Things that just make you feel good.

StinkBug

StinkBug

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Jun 27, 2014
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Dallas
I finally started doing some Pilots N Paws flights recently and today was one that just made you smile. On Friday I saw an urgent posting about a Boxer in one of the LA shelters that was on the kill list because of the expected overcrowding due to the 4th of July. He's an older boy and had some veterinary needs, but the people at the shelter loved him and wanted to get him out before he got put down.

I already had plans to do a pleasure flight with one of my friends and her boyfriend and since I knew she loved dogs and we didn't have a destination nailed down yet I went ahead and committed to helping to save this guy.

It ended up being a very overcast morning so I got to do my first true IFR departure without an instructor on board. The usual heavy socal marine layer, we were up and on top in just a couple minutes. We then flew up to KWHP and did an approach in to meet the woman who got him out of the shelter. He turned out to just be the sweetest dog, and so well behaved it's obvious someone trained him. It kills me to think that someone would spend the time to train a dog so well, then abandon him. He's not the prettiest thing at the moment but the folks at NorCal Boxer rescue are gonna get him some proper vet care and clean him up right.

The flight up to Oakland was as smooth as glass and our boy Sam snuggled right up in the back seat with my friend, and they both promptly passed out. When we got there the folks at Kaiser Air were all ready for us and had brought the rescue folks out to the ramp with their car. They treated us great and had a crew car for us to get lunch with as well, and were kind enough to waive all the fees. Guess they love dogs too :)

The trip home took a bit longer with a bit of a headwind, and we ended up having to shoot the ILS back into Palomar right at sunset which was beautiful as they descended us right to the top of the layer before catching the glide slope.

Best part of the day was getting home to check my email and finding this link from the woman who dropped Sam off with us. Burned a lot of time and AVGas today, but this made it worth it.

https://youtu.be/sWmFviZgp5Q

I couldn't resist snapping some pics of the flight either.

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Dallas
 
Lucky dog.... in more than one way...!!!

Might have been the owner(s) became too old to take care of him anymore, or moved to a pet free apartment....:sad:
 
Great job on the rescue flight.

It's sad when dogs end up in situations like that, but it can also be as simple as a slipped collar, open gate, or the previous owner being medically incapacitated.

Lord knows our old collies took a tour or two around town when they found rotten pickets before we did. They came back fatter though..
 
Even before I opened up the thread...when i read the title...I thought "dogs."

Nice job. PnP flights are quite rewarding.
 
Thise pictures are great! Good on you for taking the time to do that. I'm on tap for a PnP flight later this week..it will be my first as well.

How was the heat on the dogs? I'm scheduled for two boxers this week and noticed even airliners won't ship short snouted dogs in the summer because they say they can't handle the heat well... I'll have to have on in a crate in the baggage area and on tethered to my rear seat.
 
This is awesome. Good on you for doing this. I actually adopted my bulldog from the Carson shelter in Gardena. It's appalling the amount of animals that get dumped in LA County alone. :sad:
 
Fantastic. I'd love to do paws and Angel flights in the future.
 
simtech said:
How was the heat on the dogs? I'm scheduled for two boxers this week and noticed even airliners won't ship short snouted dogs in the summer because they say they can't handle the heat well... I'll have to have on in a crate in the baggage area and on tethered to my rear seat.
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Yesterdays flight was pretty easy for heat, as it was very overcast on the ground, so fairly cool climbing out. Since I was going a good distance I also flew up high enough for cool air, and it wasn't very hot in Oakland when we arrived. I had one of the Icebox style air conditioners in back, but we never ended up using it.

On a previous flight I took a dog and 5 of her puppies in a crate to Phoenix, and that was a hot one. We made sure to leave pretty early in the morning, flew around 10k and ran the "A/C" on the descent. It worked well enough to get them there. Coming back home was a bit toasty until we got back up to altitude though.

I think the reason the airlines wont take them is more because they are unattended for lengths of time, and they will be left in the crates in baggage handling areas as well. On the plane isn't as big a deal as they are in a pressurized and air conditioned compartment, but there is nobody keeping an eye on them. They are just doing the CYA thing. If you don't have any kind of AC in your plane like most of us I'd bring a friend along and bring a cooler with a couple small towels that you can get wet and put around their neck if they start showing signs of heat exhaustion. There are some tips for heat on the PnP site as well in the forums. So far this has never been an issue for my own boxer, but her snout isn't as pushed in as some.

Have fun! It's a great excuse for flying, and much more fulfilling than just going to get lunch.
 
warthog1984 said:
Great job on the rescue flight.

It's sad when dogs end up in situations like that, but it can also be as simple as a slipped collar, open gate, or the previous owner being medically incapacitated.

Lord knows our old collies took a tour or two around town when they found rotten pickets before we did. They came back fatter though..
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I really want to believe that it was something simple and innocent that got this guy into the shelter, it's certainly possible. I've dated a couple girls that worked in different parts of the animal fields and learned just how awful people can be to their dogs though. It's horrible. A dog will love a human just about no matter what the human does to them, but so many humans just don't care and wont hesitate to dump a dog on the street somewhere just because it's convenient.
 
StinkBug said:
A dog will love a human just about no matter what the human does to them, but so many humans just don't care and wont hesitate to dump a dog on the street somewhere just because it's convenient.
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True dat! And such a sad statement of society.

Anyone who says that money cannot buy happiness has never paid a dog adoption fee! ;)
 
timwinters said:
True dat! And such a sad statement of society.

Anyone who says that money cannot buy happiness has never paid a dog adoption fee! ;)
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I will never pay a dog adoption fee. Both of mine have been free.

But they sure aren't free to raise and maintain. :)
 
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