Sheltering Wings
Sue Hostler spent more than five hours Monday flying to Ohio and New York from her home airport in Zelienople. It's a good thing Hostler took a human companion while piloting the single-engine Cessna, since her canine passengers slept through the flight.
"Maybe it was knowing they were going to good homes," laughed Hostler, a pilot for 11 years.
Realistically, Hostler speculated the aircraft's motion lulled the five dogs to sleep. She will rest easier knowing their lives have been spared.
Hostler is among a group of pilots who volunteer with Pilots N Paws, a program in which shelter animals scheduled to be euthanized are transported to regions where no-kill shelters can take them in.
The dogs on Monday were taken from an overcrowded shelter in Zanesville, Ohio, to the Joyful Rescues shelter in Olean, N.Y.
According to Joye Turock, who runs Joyful Rescues, states like Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia are among those labeled as high-kill areas.
"They just have a massive population problem," she said.
Shelters in those areas often coordinate with facilities along the East Coast, where longstanding spay-neuter programs have reduced the numbers of homeless pets.
With placement agreements secured, the shelters post transportation requests on the Pilots N Paws website, where aviators like Hostler can sign up to do transports.
For many aviators, the flights are a way of combining purpose with pleasure.
"It's a good way to use the airplanes for something constructive instead of just getting in the plane for the sake of flying around and enjoying yourself," said Keith McPherson of Allison Park, who along with Hostler belongs to the Condor Aero Club, a flying group based at the Zelienople Airport.
As members of the group, pilots can rent out club aircraft for volunteering or personal use.
"These planes that we usually rent are close to a hundred bucks an hour — and lot of these places you go are a few hours away," said Larry Teal of Evans City, a club member who also does Pilots N Paws flights.
"Usually you find another pilot who wants to do it and split the cost," he added.
"Flying is a wonderful thing, but when you can do it for a reason like that, it makes it so much better," he said of the Pilots N Paws program.
"It combines two of my passions in life: flying and my love of animals," agreed Hostler, who worked as a veterinary technician before a current position in sales.
Babar Suleman told a similar story, explaining how a busy commuting schedule can double as volunteer service. A consultant for Westinghouse in Cranberry Township, Suleman commutes each weekend to his home in Indianapolis.Having done multiple transports, Suleman said the shelters often contact him directly, knowing his regular flight schedule in the twin-engine plane."I'm always available on Sundays to transport dogs," Suleman said, noting his services are sought because fewer volunteers are available along his route."When they are transporting a dog from the West Coast to the East Coast, typically they can get them as as far as Missouri or Iowa," he said, describing a gap from there to Ohio and Pittsburgh, where more volunteers are available to travel east.Suleman formerly volunteered for Angel Flight, a volunteer group that provides free flights for patients who need medical treatment. But his schedule is more compatible with the Pilots N Paws flights."This is the best way I can volunteer," Suleman said. "There will be no human thanking me, but those dogs ... we save them from being euthanized.""I've gotten to know some really, really nice people," Suleman added, explaining how non-pilots do much of the transport work, which also can occur via road travel."They set us up, and if there's a need for fostering overnight, they take are of that.""The pilots in this program are the ones who are getting much of the publicity," agreed Hostler. "But there are many wonderful volunteers ... who not only provide shelter to these animals, but also give hours of their time."For more information about Pilots N Paws, visit the website http://pilotsnpaws.org. For information on the Condor Aero Club, visit http://www.condoraero.com.
