Wings of Rescue gives pets a bright future
Standing out at a Southern California animal shelter can be a challenge for a dog like Bruin. At 10 years old, the rat terrier mix was competing with dozens of younger, flashier canines to be adopted.
On the morning of July 11, Bruin’s outlook became exponentially brighter as he became the 20,000th pet transported by Wings of Rescue, a non-profit organization of volunteer pilots dedicated to giving shelter pets a second chance by offering free flights to receiving animal welfare partners across the country.
Bruin, who came from Castaic Animal Care Center, was one of 400 dogs and cats transported to a humane society in the Pacific Northwest that day.
Pilot Yehuda Netanel is a cofounder of Wings of Rescue, which launched in 2009.
“We realized that some parts of the country have a shortage of adoptable pets while others have no room for them,” Netanel said. “What better way to help than to use our piloting skills to bridge that gap?”
Wings of Rescue averages two to three transports per week. For Netanel and the 31 other pilots who volunteer with the organization, the lifesaving flights never get old.
“When you see these pets wag their tails, smile, and bark or meow with excitement and you realize they might have died if not for that flight, it energizes you,” he said. “Getting them to their destination feels great.”
Getting the pets from the shelter to the tarmac is also a positive experience, according to Clare Storey, lead volunteer at Castaic Animal Care Center.
“Considering what’s going on in the world, it felt good to be part of something wholesome, working together to save lives and produce something amazing,” she said.
The July 11 transport was Storey’s first. She and volunteer Hsiawen Hull drove Bruin and dozens of other Castaic pets down to the Van Nuys Airport, meeting with volunteers and staff from the ASPCA’s Los Angeles division who brought along additional pets from Los Angeles County Animal Care & Control shelters.
Altogether, 156 dogs and cats from LA County shelters boarded the flights.
“We had Jack Russell terriers, rat terriers, puggles, and all kinds of little scruffies,” Storey said. “There were so many, they had to come in a horse trailer. It was absolutely phenomenal.”
Wings of Rescue’s goal for 2016 is to transport 12,000 shelter pets, especially those most at risk, such as the Chihuahuas that are prevalent at so many Southern California shelters.
“In the northeast, there is a shortage of Chihuahuas. We can put 150 on an overnight flight, land by 9 a.m. and they get adopted within a few days, sometimes right off the tarmac,” he said.