2 minute read
FLYING TO THE RESCUE
By Beth McBlain
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Picture this – you’re in a small plane, sailing through the clouds at 7500 feet with a slender white cat at the controls... wait, what?! The cat is flying the plane!!!
You and I are probably not supposed to know this but I suspect it’s a fairly frequent occurrence when you’re on a rescue mission with Pilots n Paws – an animal rescue organization that connects pilots/owners of private planes with animals that need relocating in order to save their lives with an opportunity for a new ‘furever’ home.
Pilots n Paws is a non-profit animal rescue organization that operates across North America – connecting animals, volunteer pilots and animal rescuers in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.
The organization was the brainchild of Debi Boies. She was living in South Carolina and she caught wind of a Doberman in Florida that was in need of a new home. She was frustrated by the distance between her and Brock, the dog she wanted to rehome, when a friend with a pilot’s
license offered to pick the dog up and deliver him to Debi. That 2008 flight was the beginning of a vibrant and far reaching network connecting furbabies who need rescuing, with humans on the ground and in the air who are willing to help animals who might otherwise lose their lives because shelters in a given area are overfilled or unable to provide the special attention required to rehabilitate animals who need extra care.
Since it launched Pilots N Paws has relocated more than 150,000 animals – including cats, dogs, a snake, a bear cub and even a dolphin. There have been more than 6,000 flights with the time and fuel donated by pilots. Volunteers on the ground deliver the animals to the airfield and volunteers are waiting on the other end to deliver the animals to shelters or foster homes or forever homes. Some journeys even involve multiple handoffs as the furbabies hopscotch their way across the continent. It is all done strictly by volunteers who organize themselves via the website.
If you are interested in helping out or getting involved you’ll find all the information you need at: www.pilotsnpaws.org
If you want to purchase merchandise or offer a donation you can do it through their website. Pilots N Paws is a staunch supporter of spay neuter programs everywhere.
