Daylight - Saving Animals!
The Amelia Air crew wrapping up another successful rescue flight!
Daylight savings time - what a great invention! We get to wake up and it’s actually dark, and the light of day continues long past dinner time so we can get more in during the daylight and then veg out to Netflix when it’s actually dark. Oh, and we can fly longer missions into the evening when it’s still light, which is a valuable tool when avoiding the afternoon convective activity on the east coast while carrying precious loads of rescue animals. So when we heard a crowded shelter in South Carolina had been robbed of supplies, we leapt into action.
Much needed supplies from DC Paws headed to their partner South Carolina shelter.
This morning started off a bit slow as our two pilots had to adjust to the change in time. But we’d done the preparations and had some new variables in the mix for this flight. First of all, we were to bring a bunch of supplies that were needed by the shelter in South Carolina, which had been vandalized. The DC Paws Rescue group had gathered up crates, food and other supplies the shelter needed, and with an empty plane at our disposal - we loaded up in the morning, something we haven’t done before. This was a nice way to get started as it required critical thinking and physical exercise to load up the pilot, co-pilot, “flight attendant” and all the supplies, along with the normal processes and procedures required to get a twin turboprop airplane out of the hangar, pre-flighted, started and then flown at 24,000 feet for 400 miles.
Once we arrived in Spartanburg SC (KGSP), we were greeted by some wonderful, happy, friendly dogs like PJ shown above - he has an energy and a super sweet spirit. In all, we gathered up 10 animals needing new homes, and loaded them into the Cessna Conquest II for their freedom flight. A few photos below in our slideshow will give you an idea of the beautiful animals we had the good fortune to rescue!
In flight, Captain Rob basically fell in love with Chowder, the cat who has the distinction of being the first cat to be transported for rescue by Amelia Air! It’s nice to work with rescues and shelters that work together to make sure the animals have almost immediate placement in adopted homes, and Chowder was adopted before we even landed by Cap’n Rob and his daughter (our lovely and talented animal flight attendant)!
Captain Rob and his new cat Chowder - it’s love at first sight!
Once we arrived back in the DC area, into Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO) - we were met by a convoy of cars and trucks with loving fosters ready to take all the animals into their homes and care for them for a few days before the adoptions occurred and the animals found their new homes. It was a fitting end to a perfect day for flying and rescuing animals, thanks to the coordination efforts of our friends at DC Paws Rescue. We look forward to being of service in the future to animals in need, and hope you’ll join us on the journey as we post more videos, photos and content on our website, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter channels.
And if you feel compelled to help us in our mission, please donate to help us with more rescues. Our commitment to all donors is 100% of your donations go to animal rescues, as we are entirely volunteer organization, and our founders pay for the business operations. So please help if you can!
A big shout-out to our sponsors and donors - SF AppWorks and Webera as our sponsors, and our founding donors: Sandra Heistad, Allison Janney, Chris Haupert, Donald Heistad, Leesa Elseman, Carl Gentile, Jo Powell, Jervis Janney, and all the others who have helped along the way. Thank you!
**UPDATE: Remember the scruffy senior Pekingese from the photos above? Well he’s landed his dream home and is now thriving with his new family! Check out the sweet pictures below or follow along his adventures with his brother on Instagram. Thanks to his new mom, Veronika, for putting such a big smile on his face - and ours!
