Donna Allen saves the trade-ins. Some are too big or too furry or bark too much. Some are elderly or disabled, or have spent their lives being beaten or confined to cages. Some were found on busy roadsides, others chained to the shelter gate.

And when people like Donna Allen step in, these discarded or unwanted animals often are only hours or days away from being euthanized to make room for the next trade-in.

Allen and a remarkable group of western Montanans are devoting their lives, their homes and their pocketbooks to saving dogs that no one else wants. They use old-fashioned methods ­ person-to-person appeals and advertisements in newspapers ­ but also increasingly a new-age tool: the Internet.

By using computers to advertise animals that are being held at humane societies and shelters, Allen has found homes for about 150 dogs since last April. The Whitefish woman works out of her living room, surrounded by animals she's either permanently adopted or is trying to find a home for.

When shelters in northwestern Montana get in a new animal, Allen uses her digital camera to photograph the pet, and then posts the picture on a Web site. So far, she has helped to place animals as far away as Bangor, Maine, and Juneau, Alaska, through a network of pet-friendly Web pages and breed-rescue groups across the nation. "If the right person is looking for the right breed at the right time, it can happen in a matter of days," Allen said.

Along the way, Allen, a licensed kennel operator, has managed to "bail out" and provide foster homes for at least 80 dogs on their way to more permanent digs. She has acted as a home of last resort for eight dogs that even she couldn't place ­ among them, Cristal, a blind Pekingese, and Bonnie, a partially blind collie raised in a puppy mill.

It hasn't been cheap. At last count, the retired circuit-board designer was spending up to $500 each month to rescue, feed, spay or neuter, groom and fix whatever has gone wrong medically with the animals. Though she charges an adoption fee, Allen estimates she only recoups about 60 percent of what she spends on the dogs. She goes through 40 pounds of premium dog food every two weeks, and logs countless hours at the computer maintaining the Web site.

Many days are spent arranging relay teams of drivers to take a dog on one leg of a journey that may span the country. A member of the Canine Underground Railroad, Allen often drives dogs to their first pickup point, although a back injury makes long trips painful.

Finding homes for the animals is worth the work and sacrifice, she said. "They're my family," Allen said.
She helps any homeless dog, regardless of pedigree. Other Montanans are more specialized, rescuing purebred dogs of various types, also using the Internet to find homes and needy dogs.

Movies like "101 Dalmations" inspired many people to get a purebred dog of their own, said Kate Geranios, director of the Missoula Humane Society. Those dogs often ended up at shelters like hers after the cute, spotted puppy grew into the strong, temperamental animal.

"Many times, when a dog becomes popular, people get the breed for the wrong reasons," Geranios said. Each breed is unique, and comes with its own quirks that can present a challenge to new owners.

Many people don't realize they can find purebred dogs at their local animal shelter, Geranios said. Last year, 128 dogs representing 45 different breeds found their way to the Missoula Humane Society. Although Labradors were the most common breed, volunteers at the shelter have taken in everything from Akitas to a poodles.

Myni Ferguson, a Whitefish artist, specializes in rescuing Doberman pinschers and has used Allen's Web page to place some of her animals.

She began rescuing the dogs 14 years ago when volunteering at the local animal shelter 40 hours each week became overwhelming. Having owned a Doberman herself and seeing many abused dogs arrive at the shelter, Ferguson said she thought she could make a difference with the breed.

"Doberman owners are hard-core owners," Ferguson said. "They very rarely want another breed." At first, Ferguson had the only Doberman rescue program in a five-state area, and found herself caring for as many as 10 to 15 of the dogs at a time. She currently keeps two of her own ­ ones she adopted after they became "too old and neurotic to place." Although she gets a little financial support from the American Kennel Club's Doberman association and charges a $50 adoption fee, Ferguson pays for most of the $100-$200 in food and vet bills for each of the 20 to 30 dogs she rescues each year.

After finding the animals at shelters throughout the state, Ferguson contacts people like Donna Allen and places ads in local newspapers looking for owners.

Once she's examined their references and veterinarian records, potential families are allowed to meet the dog. If they pass that step, Ferguson then visits the family's home, to verify that it will be a safe and loving environment. If she decides it is, it's time for the family to sign a contract that stipulates the dog will be returned to her if they ever decide to give it up.

Ferguson also requires that adoptive families allow her to drop in occasionally to make sure the dog is being given proper care. Although she has saved some animals from horrible circumstances ­ one that spent the first few months of its life confined to a chicken coop ­ Ferguson said most endure "benign neglect," owners who just don't know enough to take care of them properly. And some Dobermans come to her after their owners divorce, lose their jobs or move. "I've had owners come to me and just sit on my floor and sob their eyes out," she said.

Pat Hironimus adopted two dogs from Ferguson last year. "The boys" ­ Stormy and Tor ­ arrived at Ferguson's rescue program abused and broken. Tor was malnourished, and Stormy had been kept in a wooden crate, where the only attention the black-and-tan Doberman got was when his owner clanged the side of Stormy's crate with a stick.

Now they dine on meals of cooked cubed beef, whole chicken, pork roast or king salmon that Hironimus mixes with rice in a blender. They have the run of her 10-acre property near Whitefish and they are loving life, she said.

Only one in five dogs finds a lifetime home, Ferguson said, but spaying and neutering can prevent some problems caused by overpopulation. "I believe turning off the faucet is the only thing that's going to give me a day off," she said. What keeps Ferguson inspired are other people willing to save animals. "There is a wonderful dog-loving network," she said.

A Helena couple is helping Montana shelter pets connect to a whole new audience of potential adoptive families by using the Internet. Dianne and Ron Armstrong began their statewide Web page in April after the Lewis and Clark county site they maintained allowed the shelter there to double its adoption rate within six months.

By accessing Montana Pets on the Net, which has links to humane societies and shelters all over Montana, pet lovers can look at scanned photos of animals and put their names on waiting lists for certain breeds. The Armstrongs' goal is simple: convince people to stop buying pets from puppy mills, pet stores and backyard breeders and get them to look in an animal shelter instead. And they seem to be making a difference.

Today, Dianne Armstrong said the Montana Pets on the Net Web page gets about 4,000 hits each month, four times as many hits as Web pages operated by city animal shelters such as San Francisco's. The Helena nurse said their site has found homes for thousands of animals in the past nine months.

The Missoula Humane Society and Missoula County Animal Control both are linked to the Armstrongs' site. Elaine Sehnert, kennel warden at Missoula County Animal Control, said the agency has had six families adopt pets that they first saw on the Web site. And, she said, the animals found homes just in time.

"Three out of the six would probably have been put down within two weeks," Sehnert said, adding that one woman from Aloha, Ore., drove all night on Christmas night to pick up her dog. Local volunteers take pictures of the animals and the photos are placed on the Web site. The Armstrongs put in at least 30 hours each week maintaining the site, but do not charge the shelters. "What an incredible service," Sehnert said.

In the past year, the Missoula Humane Society successfully placed two dogs by using the Internet to contact breed-rescue programs. Darby, an 8-year-old Gordon setter, found a home in Pennsylvania, and Gator, an 8-year-old Chesapeake Bay retriever, was placed in Seattle. Kate Geranios, director of the Missoula Humane Society, said the Web site received 460 hits in November.

The Internet is especially helpful to rural Montanans unable to make frequent trips to the nearest town to look for a pet, Geranios said. Once they've fallen in love with a pet, Montanans don't mind driving eight hours to pick it up. "I never would have thought anyone would have driven out of their city to get a pet. Montana people are not wimpy," Armstrong said. "They're willing to drive all over the state."

And Web surfers who don't have room for another pet still can help by sending money to sponsor all or part of a shelter pet's adoption fee. Shelters have received donations from all over the country - some as high as $300.