RESCUES PLEASE READ/PILOTS PLEASE ADVISE

[Amelia]

I just flew my first dog-transport trip, and can share some of my concerns, as a non-dog-owner and pilot of a small airplane:
I worried, would the dog be clean, flea-free, calm? Would he get airsick? Would he need tranquilizers or other meds? My airplane's too small for a big dog in a crate. How would I confine him for his own safety and comfort, as well as for ours?
Fortunately, the people in charge of our dog-passenger really knew their stuff. The web post clearly specified origin and destination, with flexibility for each. He arrived having eaten only very lightly that morning, having been walked plenty, so his bladder wasn't full. He had a leash and a snug harness which was easy to thread a seatbelt through, and he was freshly washed. There would be no need for medication, as, they reassured me, "He rides well." They even provided a blanket to go between him and the upholstery. Perfect! The dog handled the trip with quiet aplomb, his manners were fine, he didn't seem to mind the occasional turbulence or being at 11,000 feet. It was a very reassuring first-timer's experience, and if all dog-rescuers provide their volunteer pilots with such a well-prepared animal, you'll have more of us than you know what to do with.

[admin]

seem to mind the occasional turbulence or being at 11,000 feet. It was a very reassuring first-timer's experience, and if all dog-rescuers provide their volunteer pilots with such a well-prepared animal, you'll have more of us than you know what to do with.

Amelia,

Great to hear about your first transport being so positive! Do you have photos to share? It is the perfect scenario when the animals in question are clean and do not get airsick.

It is important to remember that many of these animals who have only been out of the shelter for a short time may not be as perfect as this little passenger. They have come through a traumatic time, some had families at one time who could no longer care for them. Others may have had families who just didn't care. Some have medical needs and baby puppies make messes it is just what they do as babies.

Moral, be prepared. Have your upholstery covered, have the smaller animals crated with an absorbant towel in the bottom, and ask your rescue volunteers not to feed them that morning. Preparing for all these things in advance will make everyone's flights a positive experience.

Tahnk you Amelia for making a flight and saving a life!

Debi

[lt4247]

Suggestions for rescues requesting flights:

1 - BE READY TO FLY. If you are going to post here and request flights be ready BEFORE posting. You will most likely get a reply within a few hours and that is not the time to start putting together your details/plans for the flight. Do all you can do before posting to maximize your possibility for success. Have your dog ready to go and please keep delays to a minimum.

2 - Monitor your post, private messages, and emails. We as pilots are generally busy with other things like business, work schedules, family etc and have to schedule in your rescue flight. If we contact you back following a request, we expect a prompt response. Prompt communication will allow us ample time to consider, plan and schedule your proposed flight. Example: If you contact us for a flight request on Friday via email and want a flight on Sunday morning please don't wait until Saturday night to respond back to our offer. This does not allow us ample time to prepare and you will probably be denied.

3. Provide requested details promptly. Answers are used to determine if flight can happen. Generally we as pilots will want to know things such as:

- What is traveling with the dog. Crate included? Collar/chain and lead? Food, accessories, etc.
- Weight of the dog, crate and everything being delivered for the flight. At least the correct weight of the dog.
- Is dog crate shy? ANY aggressive behavior? Special requirements (usually medical)?
- Reciever's name and cell phone number.

4 - Be flexible about where the dog is to be delivered and picked up. You may have some ground transport involved to meet the pilot/AC at the airports.

[Joe Brininstool]

I signed up up last night as a potential pilot for transporting. I am not very computer literate and not sure who I am asking these questions to.

As a pilot who lives in Austin, Tx during the week, Carlsbad NM on weekends and lots of spur of moment flights arround these two states and more, how do you check for the need of transporting these animals before a flight?

[Jon]

The easiest way for me is to check the site twice a day if possible and only read the new posts. I ignore all the posts not in or over my geographic area, and if I see any originating or ending in my area that I can do I respond to those posts.

We encourage rescuers to only put the starting and ending cities in the heading along with zip codes, putting the balance of the information such as the number of animals, their size and weights, etc. in the body of the post. If the heading does not include those I tend to ignore it because there are too many posts to scan and read otherwise. I think most pilots do the same.

[cmerrill]

Here's a good link to help with finding Nautical Miles between airports.
http://www.airrouting.com/content/TimeDistanceForm.aspx

[Sarge]

Q on protocol on this...
If needing to coordinate for more than one flight due to distance, do we post a new request for additional help if a pilot can do one leg of a flight, or do you prefer staying with the original post and post a reply.
Thanks
Sarge.

[admin]

Q on protocol on this...
If needing to coordinate for more than one flight due to distance, do we post a new request for additional help if a pilot can do one leg of a flight, or do you prefer staying with the original post and post a reply.
Thanks
Sarge.

Sarge, it is preferable to stay with your original request and within that posted request, perhaps use the tools provided in the "How to" posts at the top of the Animals Needing Transport page to break your longer distances down into approximately 300 nautical mile legs. These are usually a straight line from the point of origin to the final destination. I would choose cities that are well known for each leg, simply to give a pilot an immediate idea of where this route is headed. The pilot will then tell you which airport in that area is acceptable to them. You can certainly suggest a small airport for them to check out but ultimately it is the pilots choice.

If a pilot comes forward and tells you exactly where hey can fly, then jump in and look for other pilots before and after that point to see if they can meet the previous pilot. AS ALWAYS, YOU MUST HAVE A BACKUP PLAN for each leg, particularly if the distance is long. This means locating a temp foster you a approve of at each hand off point. There are fosters on our foster map who have volunteered to help in these types of situations but you must approve them. None of us want the animals or a pilot to be stranded somewhere because for whatever reason, the next pilot in line was not able to fly that day due to mechanical issues, illness, etc. so please be prepared. We also DO NOT want any pilot to feel pressured to have to fly, hurry, etc. to get to the transfer location.

This is the downside of putting together several legs of a transport, it is not the same as ground legs, and the reason why those of us in admin do not promote multi leg flights. As always, it is the pilots choice to become involved or not so we do our best to answer your questions that refer to a several leg transport.

Hope this information was helpful.

Debi

[Eric27]

I was just looking at some of the posts under this. I'm a newer pilot and I like to keep my range under 150 nm. The reason behind this is simple: if I fly out I have to fly back. I think most of the pilots will be making a round trip coming back or going out empty. I did a transport a few weeks ago and I flew out about 130 nm to ick up two dogs and bring them back to a local airport.

If you are looking for a long transport, do some leg work. Put legs together at about 150 to 200 nm. Have a foster ready at each stopping point just in case a link get broken, plus at 150 nm someone might be willing to drive a leg. Be as flexable as possiable. You may get a pilot that can do one leg one day then the next might not be for a few days. Keep in mind a small plane burns 8+ gallons per hour of $4.65 per gallon aviation fuel. We love to fly short hops give us a great excusse for us to da a little flying and not just brun up a $100.00 worth of avgas.

Ask questions the more you know about us the more we can work together.

[catmd22]

Thanks! all good advice!! And very helpful! And you pilots do great works! Thanks