Interesting article in my home paper...

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ERE99
Posts: 53
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:06 pm
Foster?: Yes
Pilot?: Yes
Distance willing to fly one way: 0
Location: NC27, Lenoir, NC

Interesting article in my home paper...

Post by ERE99 » Mon Nov 21, 2011 11:16 pm

http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2011 ... r-1630377/

Let me start by saying that the few transport flights I`ve flown have been some of the best times of my life. I LOVE dogs, and there was a point in my life years ago that I thought my lab was all I had left in this world. This past weekend flying 2 lab pups brought back a lot of fond memories, and I`ll admit to getting a small lump in my throat when I picked them up at the airport. I trust dogs WAY more than humans, and will go out of my way to help one have a happy life. I`m not an animal "lover" as I enjoy ethical hunting and fishing, especially with a good dog. Get the point?

I had wondered about things like in the article going on, especially when someone contacts me(on several occasions) about doing flights that all seem to be going to the same 2 northeastern states, and the request comes from a person who lives somewhere not even close to the beginning or ending point, nor even in one of the states the flight path crosses over. Strange thing is that I know of 3 transports that have been cancelled abruptly, one without my knowledge even after I did a flight plan, one even attributed to their "weekly van load" having space available.

From the article....."Sometimes there is a middleman or group who takes the animal to its final owner. That person or group also needs to be credentialed, she said. Many times, she said, there is a tangled web of foster homes"

I guess I`ll just start to fly only for established rescues, or others that can provide reputable, or verifyable, references. As a veteran, servicemember`s dog(s) will always be welcome to fly with me. I fully believe in the PnP organization, and will do anything I can to support it.

If you`re asking me to fly your animal for the sole purpose of the sender/receiver`s profit, you have more to worry about than the law catching up to you ;) I`ve spent over 14hrs in the air flying dogs in the last 30 days. It isn`t cheap. If I was to ever find out I flew a "for profit" animal, I`m afraid I`d just have to extract my portion of the profits out of someone`s hind end.

Y`all have a nice day. Sorry for the rant, but stuff like the article references really ticks me off......
Ed Rosamond
N5855W
based at NC27 "The Creek"
currently VFR only :(

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Re: Interesting article in my home paper...

Post by admin » Tue Nov 22, 2011 9:00 am

ERE99 wrote:http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2011 ... r-1630377/
I I guess I`ll just start to fly only for established rescues, or others that can provide reputable, or verifyable, references. As a veteran, servicemember`s dog(s) will always be welcome to fly with me. I fully believe in the PnP organization, and will do anything I can to support it.
If you`re asking me to fly your animal for the sole purpose of the sender/receiver`s profit, you have more to worry about than the law catching up to you ;) I`ve spent over 14hrs in the air flying dogs in the last 30 days. It isn`t cheap. If I was to ever find out I flew a "for profit" animal, I`m afraid I`d just have to extract my portion of the profits out of someone`s hind end.
Y`all have a nice day. Sorry for the rant, but stuff like the article references really ticks me off......
Ed, thank you for sharing the article. It reiterates that ALL members here should frequently read the quidelines sections and the FAQ Pilots or Rescue icons at the top right on every page. Many questions are answered there, lots of good information.

For what it's worth, this particular person has been black listed and placed on a Do Not Adopt list that was sent around the world to rescue groups weeks ago. To my knowledge, she is not posting on PNP but then again, you can be anyone you want to be on the internet even a non-pilot who poses as one, at least initially. Sad but true.

As always we encourage you to ask questions. If you have reservations at all about the answers given then don't do the flight. There are always others who need us, sadly, and hopefully one day that will change. If you are flying dogs with current health certificates and proof of vaccination, you should be ok for most state requirements. The USDA link to check it further is given in several areas on this forum. It is true the 501c3 groups have the required paperwork classifying them as non profits but even that is not a full guarantee. There are many groups that financially cannot afford that tax status but do follow the rules and and do proper vetting, etc. prior to transport. This is individual and subjective but ultimately the pilots choice.

Something else the article refers to is the "selling" of these animals. As usual, IMO, the HUSU is yelling the sky is falling. All rescues have adoption fees and yes, some are a few hundred dollars. Why you ask? Most are dependent upon donations and those are very scarce in this economy. For every apparently healthy puppy they take in and adopt out, they may take in a dog with two broken legs who needs thousands of dollars of surgery. Or many have heartworms and need treatment, the medical list goes on. So before making judgements about "rescues making money" (not talking about people posing as a rescue like this individual), please understand that adoption fees are how rescues can continue to help dogs who need veterinary care. It is important to realize that this is not the "selling" of animals this is the way rescues keep going and I don't know any small rescue groups that make a profit.

Again, thank you Ed for highlighting this and bringing awareness to a potential problem. We do our very best to monitor who posts on our board but everyone else needs to do their part as well by asking questions. Best to err on the side of caution, always.

Thank you for the unique puppy flight you made last weekend, can you please send me photos at [email protected] so we can get the story up on our site?

Debi

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