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Benny & Cassie Fly to Their New Furever Home

Benny & Cassie Fly to Their New Furever Home

Pam and I had the real pleasure of flying a very shy Cassie and a very active Benny on their journey to their new furever home. (more…)

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Puppies, Dutchess, Festus and Poppy

Puppies, Dutchess, Festus and Poppy

We teamed up again with Mike Marlo with Flying Mutts Rescue and transported 11 dogs this past weekend from rescues in North and South Carolina to rescues in Rhode Island. (more…)

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Punkin, Four Puppies & Joy

Punkin, Four Puppies & Joy

We were contacted by Mike Marlo of FlyingMutts.org to fly a mom and four puppies to Georgetown, Delaware where we would meet him and he would fly the pups the rest of the way up to New England. So off went the emails back and forth to set up this wonderful flight to save 5 more dogs. (more…)

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Rescue Mission Details

Brownie is a 14-year-old dog who was no longer wanted by her family. She was going to be dropped off at a local pound and the family was going to go get a younger dog. Brownie was rescued to go live out her final time in a loving rescue.

Sending Rescue Sally, a neighbor who was concerned for Brownie’s welfare.

Handoff Point: Georgetown, DE – Scott whom we flew Mac and Willow with.

Pilot.dog Team Steve Rhode – Pilot Pam Rhode – Logistics Coordinator/Dog Flight Attendant Daryl Cash – Flight Volunteer Plane – Cessna 182 CMF431

Receiving Rescue: Kathy Hynes. She also rescued Mac and Willow.

Kathy contacted Pam regrading a dog that needed to get out of a bad situation in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Sally, a woman who had adopted two dogs from Kathy in the past contacted her about a dog that a neighbor had and didn’t want anymore.

Brownie’s owner kept her outside in all kinds of weather and didn’t give her any attention. She kept trying to dig her way out of her pen she just wasn’t a happy pup. Brownie is a 14 year old Lab mix and only has a few good years left. Sally approached Brownie’s owner and he said they were thinking about taking her to the pound because they wanted to get another dog. This time a smaller, inside dog, one that his wife would like.

Sally took Brownie to the vet and had her checked out and gave her flea medication so she was ready for the flight. Unfortunately, Brownie had to stay with her owner until a flight could be arranged. The morning of the flight Sally went to pick Brownie up and her owner bent down to tell Brownie how she was a good girl and she just kept licking his face.

On this flight we were joined by our inflight volunteer, Daryl Cash. Daryl is an fire department chief with a local and growing fire department. He says we should expect to see more of him on future missions.

We left Raleigh, North Carolina about 9:15 am and arrived to pick Brownie up from Sally at Stafford Regional Airport in Fredericksburg, Virginia at 10:30. Brownie is such a sweet dog with loving and trusting eyes. I can’t believe someone would just give her up because she was getting old. Sally bought Brownie new leashes, a collar, and even gave her a comforter for her to sleep on. Brownie was so scared, her legs just shook and shook. I felt so bad for her. I can only imagine what she was thinking, “who are these people and where are they taking me?” Thank you Sally for caring enough get this poor baby to a better life.

We loaded Brownie up to fly to Georgetown, Delaware to meet meet Scott, the next pilot. She was such a good passenger. We put her headset on her that one of our loyal and lovely couple gave to us, Amanda and Travis. Thank you Amanda and Travis, the dogs love not having to hear the roar of the plane engine. They wear them proudly. The entire way Brownie just sat next to Pam and looked out the window. If you notice Pam giving her something to eat, it’s a ginger cookie. If the dog looks like they might not be feeling well, she’ll give them a piece of cookie and the ginger helps settle their stomach. She really seemed to enjoy the ride.

We arrived in Georgetown, Delaware around 11:35 am and Scott was waiting for us. Scott had his little co-pilot with him, Alex. He was adorable, cute curly hair and just a sweetheart! After Daryl walked Brownie and we gave her a little water she was ready for her final leg to Kathy Hynes in Massachusetts. Kathy has a rescue but she knows that older dogs are hard to place so she has agreed to keep Brownie as her own and give her a wonderful and loving home for the rest of her life! Thank you Kathy, the world needs more people like you.

Scott, Alex and Brownie took off around noon and headed for their 2 hour journey north. After waving goodbye, Daryl, Pam and I went into the airport for lunch where they have the friendliest crew and a great little restaurant before heading back on our 2 hour flight to Raleigh, North Carolina.

The flight on the way home was uneventful, except that I couldn’t get the plane started at first but the issue was quickly resolved and a new starter for the plane is in our near future. After we left the ground it was a smooth ride home but a little damp outside at times. It was a relatively short day as far as rescues go but that’s always a bonus!

Flight Route

Flight Photos

Saving Brownie for a Peaceful End of Life Rescue Mission Details Brownie is a 14-year-old dog who was no longer wanted by her family. She was going to be dropped off at a local pound and the family was going to go get a younger dog.

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Mission – Turning Remington and Diamond into Piper and Dakota

Sniper was the first dog we ever flew. What a darling soul she had. She is the one to credit for all the dig rescue missions that we’ve done since.

Mission Details

Flight Hours: 4.25 Our Out of Pocket Fuel Bill: $297

Flight Route

From left to right: Michael Bullock, George Phillips, Debbie Bullock, Nancy Brown… Volunteers for Almost Home Animal Rescue in Bohemia, NY http://www.almosthomeli.org

The person with red hair is Becky.

Indeed I am the one to the far left in the parking lot photo. My boyfriend and ride along partner Peter Rogers took the photo and helped mind the girls while I drove. It was his very first experience with rescue transport and volunteering. I hope to include him on future rides too!

Rescue Team

Flight Coordinator: Linda Stronza Sending Rescue: Becky Weddle

Becky Weddle, the rescue of Remington and Diamond.

Receiving Rescue: Deborah Bullock, Almost Home Rescue

From left to right: Michael Bullock, George Phillips, Debbie Bullock, and Nancy Brown, Volunteers for Almost Home Animal Rescue in Bohemia, NY, Jeff, the pilot, is holding Dakota.

Driver #1 Charlotte to Greensboro: Sarah Kucharski

Sarah is the one to the far left in the parking lot photo. Her boyfriend and ride along partner Peter Rogers took the photo and helped mind the dogs while she drove. It was his very first experience with rescue transport and volunteering. She hopes to include him on future rides too!

Driver #2 Greensboro to Raleigh: Angela Bowman

Angela (right) and her friend Ann (left) deliver Remington and Diamond to us at the Raleigh airport.

Inflight Volunteer: Theresa Jones

Teresa Jones, our inflight volunteer for this flight.

Volunteer Pilot: Delaware to New York: Jeff Rednor

Volunteer Pilot Jeff Rednor

The Flight Story

Diamond and Remi were rescued by Becky who is known locally as the “Dog Woman.” Friends will bring dogs to her instead of taking them to a shelter. The dogs had a better chance of being given to a good home. Becky just can’t say no go a dog.

Becky lives near the Charlotte, North Carolina airport with her father and about 20 dogs. To assist Becky with finding new homes for all the dogs, Debbie from Almost Home Rescue is trying to help Becky with adoption of the dogs.

Linda contacted Pam back in December to see if we could help out with the flight. Originally we thought our part of the overallthe flight was from Rocky Mount, North Carolina (which is near us) to Georgetown, Delaware where we would meet another pilot who would them take the dogs to Debbie in Islip, New York.

However, just a day or so before the flight, Linda found out that it wasn’t Rocky Mount that the dogs were coming from but Charlotte, NC. We thought we had a volunteer pilot for the flight from Charlotte to Raleigh where we would meet the dogs. But at the last minute the pilot was not able to make the trip.

So for the first time we turned to Doobert.com to find volunteer ground transporters. Sarah and Angela came to the rescue.

We don’t know what would have happened if they hadn’t offered to help. Within an hour of the request being put up on Doobert, Sarah volunteered to take 2 legs and within the next hour Angela offered. It was incredible.

Sarah had to get up extra, extra early to pick the dogs up from Becky. She was not able to deliver the dogs anywhere. So Sarah had to go ½ hour out of her way to pick the dogs up at 6:30AM then drive them all the way to Greensboro, NC where she would transfer the pups to Angela at 8:30AM.

We got to the airport early with our inflight volunteer, Theresa, so we could get everything prepared before the dogs got there.

Angela and her friend Ann brought the dogs right on time and everyone got acquainted with one another. The dogs had a lot of energy so we tried to walk some of it off of them before we loaded them into the plane. Remington was a little afraid when she got in the plane but Diamond hoped right in before we were ready for her. She was eager to go. Theresa sat in the back with the dogs and they cuddled right up to her. So right at 11:00 we set off for Delaware. Right on time.

The dogs did great in the plane. Theresa was in the middle and had a dog on each side. We had their blankets and she put them around each of the dogs and they settled right down and fell asleep on her lap. If the started to move around Theresa just comforted them and they calmed right down.

At 12:55 PM we landed in Delaware and Jeff was already there waiting for us. We walked the dogs and they got off some more energy and then we helped Jeff load the dogs into his plane, a Piper Dakota. This time both dogs jumped in the backseat and were ready to go. What great passengers they were.

Jeff took off for NY and we went inside the airport to have lunch at Arena’s. It was a great day, a little cold but sunny!!!

We found out when the dogs arrived in New York they were renamed after Jeff’s plane. They became Piper and Dakota.

After another couple of hours in the plane we were back in Raleigh. A job well done.

Mission Photos

Remington & Diamond – First Doobert.com Mission Mission - Turning Remington and Diamond into Piper and Dakota Sniper was the first dog we ever flew.

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Mission – To Get Holly’s Puppies to Safety

Facing being put down the next day, these lovely puppies were rescued and made it safely to new homes, thanks to some awesome teamwork.

Mission Details

Flight Hours: 4.5 Our Out of Pocket Fuel Bill: $315

Participants in this rescue:

Flight Coordinator: Colleen Fennell, Save A Dog A Day – Rescue

Sending Party: Gigi Colaiacovo, Save A Dog A Day – Foster

Flight Volunteer: Mike Taylor

Additional Pilots: Tony Minervini, Delaware to New York

Colleen from Save A Dog A Day sent out a request to help transfer Holly and her four puppies to their forever homes in New York and Connecticut. Once we heard their story we knew had to play a role in their rescue.

Gigi, the foster mom, went to the shelter to save a dog from being euthanized on a particular day. As she was leaving she saw Holly and her five puppies. Holly and her puppies were to be euthanized the next day. Gigi couldn’t let that happen so she went home with all of them too.

Gigi had never fostered a mother and babies before and wasn’t sure she was up to it but she said it was the best experience she could of had. Holly was an amazing mom and made things easy for her.

Colleen couldn’t find a pilot to fly from South Carolina to Raleigh, North Carolina where we are based so Gigi drove the dogs up to Raleigh herself in a van. She drove five hours in the pouring rain, spent the night and was at the airport early the next morning for our flight.

A big thank you is owed to both Plato Pet Treats and Smiling Dog Coffee who donated gifts to us to share with the rescues and pilots we connected with. It’s their way of thanking the service of the volunteers. Please visit Plato Pet Treats and Smiling Dog Coffee because they are awesome.

Mike Taylor was our volunteer that day and he and Pam met Gigi in the parking lot. We met several of her dogs who were traveling with her, and Holly. Unfortunately at the last minute Holly’s adoption fell through and she was to go back home with Gigi until they could find her another home. But the mission to fly the puppies was still on and so we loaded the puppies into the plane.

Both, Gigi and Holly were so sad to see the pups go. Gigi said she and Holly comforted each other for the next few days, both missing the babies.

One of Holly’s five puppies had been adopted by a friend of Gigi’s so she would be able to see him grow up.

On our flight was, Noah, Rudy, Emma and Lucy and soon we had them ready for takeoff.

Steve and Mike were up front while Pam was in the backseat and the puppies in a crate in the baggage area, protected with all sorts of blankets.

Once we took off, Pam soon had all of the puppies out of the crate and cuddling with her in the backseat. She had blankets all around to keep them warm and comfortable. They were so adorable. Rudy had not been adopted yet but was going to be fostered by Emma’s new family until they could find him a new home. He was a real cuddlier and of course Pam wanted to take him home.

Occasionally Pam allowed Mike to have a pup up front but the puppy usually wanted to go back to Pam and their brothers and sisters.

Everyone snuggled together and it was a great flight.

We arrived at Georgetown, Delaware and met Tony, the next pilot fly the dogs to all of their furever homes. We took a pup at a time to Tony so he could get them settled for their flight. Noah decided he wanted to stay with Pam. He was the last one to get out and Pam took him to Tony’s plane. Neither wanted to let go of the other. The look he gave her tore at her heart when she loaded him into the crate and closed the door. As usual another tearful goodbye was said. After an exchange of hugs, and some much needed lunch we departed for Raleigh.

The flight home was non eventful and Mike told us about his Huskies and how they were rescued. His female Husky is a therapy dog at Rex Hospital in Raleigh. Evidently to get your dog on the approved list at the hospital you need to call them and they will tell you what paperwork is needed and who your dog has to see to get approved. It’s really a great help give patients a little comfort and relaxation while in the hospital.

We heard back from all of the dogs owners except Noah. Gigi and I were so worried about him. Then, Tony sent us a picture of Noah surrounded by 3 happy children petting him at the airport. We knew then that he would be well loved and cared for.

Mission Photos

Holly’s Puppies – Saved From Certain Death and Cuddled In Flight Mission - To Get Holly's Puppies to Safety Facing being put down the next day, these lovely puppies were rescued and made it safely to new homes, thanks to some awesome teamwork.

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Big Mac & Willow - Podcast

Big Mac & Willow – Podcast

Mission – To fly these two amazing hound dogs to new lives in a better place.

The flight for Big Mac and Willow was memorable for sure. It was the first time we had a volunteer with us on the plane and it was a wonderful experience. (more…)

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From the Flight Deck - KGED - Delaware Coastal Airport

From the Flight Deck – KGED – Delaware Coastal Airport

As a dog rescue pilot we get to fly into a number of airports. This post is the first, in what I hope is many to come, about airports pilots should consider using for rescue flights. (more…)

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