Pilots N Paws flies high for rescued animals
David Allison remembers his first delivery as a pilot for Pilots N Paws. It was a mixed-breed dog heading for its forever home. Allison remembers he was nervous that his canine passenger would be shaken up by the noise of his airplane, but the dog got through the two-hour flight unscathed.
Allison, 69, still has a photo of the pooch, ready to end his journey from a shelter in Raleigh, North Carolina to Charleston, South Carolina just a few days before Christmas. The dog was a present for two boys there, from their mother, who had recently gone through a divorce. “That was really cute, and he was a good boy,” Allison said of handing off the dog to the woman. As a volunteer pilot, Allison has done four flights so far and hopes to do more once he fully retires. Allison has been flying formally for five years, fulfilling a lifelong dream of being in the sky since his days in the Navy.
And he found a mission in Pilots N Paws, a national organization with a simple aim – to connect dogs and cats to a brighter future through flights around the country. Not only dogs, but cats, rabbits, pigs, and even reptiles have taken a ride thanks to a Pilots N Paws volunteer pilot. About 70 percent of dogs entering shelters in the South are euthanized, but programs such as Pilots N Paws shipping them elsewhere raise their odds for adoption.
The organization was founded by Debi Boies, who was a retired nurse living in upstate South Carolina rescuing Dobermans from shelters and suspected dog fighting. She was trying to get a dog from Florida when a friend, John Wehrenberg, offered to pick it up and transport it via his plane. Shortly after, Boies and Wehrenberg began creating a network through website forums to match pilots with rescue groups.
“I knew nothing about aviation. He knew nothing about a rescue, but he informed me about how pilots work,” Boies said. Now over 6,000 volunteer pilots fly more than 16,500 rescue animals each year. To date, Boies estimates that Pilots N Paws has flown more than 215,500 animals. In the South, pilots transport animals from South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to places such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and other places in New England.
Pilots such as Allison log onto a website forum and look through requests from rescue groups. Depending on the weather, availability, and the capacity of the aircraft, pilots then arrange for pickup and delivery.
Pilots N Paws supplies crates, collars, or leashes for the pilots, who are not paid for the service, but can write off expenses working for the 501(c)3 organization. In the Southeast, some animals are flown from overcrowded shelters to ones in the Northeast that can accommodate them. Others are flown to their future homes, making it easier for a short flight instead of a long journey by car or van that often takes several days and volunteers.
The work is important and sometimes dangerous. Seuk Kim, a volunteer pilot for Pilots N Paws, crashed in November 2024 in rough weather just outside Albany, New York. Kim died of his injuries. One dog also died, but two others survived the crash. In his honor, Seuk’s Army was formed to provide on-the-ground help with rescues and veterinary needs of animals.
Volunteer coordinator Sydney Galley of Greenville, whose husband, Jerry Stephens is a Pilots N Paws volunteer, is a frequent flier, bringing dogs and cats from places in North Carolina and Georgia to shelters in the Northeast.
While many of the dogs are mixed breed, Galley said she’s seeing more that are part of a “doodle” mix, hastily bred but then discarded or found as a stray. She also remembers the rescue of two bloodhounds who were “skin and bones” and dumped in the woods. Now, the two are in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and their futures are bright.
Boies serves now as president of the organization. She sees her role as letting pilots be in charge so they can find the best opportunity. Pilots N Paws hopes to reach out to a younger generation through its children’s book and programs, in the hope that they will push for better regulation and oversight of domesticated pets in the South. And while the popularity of the organization has grown, Boies is longing for the day when there are no more flights to schedule. “My hope for the future is the day we are no longer needed,” Boies said.