Photo courtesy of Pilots N Paws
Pilots N Paws, is an S.C. based nonprofit organization and is the brainstorm of animal lover Debi Boies and pilot Jon Wehrenberg. It was started in 2008 when they rescued a Doberman pinscher from a Florida shelter. Today, this organization consists of 3,000 pilots and over 12,000 volunteers taking time to rescue, organize transportation and find foster homes for cats, dogs and other animals. Their efforts have resulted in over 12,000 animals finding forever homes.
Kathleen Quinn, executive director of Pilots N Paws, states there is no shortage of animals that need a home or of people willing to give them a home. The largest problem is getting them from one destination to the other. The transporting of the animals is the basis for the Pilots N Paws program.
The organization has flown a menagerie of animals from snakes to donkeys. The organization mostly flies dogs that come from shelters or that are facing retirement. Dogs used in the military are not guaranteed a plane ride home when their tour of duty comes to an end. In the year 2010, they enlisted the assistance of NAVY SEALs in Afghanistan to fly an injured Steppe eagle to a sanctuary in New York. Many of the dogs they rescue become service animals.
After a rescuer has made a post on the Pilots N Paws forum, volunteer pilots will receive an e-mail from the Pilots N Paws forum about an animal that needs to be rescued if the location falls within his flying radius. This is no easy task, pilots are often limited to 250 miles for one leg, and not all transports can be direct flights. In some cases, a volunteer will drive a leg of the trip and another pilot will complete the rescue.
