About Us

We fly nearly 1,000 animals a month to forever homes between our two rescue planes crisscrossing the country. Our community of donors support our flights that rescue at-risk pets waiting in shelters for a chance to find a safe and loving home. We are honored to work alongside hundreds of truly incredible shelter and rescue workers across the country. 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.

Our mission in flight.

Follow along our lifesaving journey transporting pets from overcrowded animal shelters to adoption centers nationwide.

Our Story

Founded in 2012, Dog Is My CoPilot is a non-profit organization whose mission is to transport animals by airplane, from overcrowded shelters to adoption centers where loving families are waiting to adopt a new pet. In the United States, millions of healthy animals are living in municipal shelters and are at-risk to be euthanized due to persistent overcrowding. We work with municipal shelters to fly at-risk animals to other geographic regions where loving families are waiting to adopt new pets. Transporting animals is a lifesaving solution to ensure shelter pets are given the opportunity to find a loving home. Animal shelters across our nation continue to fill up as the number of animals entering them far outpaces the number leaving.

We fly as many animals as possible in a single flight to maximize efficiency and do not charge partner organizations for our transport services. As opposed to long-distance ground transportation or the red tape of commercial flights, transporting animals by plane is efficient and affordable — $188 per animal, per flight.

Where We Fly

We transport animals from shelters primarily in California, Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma where adoptable pets are at the highest risk for euthanasia and fly them to adoption partners where each one has the opportunity to find a loving forever home.

With the support of Petco Love and other foundations and donors, we have been increasing the number of rescue flights where long distance ground transportation is challenging and stressful for animals. With two planes in the air, we’re able to fly animals from our partner shelters to both the east and west coast throughout the entire year.

Our History

Our founder, Dr. Peter Rork started flying lessons when he was 12, earned his pilot’s license when he was 16, and took his first solo flight on May 15, 1969. Years later, Peter found himself flying 20-30 pets for animal rescue organizations in his Cessna 206H “Stationair.” This was the beginning of Dog Is My CoPilot that was created in the wake of tragedy. After his wife died in 2012, Peter needed to find a purpose. He teamed up with Judy Zimet, a Scottsdale real estate attorney and animal lover, to start an organization that combined their shared passion for animals and charity with Peter’s passion for flying. Dog Is My CoPilot soon became a victim of its own success and needed a bigger plane to help with demand. The organization acquired a larger Cessna 208B Grand Caravan — aka “The Big Dog” — that was retrofitted from a 12-passenger plane to one that can carry up to 251 animals in crates. Now with two planes in Dog Is My CoPilot’s fleet, there is more than enough power to fly rescued dogs and cats to their new homes and meet demand for DIMC’s services. There is plenty more room in the cockpit, and amazingly, while it seems chaotic with lots of barking and scrambling on the ground, Peter says it’s very peaceful once he starts the engine and taxis down the runway.

“It’s as if the dogs know they’re on a flight to freedom. It’s as if the dogs truly are my co-pilots.” says Peter.

Founder _ Pilot Peter Rork_Dog is My Copilot x Wondercide flight

Our Vision

We reduce animal euthanasia in overcrowded shelters by ensuring that pets have the chance to find a safe and loving home.

Imagine a world without euthanasia, a world where every animal has a home, where shelters don’t suffer from overcrowding and where healthy animals don’t face euthanasia. That world is our hope but until it becomes a reality, we will work tirelessly to save as many dogs and cats as possible from euthanasia. As Dog Is My CoPilotFounder Dr. Peter Rork says, “We believe that collaboration is key to saving more lives and are humbled by the hard work that our shelter partners do every day for the animals in their care.”

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