She was a Pyrenees that was picked up in Euless, Texas. She was taken to the shelter where a group of Trinity High School students who are part of the GAP Rescue group named her ‘Harper Lee”, and they began to work their magic.

After the initial show of love, they decided Harper needed to visit their favorite groomer who would be able to give her the professional touch on her damaged coat. One of the group’s fosters volunteered to pick her up and deliver her to be boarded in their favorite Veterinarian’s complex. Problem was he wasn’t able to leave her there. He took her home with him to meet the rest of the pack, and she took up with them right away. With the exception of being 20-25 pounds underweight, she was a healthy girl, got along great with dogs, cats, small children, and was happy just being loved.

The foster had worked with a Pyrenees rescue group in the past, so he reached out to them to check their interest. They immediately responded to inquire if she could come to Colorado, so the work began on finding transport to Great Pyr Rescue and Sanctuary located in Peyton, CO.

It just so happened, Harper’s foster also had a female Australian Shepard mix, that was scheduled to go to Denver on an upcoming P-N-P mission the following weekend. Problem was, there was a full load scheduled for that airplane, and the next available transport was by ground leaving the Dallas area on August 4. A 16 hour ride in the Texas summer wouldn’t be the most comfortable trip on a Pyrenees.

Optimistically, Harper got her health certificate just in case there was a change in the mission. Sure enough, two days before the flight, one of the dogs’ receiving groups changed. Instead of going to Colorado, he was going to Arizona. We jumped on the chance that Harper could make the trip. Early Sunday morning, Harper was jumping on board the Beechcraft Baron, owned by P-N-P pilot, John Davis from Fort Worth, Texas.

Harper seemed to really enjoy her flight to Denver. She passed most of her time checking out the terrain below, and checking to be sure Pilot John was doing ok. I think she only slept maybe an hour of the 3 hour trip.

When we arrived at Centennial Airport in Denver, we met John Kryder and Michael, who operates the Rescue group in Peyton. They took Harper, along with her paperwork and other goodies, and headed to the Sanctuary.

Just a few minutes after we arrived back in Ft. Worth, I received a text from the Pyr people. It said that when Harper stepped off the vehicle, there was a Mom and two kids there, and they fell in love with Harper the minute they laid eyes on her. Harper’s life completely changed in the matter of just over a week, and it was all because of Pilots-N-Paws getting her to Denver when they did. I tell each and every pilot I deal with that they just don’t understand how much the fosters appreciate each and every mission they fly. It really hurts when I am forced to put one of my ‘kids’ on ground transport.

So, from Harper, and all of my other dogs that were able to fly to their destination, I say Thank You, each and everyone.

Charles Phelps

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