Twenty-two homeless dogs went on a life-saving journey from Salt Lake City to Boulder, Colo., on Feb. 24.

Salt Lake County Animal Services sent the dogs, which range in age from 2 months to 5 years, on a Rescue Waggin' to Humane Society of Boulder Valley to help them find a home and avoid euthanasia.

Because the shelter experiences an animal intake that is significantly larger than its takeout -- 32 dogs and cats arrive for every six that are adopted per day -- and the shelter can't keep them forever, the animals are put to sleep after a week or four weeks, depending on health and temperament, said April Harris, shelter operations manager of Salt Lake County Animal Services.

"In the animal welfare community, there are a number of shelters that have incredibly high intake, and some have space," said Kim Noetzel, communication manager for PetSmart Charities, a nonprofit organization that funds the Rescue Waggin' program.

The reason Utah dogs go to Colorado is that the shelter there has more kennel space and a greater number of people seeking dogs, Harris said.

"It gets animals leaving our shelter alive," she said.

Humane Society of Boulder Valley receives about 2,000 dogs per year from transfer partners, said Connie Howard, the society's vice president of operations. The shelter took in 1,239 dogs from the public last year and 2,329 from its 30 active transfer partners.

The shelter organized 3,176 dog adoptions last year, so without these transfers, "it would've been empty," Howard said.

It took the shelter about four days to find homes for the 22 dogs from Salt Lake City.

"We're blessed we have the capability of helping other shelters," she said.

Rescue Waggin' is a nationwide program that has run since 2004, and about 25,000 dogs have been saved to date. PetSmart Charities estimates it will transport 6,000 to 8,000 dogs to help them find a loving home.

The Salt Lake City shelter joined the program in March 2008, and more than 200 dogs, including those from the transport last week, have avoided euthanasia.

The shelter schedules Rescue Waggin' pickups once or twice a month and has been able to fill the transport, sending as many as 35 dogs on one trip, Harris said.

The program transports dogs that are spayed, neutered and vaccinated "to make sure these dogs are healthy, friendly and have no trouble finding a home," Noetzel said.

Since Salt Lake County Animal Services entered the Rescue Waggin' program, it decreased its euthanasia numbers from 4,531 dogs in 2007 to 4,027 in 2008.

There's no Rescue Waggin' program for cats.

"We need people to come and adopt the cats because that's the only way they get to leave the shelter," Harris said.

Another thing community members can do is become foster families for dogs for a couple of weeks prior to a Rescue Waggin's pickup because the shelter doesn't have much kennel space.

The shelter will provide medical care, food, a collar and a leash. All the foster family provides is a home, time and love, and "they get to see [the pet] go on its way to a great place," Harris said.