This transport started with a post by Blair Crandell of Zsa Zsa’s Sheltie Rescue of Oklahoma to transport a senior husky mix named Rusty from Oklahoma City to Denver. I offered to fly the second half of the flight from somewhere in Kansas to Denver. PnP pilot Zack Humphrey offered to fly the first half, and we agreed to meet in Ulysses, Kansas on Sunday, March 3.

A few days prior to the flight Zack saw a post for a separate rescue of six 7 week old border collie/great pyrenees puppies and their mother from Norman, Oklahoma, so we offered to combine them. Sybil Miller President of Mountain Pet Rescue offered to pick up and find homes for the mother and puppies. Things worked out great, and the transport of all eight dogs was completed on March 3!

My daughter, Kylie Bower, accompanied me on the flight from Denver and a few minutes after we landed.  While taxiing to the FBO we heard Zack announce his position on final to land (perfect timing). In Ulysses we let the mom, puppies, and Rusty walk around and check out the airport while getting a little water. We loaded them into our rented Cessna Skylane and departed about 45 minutes after arrival.

Kylie held one of the puppies in her lap for the 92 minute flight back to Denver making the flight time much more fun. Curiously, although we had a very strong tailwind flying Eastbound for Ulysses, and the forecast called for equally strong headwinds on the flight back, the winds died down and we actually had smooth air and a tailwind for the last 50 miles into Denver. It s strange to have a tailwind going opposite directions in the same spot within a few hours and I attribute this to good karma for helping these sweet dogs (and, of course, great piloting sklls)!

We landed and met the volunteers picking up all of the dogs at Aspen Flying Club and had fun visiting and just enjoying the dogs for awhile. There were some potential adopters there and an airport employee also may adopt a puppy so it will not take long for these dogs to find new homes. All parties were very professional and nice to work with. This was Zack’s second flight (16 dogs total), and he made sure the crates would fit both planes, kept each dog’s paperwork organized, and that all PnP paperwork was ready. It was a very gratifying experience that we plan to repeat soon!

Dan Bower
Conifer, Colorado