Brian Mulrooney had a very special passenger for his first Pilots N Paws mission.

I just returned from my first Pilots & Paws journey with Sadie. A two year old Border Collie. She was an absolute sweetheart and a great flying companion. I flew her from Minneapolis, MN to Grand Rapids, MI with an unplanned stop for the night in Eagle River, WI. That was a real treat because I own a cabin there. When the icing conditions were reported in Michigan, I knew I wouldn’t be able to deliver her on Thursday as planned. I got us as close as I could and took Sadie for some R&R at the cabin before delivering her to Donna on Friday in Grand Rapids.

Sadie was dropped off by Dan Hughes who owns Dogs For Defense, Inc. He trains canines for specific duties in law enforcement. Sadie was supposed to become a bedbug sniffer, but Dan soon realized that Sadie didn’t quite have the talents to sniff out bugs. So he focused on her natural herding ability. She trained in Thunder Bay, Ontario with a woman who specializes in herding.  Sadie will receive further training in MI before she finds her new home in Lexington, Kentucky…as an airport bird herding dog. Imagine that! She’s going to protect pilots and passengers from bird strikes at her airport. I feel very fortunate to have been part of her journey.

Thanks goes out to pilots like Brian and PnP sponsors Petmate and Subaru.