Thousands of dogs dumped in the South are welcomed in the North

Michael Bailey with P.E.T.S. holds a dog as he cleans out its crate during a stopover at a gas station on Rossville Boulevard for gas and to pick up two new dogs from a rescue Thursday, April 14, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company, which stands for Peterson Express Transport Service, transports dogs from shelters in the south to be adopted in New England. Michael Bailey with P.E.T.S. holds a dog as he cleans out its crate during a stopover at a gas station on Rossville Boulevard for gas and to pick up two new dogs from a rescue Thursday, April 14, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company, which stands for Peterson Express Transport Service, transports dogs from shelters in the south to be adopted in New England.

By Steve Johnson April 25, 2016 6 min read

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Dogs dumped in the South are welcomed in the North

Jason Gentry with P.E.T.S. picks up a dog to clean out its crate during a stopover at a gas station on Rossville Boulevard for gas and to pick up two new dogs from a rescue Thursday, April 14, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company, which stands for Peterson Express Transport Service, transports dogs from shelters in the south to be adopted in New England.

Jason Gentry with P.E.T.S. holds a dog as he cleans out its crate during a stopover at a gas station on Rossville Boulevard for gas and to pick up two new dogs from a rescue Thursday, April 14, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company, which stands for Peterson Express Transport Service, transports dogs from shelters in the south to be adopted in New England.

A dog waits on a leash as a P.E.T.S. employee cleans its crate during a stopover at a gas station on Rossville Boulevard for gas and to pick up two new dogs from a rescue Thursday, April 14, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company, which stands for Peterson Express Transport Service, transports dogs from shelters in the south to be adopted in New England.

A dog waits in a crate as the P.E.T.S. truck makes a stopover at a gas station on Rossville Boulevard for gas and to pick up two new dogs from a rescue Thursday, April 14, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company, which stands for Peterson Express Transport Service, transports dogs from shelters in the south to be adopted in New England.

Jason Gentry with P.E.T.S. refills water bowls for dogs during a stopover at a gas station on Rossville Boulevard for gas and to pick up two new dogs from a rescue Thursday, April 14, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company, which stands for Peterson Express Transport Service, transports dogs from shelters in the south to be adopted in New England.

Melissa Adams with the rescue Emily's Friends holds a dog being taken to New England for adoption as P.E.T.S. worker Michael Bailey checks over its paperwork during the truck's stopover at a Rossville Boulevard gas station Thursday, April 14, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company, which stands for Peterson Express Transport Service, transports dogs from shelters in the south to be adopted in New England.

Melissa Adams with the rescue Emily's Friends kisses a dog being taken to New England for adoption as P.E.T.S. worker Michael Bailey checks over its paperwork during the truck's stopover at a Rossville Boulevard gas station Thursday, April 14, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company, which stands for Peterson Express Transport Service, transports dogs from shelters in the south to be adopted in New England.

Melissa Adams with the rescue Emily's Friends hands a dog being taken to New England for adoption to P.E.T.S. worker Michael Bailey during the truck's stopover at a Rossville Boulevard gas station Thursday, April 14, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company, which stands for Peterson Express Transport Service, transports dogs from shelters in the south to be adopted in New England.

P.E.T.S. worker Michael Bailey carries a dog into the transportation truck where his coworker Jason Gentry cleans up during a stopover at a Rossville Boulevard gas station Thursday, April 14, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company, which stands for Peterson Express Transport Service, transports dogs from shelters in the south to be adopted in New England.

A family stops to watch as P.E.T.S. worker Jason Gentry closes up the transportation truck during a stopover at a Rossville Boulevard gas station Thursday, April 14, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The company, which stands for Peterson Express Transport Service, transports dogs from shelters in the south to be adopted in New England.

The young Labrador retriever doesn’t want to get out of Debbie Ginn’s car, parked in the rear of the MAPCO truck stop on Rossville Boulevard just a few blocks south of Interstate 24.

The roar of the diesel engines is frightening as the big trucks pull around to the fuel pumps.

And so is the medley of barks, howls, yelps and woofs coming from the brightly painted P.E.T.S. truck parked nearby.

Ginn found the dog three months ago during the Christmas holidays, wandering around with his mother in Marion County. Even now, after weeks of regular meals, he is too thin, and he has the skittishness of a dog that has been mistreated.

But Ginn manages to tug on his leash enough to get him into the arms of Jason Gentry, and the four-year P.E.T.S. veteran loads him into a crate among the 50-odd other lucky former strays on the truck who are leaving the Southeast on this Thursday afternoon for a better life up North.