A sweet, little husky has had some struggles through his young life.  Loki was raised by an elderly lady by a bottle because his mother was hit by a car and killed.  His owner fell into financial troubles and could not keep him.  She was losing her house and having to move to a place that she could not take him with her.  Her last resort was going to be dumping Loki in a high kill shelter in CA (where many don’t make it out).

Fortunately for this little guy, California Husky Rescue Network Inc stepped in and sent a volunteer over to meet Loki.  They were able to connect with GTS Husky Rescue that had space & offered to take him. Thank you GTS!!  But wait, GTS Husky Rescue is in Jupiter!  So maybe that is Jupiter, FL, but for a dog facing its end in a high-kill shelter it might as well have been the planet.  Step in Pilots N Paws and a miracle coordinator named Monica.  She arranged a trip touring all of the southern contiguous states.

Loki spent his first day with Wayne in a Diamond Star XLS covering 1,000 miles all the way from San Bernardino, CA to Midland TX.  All one can say is ‘wow’.  There was also a little craziness for Wayne in Arizona.  He ended up with a flat tire and thought he might have to spend the night.  He reached out to Monica to search for an emergency overnight foster near Safford but ended up not needing it.  In her search, a few other pilots offered to help and hold Loki overnight if needed too, including Kevin in Tucson.

Wayne (left) and copilot Raymond

He spent two nights in Midland with Aly and checked out the sights.

Then Loki caught a flight to Georgetown, TX in the Austin area with Kerry.  The weather that morning was challenging, and with the pilot not being able to specify his arrival time in Georgetown, the Austin foster wasn’t sure if she’d be able to pick up Loki.  That could cause a problem because it isn’t as if Kerry could have just dropped the dog at the airport.

Oh wait, yes it is.  One of the tower controllers in Georgetown, Shannon, offered to watch the pup between his arrival and the foster, Adrianna, being able to pick him up.  While timing worked out so that option wasn’t needed, the transport could have hit a brick wall with the dog having to stay in Midland.  Even when someone only plays a small part in holding a dog for a few hours, it can make the difference to the whole transport team.

Adrianna pampered Loki overnight and delivered him back to the Georgetown airport before the crack of dawn the next morning.  Matt loaded up Loki in the Bonanza for his next stop in New Orleans, LA.

Loki’s flights were interrupted as Valerie scooped him up and drove him to Biloxi, MS to meet his next leg’s pilot, Tracie.

Driver Valerie on the left

Tracie carried the dog to Jacksonville, FL.  There, Tom added to the team and flew Loki down the Florida coast to meet Scott, who drove the final stretch to GTS

Sheila, Tracie, and Heather in the back.

Four days, seven legs, two fosters, one coordinator, and countless support from many not specifically listed.  Thanks to everyone that played a part in giving Loki his new life.

Subaru and Petsmate are proud sponsors of Pilots N Paws.