Emergency animal transport service needs a hand to keep helping pets, wildlife

FOX 2 - They are Michigan Animal Transport Services - a non-profit that helps sick and injured animals. From owls to fawns our feathered and furry friends need help, too.

"We are a 100 percent non-profit agency," said Allen Thompson. "Fully federally and state-recognized as an ambulance service - our only patients are animals - we don't do humans."

Thompson says, as a disabled veteran with vet tech experience - he wanted to give back, so in 2004 he started this.

"Just like a regular ambulance we're going to come out,  we're going to assess the animal, we're going to stabilize the animal and then transport them accordingly," he said.

From sick dogs and cats to other animals that are hurt or abandoned.

"If your dog is having an issue, your cat or even your domestic bird is having an issue, and the vet says we need to see them right away and you don't have a way to get them, you can contact our office," Thompson said.

From an EKG machine to monitor an animal's heart to an incubator for little birds that have fallen from their nests, he says they have to be prepared for anything.

"All of this equipment from the regular rescue to water rescue, house fires, even car accidents," Thompson said. "There's a couple of calls where animals were involved in a car accident as well."

With all of that equipment loaded in, it's difficult to even get a crate into the ambulance. Plus at 18 years old, the vehicle's just not running as well as it used to.

That odometer says 199,000 miles. The 2002 Dodge Caravan was donated to the non-profit and it covers a lot of ground - Washtenaw and all of the surrounding counties.

"That's a lot of counties to cover with that one vehicle, the front end shakes -but it gets us there," he said.

He's hoping a local community or company will donate a used ambulance so they can keep helping as many animals as possible.

"This is my passion, I love getting up in the morning and going to work," he said. "Animals, especially domestic, they are people's family members and they want us to do the best we can - so we do the best we can."

If you would like to help, go to michiganmats.org/