110 lb Bloodhound Twin Cities, MN to North of St. Louis, MO

[atrulli]

Hi,
Thank you so much for giving this spot to Benson.

I am not sure about Benson being able to share a crate, he is a big boy, he could fall asleep and smash poor little MIKE.. and it might take a fight by Mike to try to wake him up... He is use to sleeping with other animals, but they can get away, when the wrinkles start flowing from him.

Again, thank you so much... I will help you get a flight for Mike.. or ground transport. I will also put up gas money to help.

Ann

[atrulli]

Benson's crate is 48"L x 30"W x 33"H with the two doors, which is considered the xl. The foster mom needs this crate to be able to take this boy. Weight of crate is 57 pounds according to web site. I can put my 115 pound boy in a large crate and he would be fine for this short trip. I could come up with a large crate if this would work. Then both crates would be left at Vera's.

[ljh1958]

It's a go! Weather looks good to fly Benson to MO. I would prefer the airport in Mexico, MO. Bowling Green doesn't have weather information at the airport, and Mexico does. it is a one hour drive per Mapquest. Vera may know a shorter way, and I hope that will be ok with her. The flight looks like it will be about 3 hours. We would like to leave around 1000, and will call Vera just before we launch, so she will have 3 hours notice.

The crate should fit - I have had an XL Varicrate in the back. Weight is no problem at all. If Benson's crate is too large and collapses, we could collapse it and use my Varicrate for the trip so the foster will have Benson's own crate. I will be flying with a friend, so one of us will be piloting the plane, and the other will be able to pay attention to Benson. We will be filing an IFR flight plan (we are both instrument-rated pilots), so we can be followed on flightaware.com. Go under "private flight tracker" on the left side of the page about 1/3 the way down, and use the call sign "ARF5KA". It designates us as an animal rescue flight to the air traffic controllers. Everyone can see where we are, and when we arrive. Thanks for not feeding Benson We do have water for him in-flight if he seems thirsty.

Matt, get to 494, get off on Flying Cloud Drive and head south. It will be a couple of miles - there is a technical college on the right, some woods, and then a stoplight with an SA gas station on the left, and the airport is on the right. Take a right there (Pioneer Trail). Go a few blocks, and there will be some really weird big fake cows on your right (you'll know what I mean when you see them...) and Elliott Aviation on your left. Go to the stoplight and take a left. There are parking lots there for some soccer fields. I will meet you there at 0930 and I'll get you and Benson to my hangar. My cell is 952-210-8600 and I drive a blue Toyota Highlander with MN plates N425KA.

Trudi and I will be at the airport at 0800 for a final weather check, and if there is an unexpected change for the worse I will call Matt and Vera. No news will be good news.

Trudi and I are so excited to fly Benson! Both of us have rescue dogs, and are committed to dog rescue. I'm also interested in keeping in touch re Mike and flying him to his new home in Champaign.

I'll check our thread in the morning for any last minute changes or questions.

Laura

[atrulli]

This looks awesome, thank you so much Trudi and Laura... Benson is a lover.. Vera will get a picture of plane, Benson and you two...

Benson will be coming with food, vet records, crate, blanket, maybe a favorite toy...

This is going to be very hard on Benson's human and 4 legged family. They are being forced to surrender him due to the neighbor, not letting Benson have any peace in the yard. I am hoping we can get enough pictures to help the 3 year old and 6 year old understand...

Benson will do fine with no water for 3 hours... otherwise you might feel like it is raining in the plane... as those big ears HOLD a ton of water as do the jowls. Then of course the slingers, zingers are not pleasant.

Matt will be there to help load the crate, Benson, etc. and Vera and Daniel will be in Mexico to meet the plane.. So, don't be shy about telling them how to help out.

Again, thanks so much, Words are never enough...

Seen pictures of your plane, it is SWEET.

Ann
712-790-1173 cell phone

[Mobile Mutts]

Wishing you blue skies and a safe flight....

[ljh1958]

Thanks

Laura

[ljh1958]

I hope this reaches everyone as the ride is listed as completed. Matt brought us Benson, and it broke our hearts to know he was saying goodbye to a best friend. We did our final check of the plane before we took off, and found a mechanical problem that I was able to diagnose. Luckily, it was easily fixed by my mechanic, who came to the hangar right away when I told him we had a 110 pound bloodhound in the back of the plane and were on a rescue flight (we love you, Dan!!). The rest of the flight was uneventful, and Benson did great! We fell in love with that big, beautiful bloodhound! Both of us wanted to take him ourselves, but we each have two rescue dogs of our own, and couldn't make it work. I texted Matt a pic of us in front of the plane in Mexico, MO, and Vera also took lots of shots. At the end of the day, Trudi and I felt so good about how we saved Benson, giving him a chance to find a new loving home. When I said goodbye to him (with tears in my eyes), I said "Benson, I love you, and have a great life!"

I attended an aviation safety seminar today at our airport, and shared our flight with some of my fellow pilots. Several were interested, and may join our network.

This was one of the easiest rescue flights I have done - so organized, and so slick. Even better, another life saved! Please feel free to contact me for any further rescue needs. I have lots of space in the back of my plane - the back seat is removed to accommodate crates. I own the plane, so there are no scheduling constraints, and I have excellent maintenance. And, I have a soft spot for big dogs, and pitties.....

Is there any way that someone could let me know what Benson's final destiny is?

[atrulli]

Yes, Laura I will give you updates... on our boy Benson.

He is at Vera's and started BOOT CAMP... for Benson.

If you send me an email to atrulli@aol.com -- I will email you updates.

Thank you so much for transporting Benson... it is getting harder and harder to do ground transport with everyone going to smaller vehicles...

[Mobile Mutts]

An update on Mikey.... who gave up his spot so Benson could get home.... He is finally and happily back home in Champaign via ground transport! I knew you were wondering!!

[atrulli]

Thank you so much for letting me know on Mikey... again thanks for the spot...