Pilots To The Rescue News
We LOVE the holidays at PTTR, because they’re all about giving.
With the help of several major players in the pet care community - including the iconic BISSELL Pet Foundation - we rescued an incredible 86 dogs and 84 cats in the month of December! And just as we hoped: the adoptions are rolling in, with more than a dozen animals in loving homes!
We’re especially proud of these rescues because they demonstrated the value of our new plane, Big Paw. Without Big Paw, we wouldn't have been able to fit so many animals on our plane at once, forcing us to leave some poor souls behind.
But now, we can rescue FIFTY dogs and cats in a single mission, putting us in position to make 2025 our highest-performing year to date. In this month’s newsletter, you can meet some of our cutest paw-ssengers from this month’s rescues, along with their new families! You can also learn a new tip for preventing separation anxiety in your newly adopted dog when you’re working from home.
Thank you for your support in making these missions possible!
PTTR Teams Up with BISSELL to Fly 38 Souls to NY
On December 6th, PTTR Pilot in Command Viking Thorsteinsson and Co-Pawlet/PTTR Top Dog Michael Schneider took to the skies to rescue 27 dogs and 11 cats in a mission sponsored by the BISSELL Pet Foundation. Accompanying Michael and Viking in the cockpit was social media influencer and pilot Mack Rutherford - a.k.a. Mack Solo - who currently holds the Guiness World Record for the youngest person in history to complete a SOLO flight around the world!
Departing from our home base of Essex County Airport in New Jersey, Michael, Viking, and Mack first flew to Tri-Cities Airport in Sullivan County, Tennessee. With their furry cargo in two, the trio flew more than 500 miles up North to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, where the dogs and cats were received by the SPCA Serving Erie County, New York.
When you're flying so far up North during the winter, you're bound to run into inclement weather. Though this wasn't part of the plan, our pilots ended up touching down in Buffalo during a full-on ice storm, forcing them to stay the night and leave the following morning.
PTTR Completes HUGE 50-Animal Rescue with CUDDLY
Just six days later, PTTR’s Top Dog got behind the controls of Big Paw once again, this time with Co-Pawlet Jason Oliver and animal-loving TikTok personality Kyle Thomas.
The crew first made their way to Asheville, North Carolina, where they picked up 25 dogs and 23 cats from the Asheville Humane Society, Mitchell County Animal Rescue, Madison County Animal Services, and the Henderson County Animal Shelter. After picking up the pets in NC, the crew flew to Manassas, Virginia, to relinquish the 48 animals to The Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation.
This mission is proudly sponsored by our amazing partners at CUDDLY and The Swilled Dog, with a BIG thank you to the BISSELL Pet Foundation for coordinating this critical rescue.
Many of these paw-ssengers were rendered homeless due to Hurricane Helene's devastating effect on North Carolina. As if this sudden influx of pets wasn't stressful enough for local shelters, the hurricane has also triggered a significant reduction in adoption applications. That's why shelters in NC are relying on organizations like PTTR more than ever to find available space for these displaced pets.
But this tragic story has a happy ending: Thanks to the extraordinary promotional efforts of the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation, at least 15 paw-ssengers have since been adopted by loving families.
Adoption Tip of the Month
Working from home can be a blessing and a curse for pet parents. On the one hand, you’re home to walk your dog and give them all the care they need during the day. However, being home with your dog all the time can make it harder for your dog to relax when you’re not around. Instead of learning how to keep themselves entertained, your dog relies on you to provide all of their entertainment. This level of dependence is what causes separation anxiety.
So, if you work from home, it’s important to leave your house for at least a couple of hours per day. Two or three hours isn’t very long, but it’s enough for your dog to get used to being alone. If you’ve never been apart from your dog for an extended period, start off in short increments: 15 minutes to a half-hour at a time. You can even leave out a few of your dog’s favorite toys when you leave, since this tells your dog that you leaving = fun!
Additionally, try to encourage your dog to spend time in another room when you’re working from home. This is one of those occasions where an interactive puzzle toy could come in handy: it will keep your dog entertained and tire them out while you work at the same time.
Help PTTR Soar to New Heights in 2025
2024 was a monumental year in the PTTR journey. We finally purchased a larger plane, saved nearly 1,000 lives, and forged partnerships with some of the most renowned pet care organizations in the country!
Do you know why these companies want to work with us? Because of you. That's right, YOU. When our community grows, so does our reputation. Companies like BISSELL, CUDDLY, and The Swilled Dog know they can trust PTTR because we have such a loyal community behind us. That's why your support means so much right now. We need to stay active to continue our upward momentum into 2025. Get ready to see more PTTR rescues in the media, and more pets in loving homes. You've helped us get this far, and we have nowhere to go but up.
So, please consider donating to PTTR, where your contributions will go straight towards our life-saving missions. If you don't have the means to donate, that's perfectly fine. You can find 15 ways to give at pilotstotherescue.org/support.
On behalf of the entire team here at PTTR, we want to thank you - from the bottom of our hearts - for being a part of our community in 2024. We truly mean it when we say that every single contribution helps us save more lives, so we want you to know how much we appreciate your support as an individual. As a valued member of our community, we thought we'd send you off into 2025 by formally introducing you to the executive team here at PTTR.
Wishing you a happy new year!
