This weekend we completed a double Pilots N Paws rescue mission, flying two pets to their new fur-ever homes. You can read more about our volunteer work with Pilots N Paws here. Our day started boarding a Cessna 182 in the suburbs of Washington, DC. We flew over snow covered ground to the mountains of Western Maryland, where we picked up our first passenger.
Ready for takeoff!
Inside the cockpit.
The snowy landscape looks so cool from up above.
Chewy the Husky was rescued from an animal hoarder in West Virginia. The past few weeks he has been recovering to prepare for transport to a rescue agency in New Jersey where he will find a new home. The flight from MD to NJ went by quickly keeping an eye on Chewy. He was quite excited to keep poking his head between the seats to say hi and look out the windows.
"Hey! Can I get some snack service back here?"
When we arrived in New Jersey we helped get Chewy transferred from the plane into the car of the pickup volunteer and said a quick good bye. And then it was time for a twenty-minute flight to another airport very close to New York City. Thankfully we were able to grab a quick lunch before coordinating with our next furry friend.
Chappie the Chesapeake Labrador Retriever, had a much longer road home, having starting in Maine early that morning. We met the pilot of the first part of his journey and a nice volunteer representative sent to help along the way. Although Chappie was only 8 months old he was already almost 80 pounds! We successfully got him loaded in the back seat and ready for an hour and thirty minute flight home. You could tell he had been on a long journey as he was happy to sleep for most of the ride back.
"Are we there yet?"
Upon arrival instead of meeting another volunteer for drop-off we had the unique opportunity to introduce Chappie to his new owners. He was able to go straight to his new home after getting off the plane. It was a really neat experience to see them meet their new dog for the first time.
It was a long day of flying and we were quite exhausted by the time we put the airplane back in the hangar, but it really is so rewarding to be able to help families that are looking to rescue animals. Can't wait for the next trip!
Our flight path for the day.
Total Airports Visited: 4
Gaithersburg, MD
McHenry, MD
Old Bridge, NJ
Caldwell, NJ
Total Distance: 643 Miles
Total Time: 8 hours
Total Pets Transported : 2
You read that right, we bought an airplane! There is a backstory on the plane and who will be flying it so for those who haven’t known us for a long time, you are probably about to learn a few things about the DINKs…