We have had many years to refine the Saving Train program and policies, and as a result we have been able to find the right balance for transferring local animals and the animals that come from our partner shelters. Thanks to a $5,000 grant that was awarded to us in 2012 from the Doris Day Animal Foundation, we have been able to start a fund that provides special needs animals. An additional grant in late 2014 from the ASPCA has helped us to increase our capacity for spaying and neutering the Saving Train animals, taking some of the burden off of underfunded public facilities. Over the years, it has become clear that the Saving Train is the single most important program we have at SoHumane.

The objective of the Saving Train is to save as many lives as we can, while alleviating companion overpopulation through spaying and neutering. In addition, by bringing animals to the SoHumane facility, the other shelters we work with have more space available in their facilities for displaced pets in their communities. This includes the public shelter in our own community, which in 2012 began transferring animals to SoHumane in an effort to reduce their euthanasia rate. According to one shelter in Northern California, their euthanasia rate went down by over 30% in 2010 due to the efforts of the SoHumane Saving Train.