Stevie’s adventure started when we were contacted by Marilyn, one of our volunteers in Virginia. She had a small blind poodle who had been found as a stray and was wondering if we could take him into our rescue. There was no way we could say no! Marilyn brought him to the vet where it was determined that he had severe glaucoma in both eyes, so he was immediately scheduled for surgery to remove them and relieve him of his pain. While he was recovering, he was tended to by a very unlikely friend – Marilyn’s cat! During that time, Marilyn also worked with him to help build his confidence and trained him to respond to clicking noises for guidance. Once fully recovered we secured a foster home for him in Vermont and began the daunting task of working to get him there.

This is where Pilots N Paws comes in. We were lucky enough to work with five fantastic pilots in our efforts to get Stevie north. Because of the length of the journey and the time of year, we broke the trip into two segments. Marilyn bundled Stevie and took him to the airport to meet Pilot Joe, who would fly the first leg of the journey. After about an hour’s flight, Joe handed Stevie off to Pilot Mel, who flew him to the DC area where another of our wonderful volunteers, Forrest, met the plane and took Stevie home with her while we worked out the details for the second segment of his flight.

After a day of scrambling, watching the weather, a few false starts, and many offers to help we had three more wonderful pilots lined up and a plan to get Stevie to Vermont. Under bright skies and sunshine, Forrest got Stevie all bundled up once again for another day of travel and met Pilot Theron, who would be flying the first leg. Theron then handed off to Pilot Robin for the middle leg of the trip. Robin flew Stevie to Poughkeepsie, NY where he handed him off to Pilot Chris and his co-pilot. The plan was originally for Chris to fly him up to Burlington, VT to meet his foster parents, however snow showers in Vermont dictated a change of plans – a more southern airport seemed like a better bet. Bill and Donna, Stevie’s foster parents, headed down towards NY to meet the plane. Poor visibility caused Chris to have to change plans again and turn around just before making the airport, so Bill and Donna (the troupers that they are) kept driving another hour south. Chris and his co-pilot brought Stevie into the airport and kept him company while waiting for his ride to arrive. They reported that he very much enjoyed stretching his legs after a long travel day and made himself at home in their laps. When Bill and Donna finally arrived, Stevie ran right up to Donna when he heard her voice. As soon as he got in the truck, he settled right down for his long ride and after several hours he found himself in snowy cold Vermont, a big change for this southern boy!

Donna reports that he is adjusting wonderfully. Stevie’s a “cuddler and loves to be picked up and held. He’s amazing and certainly doesn’t let his lack of sight hold him back from exploring the world around him. He has a zest for life and is well socialized.”

PRVT would like to thank all the wonderful people who made his rescue possible. Stevie is currently looking for his forever home through Poodle Rescue of Vermont.

www.poodlerescuevt.org