Ace was living in Tennessee with a family who had rescued him from a bad situation. They tried to find him a permanent home in their area but weren’t able to do so. Ace is deaf, and the family needed to find him a home with someone who was willing to take on a deaf dog. I said if they could get him to me, I’d take him as a foster dog. That’s where the wonderful people at the Dogo Argentino Rescue Network stepped forward. They put me in touch with a pilot from Pilots N Paws, who would use his own time, money, and his own plane to fly Ace to me. He also took many pictures along the way so I could tell you about it.

Ace used to be named Doofus, by an uncaring owner who thought he was stupid just because he was deaf. The family who rescued him renamed him Einstein because they quickly realized he was really smart. Since I have fostered a dog named Einstein very recently, I decided to change his name (he’s deaf, so he doesn’t mind). And since Pilot Jim told me that Einstein wanted to fly the plane on the way here, I decided he must be a great pilot so I renamed him Ace.

Ace is an amazing dog. He did great on his flight here – after supervising Pilot Jim and finding that he was a more than capable pilot, he watched out the window for awhile to make sure Pilot Jim knew where he was going, and then like any smart relief pilot, he took a nap so he’d be well rested and ready to fly if Pilot Jim needed a break.

Jim confirms that Einstein was a great passenger.

Fortunately for everyone involved, Pilot Jim did not need to call on Ace’s untested flying skill, and they made it safely to the ground without any help from Ace. Pilot Jim has flown many of these flights, rescuing dogs all over the country and flying them to safety. It always amazes me how many people are out there willing to help these homeless animals. Pilots N Paws is a non-profit agency devoted to saving innocent animals by pilots donating their time, money and talents to get these animals to rescues, shelters, and adoptive homes all over the country. Huge thanks to Pilot Jim for helping to save Ace!

fter the flight, I met Pilot Jim and Ace at the airport, where we posed for a quick picture. Ace looks quite proud of himself for making it through the flight.

He’s now at my house and settling in nicely. He’s met all the other dogs and loves to play with Jefferson and Roo. Charlie is still being stand-offish, and Ziggy seems to think I tried to replace him while he was gone, but everyone else just loves Ace. He was already fully vetted by the family who rescued him so he’ll be ready to start training and trying to find a new home right away. He’s such a sweet dog that I think he’ll have no trouble finding a home.

Foster Mom JC