Darcy and the UFOs

We don’t write about all of E’s animal rescue flights, but the presence of UFOs made this flight more interesting than some others.

In early December 2015, animal control officers in eastern North Carolina picked up a homeless, stray dog and her five tiny puppies. The dog was caring for the puppies as best she could without shelter or food, and she was also coping with a deep wound on her abdomen. Pam, an animal rescue volunteer, stepped in to give the dogs a foster home and she named the dog Darcy. Pam tended to Darcy’s wound, made sure all of the puppies stayed healthy, and gave them lots of toys and attention.

After six weeks, the dogs were ready to travel to their rescue group 400 miles away in New Jersey. Pam regularly works with Pilots ‘n Paws and she reached out to pilots who’d flown dogs for her before and asked if they could help. E volunteered to fly and so did a friend of his, John. Both E and John have flown hundreds of dogs for Pilots 'n Paws. 

On January 20, 2016, E flew to Roanoke Rapids, NC, where he picked up Darcy and the puppies and loaded them into his plane.

E flew to Westminster, MD, where he met John. They transferred the dogs to John’s plane and he flew them to their rescue group in New Jersey which will find permanent, loving homes for them.

This flight was unusual because both E and John are UFOs – United Flying Octogenarians. UFOs are pilots who flew a fixed or rotary wing, glider, sport or balloon aircraft as pilot in command on or after their 80th birthdays. I'm sure this isn’t the first time two UFO pilots have teamed up to make a Pilots ‘n Paws flight, but it is definitely not a common occurrence. 

If you want more information about Pilots ‘n Paws, you can find it here and here. If you want more information about the UFOs, you can find it here.