From the Heartland to the Pacific, Operation Frodo Rescues Nearly 2 Dozen Abandoned Dogs

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, but he has a bright red beard, rather than a snowy white one, and he began his annual trip a bit early this year, with a coterie of automotive journalists substituting for the usual elves, set to deliver 23 beagles rather than toys. I was one of those who made this year’s journey…and like the rest of my colleagues, it made for a unique and heartwarming holiday adventure.

It’s been three years since Nik Miles, a one-time paramedic turned automotive journalist, made his first cross-country trip to help rescue a collection of beagles, some abandoned at the side of the road, others left unwanted at puppy mills and set to be…well, I’ll let you use your imagination as to what might have happened to them if they hadn’t been brought to Basset & Beagle Rescue of the Heartland, based in Omaha, Nebraska.

There, a handful of folks had been fostering the hounds but finding a permanent home in that part of the country had proved difficult. The exact opposite was the case in the Pacific Northwest where there are plenty of people ready and willing to adopt beagles but a constant shortage of those scent hounds.

Miles and his husband, Lowell, thought they could create the necessary cross-country bridge. Calling on contacts in the auto industry they lined up a collection of loaner vehicles and some cash support. Sorting through Nik’s digital Rolodex they cajoled a group of dog-loving journalists to man the convoy and, battling an unexpected blizzard along the way, they made their pre-Christmas run.

Operation Frodo

This year marked the fourth run of what has become Operation Frodo and it was bigger than ever, with 20 journalists, auto analysts and PR people manning an assortment of “loaner” vans and SUVs and 22 more beagles…well, 23, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The first wave of drivers gathered on a cold and blustery night at a hotel on the outskirts of Omaha for a chance to meet the dedicated foster parents who collect and protect the adult dogs and puppies they’ve rescued from as far away as Clarksville, Tennessee. That’s where I first met Melvyn, but that, again, will have to wait until later. The following morning, we gathered at a local PetSmart, the national chain generously providing beds, food and other supplies for what would eventually be a more than 1,700-mile drive.

Our charges loaded up, some in dog crates, others getting a more scenic view from a lap or back seat, we headed off for the first day’s slog, to Denver.

“It wasn’t a threat. Just a fact”

Each year, as many as 6 million dogs and cats are brought to shelters across the U.S. Nearly 1 million are eventually euthanized. That understates the problem. Many more animals are simply dumped by the roadside or in the woods, others “put down” by their owners and breeders.

Certain breeds are particularly vulnerable. Beagles are popular with hunters, especially in the South, but often are tossed off like refuse if they don’t perform, or simply at the end of hunting season. Several rescue groups are dedicated specifically to that breed and, as I noted earlier, they’ve begun to network to help move unwanted animals to places where they’re desired.

Operation Frodo began when one breeder reached out to Basset and Beagle Rescue of the Midwest and said ‘You can come get them, otherwise I’ll just shoot them,” explained Harvey Briggs, a journalist from Madison, Wisconsin. “It wasn’t a threat, just a fact. That’s why we started Operation Frodo. To get these guys to homes with loving families.”

The mission grows

Briggs was enlisted early on by Miles, who wanted to get one of the rescued beagles from Omaha and bring it back with to his home in Portland. They decided to take along several others who could be adopted out through the Cascade Beagle Rescue in Portland.

Since then, the project has connected with beagle rescues in Salt Lake City and Seattle, as well. That made it possible to haul as many of the hounds as could safely squeeze into the borrowed vehicles – 22 of the dogs initially heading out for the long ride.

The convoy included vehicles provided by Ford, Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Subaru, with additional support from PetSmart, Bridgestone and the various LaQuinta hotels along the way. Convincing major chains to allow almost two dozen dogs to stay for a night required all the persuasive power Miles and Briggs could muster.

Dodging the weather

But there was little need to sweet-talk those who volunteered to drive. Anything but. Some, due to busy, end-of-year schedules, could only stay on for one of the five stops – including Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Boise and Portland. Others – like myself – could handle two or three.

Tanya Gazdik took things to the extreme, driving all the way from Detroit to Omaha to deliver one of the loaners, then all the way to Portland, a total of 2,456 miles, she proudly noted.

This year, however, proved to be far less of a challenge for the drivers than normal. The first year took days longer than expected, the original team running into blizzard conditions in Wyoming that forced them to try detouring around, then left them stranded at a remote hotel waiting for the weather to clear.

Melvyn and me

I had barely checked in at the initial Omaha hotel when I fell in love. Melvyn all but purred as started petting the 5-year-old beagle with the basset-sized ears and tail that whirled like a propeller whenever you said his name or stroked his chin.

By the following morning I was ready to adopt him myself, something I was initially told I could do. But, hours later, I found out he actually was promised to a family in Portland as a Christmas present. That broke my heart – and Nik Miles’ as well. Using all his notable persuasive powers he convinced the folks at the Cascades rescue, as well as the adoptive dog-parents, to let me take him.

“Do you want the good news or bad first?” Nik asked me at a lunch stop in western Colorado. The good news was that I could take Melvyn back to Michigan. The flip side? We’d need to find a way to get the beagle’s brother, Fred, left behind for the moment in Nebraska, out to Portland.

Homeward bound…briefly

In Salt Lake the following morning, I rented a car and said my goodbyes, wishing the latest crew of drivers good fortune. They would continue west, with an overnight layover in Idaho, then wrap up in Oregon. With my new boy curled up next to me in the passenger seat of a rented Hyundai Santa Fe, I began the long drive back to Detroit, 1,622 miles away.

For the Operation Frodo team the weather largely cooperated. For me, well, things got dicey in Wyoming, an ice storm causing numerous trucks to spin off the road on I-80. I’m still surprised the authorities didn’t close the freeway, something that happens frequently over the grueling winter months.

About 36 hours later, I pulled up to my cottage, introducing Melvyn to wife Jenn and his new fur family, Miles Dewey Dog, a rescued Lab mix, and three cats.

I’d have been happy to settle in for a long holiday break but there was one more task to perform.

Kansas City, here I come

I still had to get Fred out to his adoptive family – and before Christmas. So, at 0-dark-30 this past Saturday I loaded up on a Delta flight for Kansas City where Sharla Sitzman – who had fostered both Melvyn and Fred was set to meet me. She had left even earlier for the 177-mile drive. The problem was that the two beagles are too big to fly in approved carriers in the cabin. But due to a series of accidents, most airlines no longer will ship pets in the cargo hold. Alaska is one of those, but Kansas City is the closest city to Omaha where it has a direct flight to Portland.

Once we met, Sharla brought me to a relative’s home near the airport. That afternoon, as we headed back to the terminal she discovered her keys were missing. We borrowed her brother-in-law’s car but, as we approached the airport I realized that, while we had Fred and his crate, my bags, including my laptop computer had been left behind. Eventually, everything resolved, we loaded Fred up, I climbed onboard my aircraft and we were off for Portland.

The finale? With the help of Nik and Lowerll, we delivered Fred to a lovely – and loving – couple, the beagle instantly bonding with their two older dogs. As I left, the new owners were already spoiling him with pets and treats. I caught the next direct flight back to Detroit where I discovered Melvyn was already curling up with both his “brother” Miles Dewey, as well as our three cats.

“You got your dog a dog,” one of my Op Frodo colleagues joked. But Nik made a more poignant comment, suggesting those who make the journey “will change forever.” Indeed, and clearly for the better. And, no, I’m not tearing up. I just have some dust in my eyes.

Operation Frodo 2025 will return next December 14 through 17.