We don’t know where Betty, the Springer Spaniel’s, story began, but we’ll start it from being found by a county animal control officer and taken to a shelter.  She was later determined to be 7-9 years old, but at the shelter they thought she was quite a bit older because she was so pitiful! She had ear and skin infections, later found to be caused by allergies.

Betty was extremely thin and she had cataracts in both eyes; she was/is blind in one eye and going blind in the other. However, luckily she was heart-worm negative! Betty was taken-in by English Springer Rescue America (ESRA) and fostered with our family while she healed, was evaluated for temperament and matched with a forever family.  She turned out to be a smart, sweet, loving and “Velcro” dog. However, while she did get along well with our cat, she didn’t do well with submissive dogs. Betty was so smart; she could open (on the first try!) our lever handle doors – from either side! It’s especially impressive knowing that to open a door “in,” she had to press the handle and pull it toward her!  Betty was with us 5 months while ESRA searched for the right forever family for Betty.

A couple from the Boston area was looking for the right Springer for their family.  There were none in the area, or in the next. They spread their net further and saw Betty in the Atlanta, GA area and knew she was the one!   They wanted a calm, older dog that was loving and would get along with their older cats. They were not deterred by the fact that she was on her way to being totally blind and needed to be on allergy medicines for life.  The match was made and approved! They were so excited and we were sending frequent pictures to them, which they were posting on Facebook, while we awaited vacations to complete and the adoption to be made.

My husband, Tom Whitehouse, is a new pilot; immediately upon his certification in June, he signed up with Pilots N Paws (PNP).  We decided to offer to take Betty halfway to meet Betty’s forever family, as his maiden transport. ESRA listed Betty on PNP and Tom accepted the trip.  

On the appointed Friday, after work; we flew together with Betty from Winder, GA (in a rented Diamond DA40 from Dragonfly Aviation) to a planned overnight stop at Smith Reynolds airport, near Winston-Salem NC.  Betty was so cute on the plane in her ear protectors! We spent the night in a hotel so we could arrive at our end destination when the FBO (airport) was open and we could take pictures in the daylight. Betty was really good on the flight and in the hotel!   On Saturday morning we completed the journey with Betty to Ashland, VA (near Richmond, not far from WA DC). The adoptive couple was super excited! We went out to brunch with them and they were really nice; but better yet, the perfect match for Betty! During our meal, the couple’s two adult sons (not living with them), both called because they too were excited and they wanted to see if their parents had Betty yet!  It warmed our hearts.

After our brunch, we went back to the plane to look for something and Betty repeatedly tried to get back in the plane, she liked flying! After 5 months, as you might imagine, we were quite bonded to Betty; but parting was much easier knowing she’d found her perfect forever family!

THANK YOU to all the volunteers in rescue organizations like ESRA that make saving dogs their mission and to all the volunteers in Pilots N Paws that help get the rescued dogs to medical treatment or to their forever families!

-Shawn Whitehouse, PNP Pilot