I was able to take a six-month break from my job recently. I had a long list things to do during my time off, and flying as many dogs as I could was high on that list. I was in Florida when I learned about Paige, a young pit bull who desperately needed transportation to her new foster home in the DC area.

Paige and her brother had been subjected to the most awful abuses by a very cruel person. Law enforcement in Florida was alerted and intervened, but only after both dogs suffered very serious injuries. Paige’s brother did not survive. Paige became a ward of the county, and the arresting officer in the case was instrumental in helping the local humane society win custody of her in court. Because Paige is a Pittie, the humane society was prohibited from adopting her out locally; she needed to get out of Florida to survive. Fortunately someone familiar with her case posted a request on the Pilots n Paws forum. I connected with Paige’s southern foster mom Pam, and we made arrangements to meet the following morning.

As I approached the Hernando County airport I called the air traffic control tower on the radio. I told the controller that I was coming in “to pick up a passenger”. A minute or so later I clarified that my passenger was a dog, and his demeanor change immediately: his tone of voice perked up and he telephoned the FBO to confirm that Paige and Pam were there and waiting for me. It’s great when the air traffic controllers are dog lovers too!

Paige was a surprise from the start. After all the abuse and torture she had been through I expected a shy, timid, or even fearful dog, but she was none of those things. She looked me straight in the eye, sniffed me a couple of times, wagged her tail and then decided she was ready to go. She said a quick goodbye to Pam, hopped up on the wing, walked into the cabin and sat in the pilot’s seat as if she’d been planning this trip for a while. I convinced her to swap seats with me and we were off. She was a little nervous when we encountered some light turbulence during takeoff, but with some reassuring ear scratching from me she relaxed quickly and went to sleep.

Paige slept most of the trip north. When we were on final approach to land she sat up and watched over my shoulder and out the windows. Maybe she was checking that I had the landing gear down and locked. In any case, I made sure my touchdown was as smooth as possible. I hope she was impressed.

Paige’s northern foster mom Tara de Nicolas got stuck in DC traffic and was late getting to the airport to meet us. That was just fine with Paige and me because it gave us a little more time to bond! When Tara finally arrived, Paige and I shared a special goodbye as you can see by the impromptu hug she’s giving me in the photo. When she got into Tara’s vehicle for the next leg of her journey, I remarked how matter-of-fact she was about it, just like she had been earlier in the day when getting into the plane in Florida: say goodbye, close the door, no looking back.

Paige wasn’t with Tara very long before being adopted by Charlotte.  It’s hard to decide which of them got the better deal.  She now lives in Virginia and is called Abra, where she continues to make new friends like this four-hoofed one!

There were many people and organizations involved in Paige’s rescue: law enforcement, the humane society, the courts in Florida, foster families in Florida and DC, the person who posted Paige’s story on the Pilots n Paws website, probably numerous veterinarians along the way, and the eventual adopter.  Those of us who are PNP volunteer pilots tend to get noticed when we are flying an animal, but the reality is we are usually only involved for a few hours in any rescue.  That pales next to the time and financial commitments others make for days, weeks and months.  It’s the dedication and long-term commitments made by that long list of people in the chain of a rescue who are the real heros, and they deserve our thanks for making it happen over and over again.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!.

David Harlow, PnP volunteer pilot

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