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For the past four years, Denisse Prater has been transporting dogs from overcrowded shelters around Texas to their new homes across the country.
Her business, K9 Delivery, drives a special box truck modified for doggy comfort to both the East and West Coasts, as well as through the Midwest on a route from Missouri to Minnesota. She said they typically drive 30 to 40 dogs out of state every weekend.
But last month, her usual number of transports was quickly cut in half as states put in place new restrictions on moving animals from Texas in response to a flesh-eating fly called the New World screwworm.
The livestock parasite was detected in the U.S. in June for the first time in decades. U.S. agriculture officials have confirmed just over 40 cases in Texas and New Mexico in cattle, sheep, goats and three dogs, as of July 22.
Now, nearly every state has put in place added requirements for animals traveling from the areas around confirmed cases or the entire state of Texas. And that has complicated the work of animal rescue organizations that rely on transporting dogs and cats to places where they are more likely to be adopted.
"It's been overwhelming to keep up with the (state) orders," said Prater. "I check on them twice a week."
Each state has its own version of transport restrictions, but most require an animal to have an entry permit and have documentation showing they've been inspected by a veterinarian five to seven days before travel. Several states, including Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan, also require some animals to receive medication that can kill and guard against the screwworm maggots.
The preventative measures were recommended by a coalition of national animal rescue groups, including the ASPCA and veterinary medicine schools, after several states initially outright banned animals coming from Texas.
Sandra Newbury, director of the University of Wisconsin's Shelter Medicine Program, helped lead the effort. She said preventing the spread of screwworms is actually simple for shelter pets because vets can use common flea and tick medications.
"We can kind of have our cake and eat it too, because we can be really careful," Newbury said. "We can be sure that animals are treated before they leave Texas, or before they leave an infested zone. And if they are, what we see is that we don't need to worry about it that much."
But completing the new requirements is still a challenge for many shelters in Texas, according to Ellen Jefferson, president and CEO of animal rescue organization Austin Pets Alive.
"Over 200 shelters in Texas do not have access to a veterinarian, so giving them even the medicine is really, really hard," she said.
Jefferson, who is a veterinarian, said her organization has been trying to become the "vet on record" for as many small shelters as possible so they can access the preventative treatments. They've also advocated for Texas to temporarily allow vets to provide supervision remotely, or allow out-of-state vets or trained volunteers to administer the treatments.
Even before the screwworm scare, Jefferson said rural shelters in Texas were euthanizing animals because they are so overcrowded. She said many have a budget of around $100 per animal – a total she said is barely enough to cover food and basic needs, not veterinary care.
She said these challenges won't go away even if the threat of the screwworm subsides.
"Honestly, I think that Texas needs to figure out how to adopt in Texas," she said. "Everybody uses transport as a Band-Aid because of the low funding that exists in so many of these shelters. It is kind of the only way to get pets out is to transfer them to other agencies that have more money, but that's not really sustainable."
Even for animal rescues that can afford veterinary care, the new restrictions have taken a toll, according to Prater. She said groups used to have 30 days before transport to have a dog seen by a vet, so it’s been a struggle to manage the tight turnaround between inspection and travel.
"At the beginning, people were panicking," she said. "There were no appointments, and what some vets did is they extended their hours to make this happen. It was crazy."
Prater, who also works as a nurse, said the rapid shut down and unclear guidance in June felt akin to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. agriculture officials are working to stop further spread of the New World screwworm using surveillance programs and sterile flies that can be released to prevent further breeding.
But Prater said she thinks animal rescues need to be prepared to keep meeting the new travel requirements, even if the pest is once again eradicated in Texas.
"How can you tell a fly not to come over, cross state lines?" she said. "I think it's going to be something we're always going to have to deal with."
This story was produced in partnership with Harvest Public Media, a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest and Great Plains. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.
