Markets In Everything -- Unfortunately
Kate Murphy writes in The New York Times about what are basically markets in rescue dogs:

Over the past 15 years, rescue organizations have shipped millions of shelter dogs from poorer communities in the South to wealthier places in the Northeast, Pacific Northwest and Midwest, where stricter spay and neuter laws have resulted in a dwindling supply.

Relocating rescue dogs "can be a lifesaving thing," said Sandra Newbury, a veterinarian and director of the shelter medicine program at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After all, overcrowding at shelters puts more animals at risk for euthanasia.

But she worries that things have gotten out of hand. Overzealous rescue organizations and shelters, under pressure to increase their live-release rates, might be harming animals as well as creating barriers to adoption. "Why would you ever put a dog through transport if you could place it in the local community?" Dr. Newbury asked.

The journey can be perilous, especially for puppies and kittens, which are more vulnerable to stress. Some animals have escaped from the vans transporting them and been hit by passing cars. Others have overheated. In May, 26 dogs died from excessive heat in a vehicle owned by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals while being shipped from Mississippi to Wisconsin.

The transporter may have a heart of gold or just be in it for the money. Shelters and rescue groups sometimes pay transporters to take the dogs on the front end, while others may pay to receive them. Adoption fees can top $500, as it is now fashionable to adopt rescue animals.

When shipping rescue dogs becomes a profitable enterprise, there's a good chance the shipping, at least sometimes, has very little to do with the good of the dogs.

As a result, animal rescue has become a "retail operation," said Greg Damianoff, director of the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care, Houston's municipal shelter. Rescue groups have been known to duke it out over the most desirable dogs like shoppers over a marked-down Armani gown. "You get a maltipoo in here and you're likely to see a blood bath," he said.

The hot commodities are the smaller, scruffy or fluffy dogs like the puppies Mr. Martinez was after. Shelters bundle loads of these dogs, known as the "cute and cuddlies" or easy-to-flip "flipper puppers," with larger, older Labrador or pit bull mixes that are harder to move.

Mr. Damianoff sees sending off animals that locals may want as the only way to save the less desirable animals in his inventory. His shelter has a capacity of around 300 dogs and sometimes gets as many as 150 in a day. "We're not trying to exclude anyone, but the whole thing is to get the animals out of here alive," Mr. Damianoff said.

But as with many things that start with good intentions, there have been unsettling consequences, chief among them the recent deaths.