Dear Dog Is My CoPilot family,
Together, with your support, and the help of our partners, we are flying nearly 1,000 animals to new forever homes every month. It’s the kindness and generosity from people like you, that allows us to take action every day by supporting our shelter partners with reliable lifesaving transportation. Flying thousands of pets from overcrowded shelters to adoption centers that have adopters waiting, is truly life changing. As we reach the end of the year, we want to welcome you aboard and introduce you to the 30,000 plus shelter pets we’ve flown to safety in this heartwarming video!
Every animal we fly does not just save one life—it saves two: the one that is rescued and the one that takes its place in the shelter. In essence, the 30,000 shelter pets we have flown since 2012 is more like 60,000 lives saved. We would love to get them all together in one room, but we would need a stadium for this fun filled event!
Approaching the year’s end, we reflect on the countless lives we have touched, both of animals and people. Hercules’s journey began in Presidio, Texas, a small town on the US-Mexico border. The Presidio Animal Shelter is a six-kennel steel shed with no supplies, no budget for veterinary care, no volunteers and no adoptions (just one dog was adopted in the last 24 months). Without the support of other rescues, dogs that enter the shelter don’t make it out alive. At 9 years old, when Hercules was surrendered to the shelter, he had spent his entire life living tied to a chain. After experiencing Hercules’ openness to love, one of our rescue partners, The Underground Dog, pulled him from the shelter and we flew him to Chicago to our no-kill shelter partner, One Tail At A Time. Hercules also holds a special place in our hearts as our 30,000th dog flown to safety!
When we adopt a pet, we change their life. But their unconditional love changes our lives for the better too — we receive adoption stories throughout the year telling us so! To celebrate, we want to share a few stories we have received from adopters this year.
Chopper & Lohman
We adopted Chopper in 2013 after his DIMC flight landed him at the Humane Society of Western Montana. His eye had been removed only days before his flight and was still stitched and badly swollen.
In 2015, DIMC featured another one eyed chihuahua being fostered at Pet Connection Rescue and Sanctuary in Libby, MT. Lohman, named after New Beginnings founder Sharon Lohman, joined the family and quickly settled in. A little less adventurous than Choppy, Lohman is still up for anything as long as Jonna is close by. Lohman’s real passion, however, is cuddling up with Nick and then biting him at the slightest movement.
These two have brought years (and tears) of joy and laughter, and now joined by their sister Jo, continue to flourish under the big sky.
Pippa (Now Lulu!)
“Oh our Lulu… we can’t imagine life without her! She’s so much fun, and such a love! She’s been the perfect addition to our Family! She has an older sister Roxy, who also was a former LSAR pup (aka Itty Bitty Pitty, 2013). They have become increasingly close and more ‘sisterly’ since we brought Lulu home; Lulu loves her sister, and often likes to be in contact with her, especially during naps and bedtime. Did I mention she’s a cuddle bug?! Lulu also has multiple human siblings, with the youngest being a 3 year old sister, who is just Lulu’s size. Lulu is our spoiled lil house hippo! Her life is full of fun adventures and cuddles. She enjoys road trips and glamping. And while she seems to enjoy walks, she gets tuckered quickly with her short stubby legs, and is alway seeking a soft shady place to relax. We love our Rescues and wouldn’t do it any other way! We wish we could save them all. But we are humbled and honored to have the opportunity to make such a difference in the fur-babes we’ve brought home. Lynette is simply amazing, and a Super Hero in my eyes.
We are honored to work alongside with dozens of truly incredible shelter and rescue workers across the country. The staff and volunteers are the true heroes who work tirelessly to provide shelter and safety to animals in need. Despite the tremendous care shelter workers provide, difficult decisions are made daily due to the overwhelming number of animals and the shortage of kennel space. Our rescue stories represent just a glimpse of these challenging choices.
The smiles we see on the faces of our shelter partners and future adopters fuel our determination to keep making a difference. While we may be a small piece of the puzzle, we know we are an important piece. Many of the animals we rescue were once on the euthanasia lists, and we have been able to provide them with a second chance.
We love getting updates from our passengers and we want to share with you a few updates on the lives you have changed. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Quincy
A few fun facts about Quincy:
He loves everything and everyone – this includes any person, dog, animal or child he comes in contact with, He is very patient and sweet with our 1 year old daughter, they are two peas in a pod! He is obsessed with his Cat brother and sister and does not understand their lack of interest in playing. He hops like a bunny when excited and gets impressively high. He is top notch cuddler – if you have an open lap he will fill it!
We feel so lucky Quincy found his way to us and are completely obsessed with this Angel of a pup. We can’t wait to continue fostering with Street Dog once we get this boy trained up.
A million times thank you to Street Dog and Dog is my Copilot – the work you do for Dogs all over the world is truly incredible.
Lucy
Lucy (Beignet) came from an overcrowded shelter in Oklahoma. She was on the euthanasia list. Dog is My CoPilot flew her to Oregon, and Street Dog Hero took it from there. She went to a wonderful foster home. I happen to be friends with her foster mom (a.k.a. Mamma Lisa). We had seen pictures of Lucy on Lisa’s social media and fell in love. We set up a meet and greet prior to leaving on vacation, and then we picked her up for a three-day trial upon our return. We ended up adopting her.
Lucy is settling in nicely. She’s spunky, witty, and love to entertain us. Lucy loves to cuddle, loves the water, and loves exploring her backyard. She’s a bit spoiled, and she’s loving her new life. Thank you Street Dog Hero for saving our baby girl.
Harriet
Our sweet, baby girl, Harriet (formerly known as Emma) came to us through One Tail at a Time (OTAT) PDX. She was flown up to Portland from Texas in August because she was anxious and struggling to express her true nature in the shelter.
Now, in her forever home with a confident resident dog, she is thriving. She is curious about everything (especially squirrels!) and loves to get all her smells in on her daily walks! As an adolescent, she is full of energy, but with her puppy training classes, she gets to put that energy into learning new tricks! She is the brightest dog in class and is always being used as the example for the other dogs.
She’s patient and kind towards our nephews and she and our senior dog, Mabel, are obsessed with each other! She’s the biggest snuggle bug and we love her quirky personality! We couldn’t have imagined a better fit for our family! We’re so thankful for DIMC and OTAT PDX for bringing us Harriet!
Thank you for being part of the Dog Is My CoPilot family. Wishing you a joyful holiday with your family and fury loved ones.
Love,
The Dog Is My CoPilot crew
📷 cover photo and photos below Sarah Demarco Photography & other adoption updates from adopters!
