandle Animal Shelter.

The latest delivery was stymied by bad weather, which thwarted landings in Lewiston, Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint.

"The weather was so bad they couldn't land anywhere," Johnson said.

But the weather in the Panhandle cleared on Monday, allowing Wings of Rescue to land in Coeur d'Alene. Eight dogs from shelters in Downey and Baldwin Park were relocated to the shelter in Kootenai County and the 22 other dogs were driven to Bonner County, Johnson said.

The dogs shouldn't have too much trouble finding homes. Chickpea, an 8-month-old short-haired Chihuahua/terrier mix, readily emerged from her crate and sniffed her new surroundings and volunteers.

Chickpea seemed more scared by the chilly weather than by anything else.

Johnson said Wings of Rescue has relocated as many as 600 dogs nationwide in its latest push.

"Probably more than 600 by now," Johnson said.

The shelter determined that it had enough capacity to accept some of the dogs.

"We only take them when we know we have enough room for them," Johnson said.