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Our Ariana Grande Dog Rescue Mission Flight Video

Ariana and Grande were two 65 pound Rottweilers who had literally come from the wrong side of the tracks. They had been found wandering loose down the middle of a road in a bad section of a small North Carolina town. Grande had stitches on one leg and Ariana was heartworm positive. (more…)

Alison and Lance Dog Rescue Flight

Our good friend Kristen from Wilson County Humane Society contacted us again to see if we could take two dogs up to LaMancha Animal Rescue outside Philadelphia, PA. Kristen and Kim run one of the best rescues in North Carolina. Their dogs are the sweetest most lovable dogs we have come across. (more…)

Leroy’s Big Bumpy Rescue Flight

Leroy is a Brown/Black, Pit Mix weighing around 71 pounds. A woman in Wilson, NC came home to find Leroy in her backyard playing with her little dog. Evidently he jumped the fence and decided to stay. She contacted the shelter to see if someone was looking for him but no one ever did. (more…)

Iggy’s Dog Rescue Flight

Not long ago Pam did a ground transport for a dog named Gus. At the time, Pam noticed Iggy’s name on Gus’s Health Certificate. When she picked Gus up she heard another dog bark and thought that another dog may be with the same foster and got concerned. She called Gus’s foster, Linda and she put Pam in contact with the rescue that handled Gus. (more…)

Pilot: Steve Rhode Logistics: Pam Rhode Volunteer: Kathy Phelan
 Rescue: Mr. Bones and Company Sender: Mary Padavech – Faithful Friends Animal Sanctuary Transporter from Coatesville: Mick Teti-Braudoin

Flight Path

Story

Mary of Faithful Friends Animal Sanctuary, who rescued the pups brought them to us at the Greensboro International Airport. Mary came all the way from Salisbury, North Carolina to bring these three adorable babies.

Jack and Janie are brother and sister, Boston Terrier and Chihuahua mix. They were owner surrendered due to an unwanted litter. Each weighed about 5-6 lbs and were 3 months old.

Captain is a German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix and at 4 months weights 28lbs. He’s going to be a BIG dog. Captain was found as a stray, wondering the streets. But he was as sweet as could be and smart.

How many adults does it take to put 3 small puppies in an airplane? Four and even then we had trouble!!! Jack and Janie were not cooperating with us. It was like an Marx Brothers routine! (For those of you who do not know who they are, Google them.) Every time we tried to put a pup in the back crate they kept crawling out!. We’ve never had that happen before. Jack and Janie were quite the mischievous pair. Kathy and Pam laughed so hard at them for they were so cute, I didn’t think we’d ever take off.

There was a little nipping between Jack and Captain so Captain got the back all to himself. He made himself a little bed and slept the entire way. The pups all calmed down once we were in the air and fell asleep. They were such cute little passengers.

All three dogs were going to Elli in New York City. So we were flying them from Greensboro, NC to Coatesville, Pennsylvania just outside of Philly. We love the crew at Chester County Airport, Ray and Brittany are always to happy to see us. When they saw we were coming in for a landing someone on the radio broadcasted, “We Have Puppies!” They met us on the tarmac and each one held onto their own puppy.

Mick also met us on the tarmac to greet the pups. She is driving them halfway to New York City and meet up with Elli. She was so excited to be able to come and be a part of the transport. She’d never picked a dog up from the airport before, so this was a first for her. She took Captain who was awesome on a leash and we went through the airport to her car. Everyone stopped what they were doing to see the puppies. One man coming out of an office yelled, PUPPIES! They are such a wonderful group at Signature Aviation, formerly Landmark.

After we said our goodbyes to Mick and the pups we went back in to have lunch at the airport restaurant with Ray. It’s really nice when you get to meet and be friends with everyone who loves what we do.

After lunch we headed back home and all three of us were exhausted from our puppy outing. All three dogs settled into their foster homes well and Jack has many applications for adoption on him, Janie was to have meet and greet with a family and Captain will probably be adopted by his foster family.

It’s a great feeling to know you were a part of saving these dogs lives. If the had stayed in NC a shelter would probably have put them down. You too can be a part of saving dogs as well. Just click here.

Mission Photos

Goblin was an amazing dog to fly. You could sense there were great things to happen for him in his new future. And as we learned, people had already made great sacrifices to save this stray.

Mission Route

Flying Mission Details

Flight Hours: 5 Our Out of Pocket Fuel Bill: $350

Mission Participants

Sending Rescue: Shelter Rescue Volunteer Driver: Matt Smith Pilot.dog Crew: Steve Rhode – Pilot Pam Rhode – Logistics Coordinator/Dog Flight Attendant Receiving Rescue: LaMancha Animal Rescue LaMancha Volunteers: Cecilia, Allan and Ella

Goblin’s Story

Kristin from Wilson County contacted us about a dog that needed to be flown to LaMancha Animal Rescue from Wilson, North Carolina. LaMancha Animal Rescue is located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He was currently in a foster home and they loved him there. Goblin is a three-year-old Pitt who was found as a stray and wound up in the animal shelter in Wilson, North Carolina.

The shelter thought that they had found his owner but no one showed up to claim him. Normally strays are give a three to five day grace period for someone to collect them before being put down but the staff loved Goblin so much that he literally stayed in the shelter for two months. Other dogs were euthanized to keep Goblin alive.

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Finally, LaMancha agreed to take him and he was put in a foster home until transportation could be arranged and he was neutered. His foster really hated to see him go. We’re told that they cried that last night and the morning they had to say goodbye. They said he’s great with other dogs and kids and is full of energy.

Originally we were to leave from our home airport in Raleigh, North Carolina and fly to Rocky Mount, North Carolina to pickup Goblin but the weather was terrible in Rocky Mount so we opted to see if someone could drive Goblin to us. Matt, an awesome volunteer over in Wilson was good enough to bring Goblin to Raleigh.

It was so cold the morning of the flight that we had to preheat the engine with our special homebuilt hairdryer and sleeping bag contraption before we could start the plane.

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Matt and Goblin arrived at the Raleigh airport and Goblin was ready to run. He’s very strong and we thought that he was going to pull Pam right off her feet and run dragging her, flailing behind him. After he went potty, Matt said his goodbyes and we were off to get settled in the airplane.

While the plane was fueled and readied for the flight, Pam walked Goblin around and around the hangars to tire him out a little. After four trips around the hangars, Pam finally got to the point where she could actually walk behind him without the feeling of being dragged.

We loaded Goblin in the plane and at first it was questionable if he was going to let Pam get int he plane. He was hogging the whole backseat. He spread himself out like he was king. But he finally let Pam in and he rested his head on her lap.

He was a great passenger and seemed to really like the flight. He’s a very warm blooded dog and didn’t get cold at all like some of our furry passengers do. Pam loved the way his ears would cock up and flair outward when he heard something unfamiliar to him. While we flew, every once in a while he would look up at Pam and give her kisses.

He’s such a sweet boy, we can’t image why someone would give him up. It’s possible they couldn’t afford the fees to reclaim him.

When we landed at the Coatsville airport in Pennsylvania, Cecilia, Allan and Ellie were waiting for us. Goblin couldn’t wait to get out of the plane and meet everybody. Everyone loved him. The ground crew walked him around while we got out of the plane and Allan drove up to the plane.

The Coatsville airport is one of the dog friendliest airports we’ve ever seen. Instead of mints on the counter inside they have dog biscuits. It must be the official landing airport for LaMancha Animal Rescue.

Before we left Goblin came up to give Pam one more kiss and she wished him a happy life and a loving family for he deserved it. He’s such a wonderful dog. Even Steve got some Goblin hugs before Goblin jumped up in the back of Cecilia’s and Allan’s van so he could sit with Cecillia as they drove to LaMancha to find him only the best of homes.

We were worried about the weather back in Raleigh and didn’t even have time to take much of a break. We said goodbye to everyone, visited the restrooms and jumped back in the plane for another 2.5 hours in the air to try to get home before dark.

It’s a good thing we left when we did, Steve had to make an instrument landing back home as the sun was setting.

Mission Photos

Where Are They Now – Danny

Danny was yet another special passenger. He had a hard life before being rescued. Certainly it was a sad story but it has a happy ending. (more…)

Where Are They Now – Amber

Fantastic news just arrived about Amber. She was an emaciated momma dog we flew to LaMancha Animal Rescue with her nine pups.

Immediately after giving birth, her owner in North Carolina surrendered her to a local shelter and landed her on the Code Red kill list but thanks to the SPCA Alliance of NC she was rescued. (more…)