Pilot Jerry, his wife Nancy, and his friend Ron took a day to help a couple rescue dogs, an 80 pound bloodhound and a 35 pound Aussie Shepherd, get from New Mexico to Arizona. They started their day with breakfast at the Payson Airport cafe, The Crosswinds Restaurant, just northeast of Phoenix. The flight from Payson to Galup, NM, was a bit bumpy, and there was concern how the dogs would handle the 1-1/2 hour flight back to the Glendale airport and their new, forever homes.

Ron in red, Nancy, Jerry in blue

The driver from Albuquerque, Dave, was right on time. First order of business was a potty stop for both dogs (and pilot). This was a ‘big’ event in the tiny town of Galup, so Jerry gave the local paper a day’s notice in case they wanted to cover the PnP story. Sure enough, a reporter and photographer were there to cover the flying dogs.

After a bunch of pictures, the crew of three loaded up and headed back to Phoenix with the 4th seat taken by the smaller of the two dogs – Collin. It was a little bumpy and Collin was happy to have a leg to rest her head on. Both dogs handled the flight just fine. Their new owners were sooo excited as they taxied in!

Another successful Pilots n Paws rescue – Kudos to Joan Nickum for doing such a GREAT job organizing this rescue! Many thanks to all of the drivers!