As the Troy Animal Shelter Coalition gears up for its annual Fur Fest fundraising event, the group’s leaders pause to recognize those who even make it possible — volunteers.

What it takes to organize the shelter’s annual event, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Troy Parks and Recreation Center, is obviously not done without a little help.

But, what many probably don’t think about is exactly how the “fur” gets to the festival.

Hounds without Bounds is the answer.

“It’s a transportation program we created in 2009 in response to the need to transport animals from the city shelter to our adoption events,” said Donna Schubert, founders society chair of the Troy Animal Shelter Coalition/Pike Animal Shelter.

The program is solely reliant on people who volunteer their time, the vehicles and their own gas money.

But people aren’t just volunteering for local transport.

Hounds without Bounds has even been used to take companion animals from the Troy shelter to neighboring cities or states.

Mutley, a border collie found in poor condition, is an example of just one of the success stories of the shelter’s program.

“Mutley came in out here with a good bit of neglect. He was in bad shape and needed a good bit of investment,” Schubert said.

So, Su Green, adoptions and programs chair for the shelter, found Mutley a perfect new home.

“Vernon Lochte, of Montgomery, has a long history of full-blooded collies,” Green said. “We ran a transport down to Montgomery to see if he was interested, and he was.”

Another example is a boxer Rocky, who met his new owner in Columbus, Ga.

After Rocky was found, the shelter put his picture on petfinder.com, a Web site that gives the whole world access to local shelter pets.

A boxer rescue group found Rocky and helped place him with Sonny Hahlen in Ga.

“The good things about rescue groups is they do their due diligence,” Green said.

The Pike Animal Shelter also has its own criteria for placing pets in homes.

“There are criteria we look for. We make sure that family is an accepting family for that dog,” Green said.