On a Wing and a Wag

PET TALK: Two shelter dogs get chance at new life

By PAM SMITH/Special to the Herald-Press

PALESTINE — It is Saturday morning (Nov. 7) at the Palestine Municipal Airport. Two passengers wander the grounds as they wait for the plane that will take them on the first leg of their journey from Palestine to Divide, Colo. There are worries that the fog is too thick for the pilot to land; he is already late for his scheduled 9:15 a.m. landing. Then, as if by magic the skies suddenly clear and the pilot, who has been circling the airport, makes it in to pick up his passengers — both from BARC, The Humane Society of Palestine. 

Lady is a black Lab whose family had to give her up because they were moving from a house to an apartment.  These tough economic times have been rough on family pets, too. Rocco is an apricot-colored Poodle, picked up by animal control and never claimed by his guardian. Their pilot, Byrne, is a Jimmy Buffett sort of guy. With his quick smile, he takes to Lady, who has slipped into a case of depression and is shy with people. Lady instantly lights up to Byrne’s easy attitude. 

Byrne is one of over 400 pilots nationwide that belong to Pilots N' Paws, a group that freely gives their time, planes, money and skills to a variety of rescue groups. Pilots and rescue groups meet and arrange flights online. When all the e-mailing is finished, pets saved from certain euthanasia — mostly from shelters in the South where sterilization rates are low and pet overpopulation is rampant — are loaded onto small planes and flown one, two, or even six at a time to rescue groups or shelters that have space available. Each flight costs the pilots hundreds of dollars in fuel alone, plus the cost of routine maintenance and other operating expenses.

Byrne lifts off into sunny skies with his precious cargo en route to Addison, Texas. In Addison, Lady and Rocco get time to stretch their legs before meeting their next pilot, John, who flies them to Liberal, Kan. where again the dogs get some exercise and load up with Joe, their next pilot.  Joe transports them to a small airport in Colorado, where Sharon, a volunteer for the Teller County Regional Animal Shelter (TCRAS) in Divide some distance away, is waiting. 

Each of these flights was late because of the fog in Palestine. It is now 8:30 p.m. that evening and Sharon called me to say that since it was so late, she was taking all the dogs home with her and would deliver them to the shelter the next day.  Before picking up Lady and Rocco, she made a stop at another airport to pick up Oscar, who flew in from McKinney, Texas.  Oscar and Rocco would go to TCRAS and Lady would stay with Sharon for a week to get over her depression and would then either go to TCRAS or a foster home.

As I was working on my computer Sunday evening, my e-mail alert sounded. It was a message from Sharon with the subject line: “A fast-acting miracle?” That old familiar feeling of hope welled up in my chest. Sharon reported that she took Lady to an adoption event that day, just to socialize her a little. Five minutes after they arrived, a woman walked in, locked eyes with Lady, and it was love at first sight! However, the woman has an older dog that is a bit of a fuss-budget; Lady is just a year-old and a puppy at heart; and the woman wondered if the dogs would get along. Visits are already arranged, a trainer will get involved, and maybe this will indeed be a fast-acting miracle. If not, Lady will find a home eventually, along with Rocco and Oscar. 

Lady and Rocco are the sixth and seventh dogs that BARC has transferred to TCRAS. Next up:  an update on the first five dogs transferred. 

To see more Pilots N' Paws pictures, go to our Web site, www.barctx.org and click on Photo Gallery.

For BARC to continue our relationship with TCRAS and Pilots N' Paws we need crates to transport pets.  If you can donate a new or gently-used crate, please drop it off at the animal shelter on Armory Road. If you would like to make a monetary donation, you can either mail it to BARC, P.O. Box 63, Palestine, TX 77802 or go to www.barctx.org to make a donation through PayPal.

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ADOPT A PET

Here is a list of the featured pets at BARC, The Humane Society:

• Theo — small adult male Chihuahua

• Eugene — male tabby kitten, available at PetSense in Palestine Plaza

• Candice — 5-year-old female Bassett Hound

• Dobie — large young female Doberman

These and other animals are ready for adoption at BARC, The Humane Society, 335 Armory Rd., Palestine. Visit them online at www.achs.petfinder.com and www.barctx.org. or call (903-729-8074) for information. Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The shelter is closed on Wednesdays and Sundays.