One of the most exciting grants that I administered this year was a transport grant from BISSELL. Ten rural shelters received $3,000 each to transport pets to less-crowded regions where they stood a better chance of being adopted. In the process, the shelters built lasting relationships with the transport groups -- meaning more lives will be saved in the future.

The grants went to shelters and rescue groups in California, Colorado, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi and South Carolina. The shelters were selected because they have low operating budgets and a high intake of adoptable pets. The shelters all promote adoption locally, but their high intake rates mean some of their adoptable pets are still at risk for euthanasia.

In February, while I was on vacation, I was lucky enough to visit one of these shelters, Clark County Animal Shelter in Kentucky. Shelter Director Beth Bowman introduced me to the pets there, and I quickly fell in love with Ella, a small Pit Bull pup rescued from a Dumpster.

"She was emaciated, extremely dehydrated and couldn't stand without falling over," Bowman told me. "She had very little hope to survive. I got some NutraCal and Dyne [a high-calorie liquid dietary supplement] for her dehydration. After 24 hours, Ella could stand up to drink. I knew at that point she was going to make it."

After the jump: Find out what happened to Ella.

On Feb. 24, Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS) in Spokane Valley, WA, seized 95 neglected horses, goats, llamas, sheep, dogs and cats from a private residence. The Petfinder.com Foundation awarded SCRAPS a $4,000 disaster-relief grant to help provide the animals with the best-possible medical care, nutritious food and rescue transport.

"This was the biggest large-animal seizure in our history," says SCRAPS development coordinator Jackie Bell told us at the time. "We don't even have a place to house large animals."

SCRAPS, which typically takes in about 450 animals a month, set up an emergency shelter at the county fairgrounds to temporarily hold the seized animals who could not be housed at the shelter.

The animals were seized due to substandard living conditions: All were underfed or malnourished, some of them near death. "Most of the animals that were seized were victims of neglect and most scored a one [the lowest possible score] on a scale of one to nine for body conditions," says Bell. "They were severely emaciated."

After the jump: Find out what happened to the rescued animals.

Rescue U volunteers are still hard at work in Emporium, PA, completing construction of the Cameron County SPCA. (Here's my first post about the project.)

The student volunteers have finished several projects so far. The concrete forms to add kennels inside and out are poured and the fences are built. They've added the plumbing the SPCA will need to set up bathing and vetting areas. There are newly built raised beds and toys for the influx of pets the shelter will receive upon completion.

The inside of the shelter was little more then framed wood when we got here. Now, the walls are insulated, up and hung, the drywall is finished. The transformation is amazing.

Watch this clip of Rescue U volunteers pouring concrete for the new dog kennels.

The trucks are packed and the volunteers are ready to work for the next Rescue U outreach trip, this time at the Cameron County SPCA in Emporium, PA . (Watch this video of our last Rescue U trip by The Dog Files.)

The SPCA is the only shelter in the community, and it is not fully functional. The shelter is being built slowly as donations come in. The animals Cameron County takes in now are mostly in foster homes -- there is no space for them at the shelter.

About 20 students from Delaware Valley College and Pennsylvania high schools will be joining the Petfinder.com Foundation to help complete the construction on the shelter's building. Students will be working on fencing and dog bathing and vetting areas, building raised beds for all the kennels, and
finishing the interior of the shelter.

The Petfinder.com Foundation has been in Kentucky at the Rowan County Animal Shelter and Menifee County Animal Shelter for the past week and the work is finally done!

There has been a ton of progress on both shelters thanks to the Rescue U student volunteers and shelter staff. The dogs are resting on newly raised dog beds and finding comfort in their fences and new roofed kennels.

But the dogs were not the only ones to get new digs! The cats have a new indoor and outdoor play area, providing them with comfort and safety while they wait for their forever homes. (Check out our video of the new cat enclosure below.)

Maybe the happiest news of all: 65 dogs will find new and loving homes! They are being transported from  overpopulated shelters to shelters and rescue groups in the Northeast including St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in New Jersey, Furry Friends in Ontario, Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation in Virginia and Animal House Rescue, Willing Hearts Dalmatian Rescue and Worthy Tails Animal Rescue in Pennsylvania.

Not only will the move improve their chances for adoption, it will provide them with a better quality of life, with less risk of illness and kennel stress, while they await adoption.

Check out this video showing some of the work students did on the cat areas in the final days of the Rescue U trip.