PERRY COUNTY (WSIL) -- The Perry County Humane Society is mourning the loss of a loyal volunteer and friend who suffered serious injuries in a van crash in mid-April, and passed away this Friday.
A post on the Humane Society's Facebook says Dane Caupert, a Pinckneyville resident, "passed peacefully in the presence of his daughters" in a Springfield hospital.
For the past ten years Caupert transported animals from hi-kill shelters throughout southern and central Illinois, to no-kill shelters in northern Illinois. The Vietnam veteran volunteered at the Humane Society every Tuesday for 10 years, where his route covered 700 miles and 16 hours of driving.
"You figure, ten years, every Tuesday, that van could hold 50 kennels," said Amy James, Perry Co. Humane Society volunteer coordinator. Those transports add up to more than 26-thousand animals Caupert helped in saving. "And sometimes you're talking Mamas with babies or litters of puppies and I'm like, you can't even think of the number of animals he saved."
Caupert was returning from one of those life-saving treks when a serious accident near Springfield left him fighting for his life. News spread quickly of his condition throughout the Humane Society's online community, hundreds praying for his recovery, now morning his loss. Including a friend that describes Dane as "The Ironman of Transport," saying, "Like the postman ... he never failed to deliver ... and the abandoned animals always had a ride to a second chance."
Not only was he a friend, he was also a father and Vietnam veteran who will always be remembered for his love of animals.
"He just had a presence about him that these animals knew, that he was just a safe place they could come out (to) and so, we're just devastated," said James.
The Humane Society is hoping to hold a ceremony honoring Caupert in July� when restrictions on gathering may be lifted.
A to help cover his medical expenses.
