On Sunday, Aug. 5, Dog Is My CoPilot celebrates the arrival of its 10,000th passenger. Hobbs, as he’s been named by DIMC co-founder Peter “The Pilot” Rork, is a lovable 8-year-old Chocolate Lab.
Peter met Hobbs on his way to San Antonio, Texas. He’d made a brief landing in Hobbs, N.M., to drop off crates when the rescue worker who met him at the airport, DC Paws Founder Gina Beard, introduced him to the dog. Did Gina somehow know Peter has a soft spot for Labs? We may never know, but ever since Peter lost Doyle (his beloved Black Lab who inspired DIMC’s Snoopy-like logo) he’s been looking for his next Lab.
“It’s just a coincidence that Hobbs is my 10,000th passenger, and I couldn’t be happier to fly him home!” Peter says.
Dog Is My CoPilot will be flying Hobbs and 100 others from Roswell/Hobbs this Sunday, Aug. 5, to his furever home with Peter’s other dog, Tia, who, if you will recall, was also from Roswell/Hobbs and was DIMC’s 4,000th passenger.
For DIMC, Hobbs’ arrival marks a tremendous milestone. Founded in 2012 by Peter and Arizona lawyer Judy Zimet, DIMC’s mission is simple: To transport dogs from areas of the United States where they are not wanted to areas where they’re in demand. Thanks to invaluable partnerships with like-minded organizations like DC Paws and From Forgotten to Forever Rescue and Transport we’ve been able to reach our goal of saving 10,000 lives in 2018. But the mere fact that 10,000 lives have NEEDED to be saved demonstrates our work is far from over. We will continue to need the support of donors and volunteers to keep flying. To help us continue this life saving work please visit: https://dogcopilot.org/donate/
According to Gina, Hobbs was adopted by a family in Midland, Texas, when he was 4-years-old and later rehomed to an individual in Seminole. Four years later, in 2018, he was found on the streets covered in ticks and suffering tick-borne illness (erlichia). His most recent owner was located but didn’t want him anymore and even tried to hand over another dog when she realized the woman who picked him up had a rescue connection.
“Hobbs became a DC Paws dog,” says Gina. “I had him checked at the vet, treated for the erlichia and the ticks and got him vaccinated and started networking him for rescue. The rest is history. Peter saw him and wanted him.”
DC (Denver City) Paws is a grassroots rescue organization that’s part of a wider group of “death row” pet rescue groups along the Texas-New Mexico border including Amazing Grace Pet Rescue in Hobbs; From Forgotten to Forever Rescue and Transport in Roswell; and Reeds Ranch Rescue in Seagraves, Texas. Gina says the groups work together to raise money and secure sponsorships to cover vet bills for unwanted animals. In just three years, Amazing Grace Pet Rescue, DC Paws and Reeds Ranch Rescue has given more than 2,000 animals a fresh start at a better forever. And From Forgotten to Forever Rescue saves about 3,000 lives annually!
“We focus on abandoned animals, kill shelter animals, injured animals or simply animals that are no longer wanted and left in dire straits,” Gina says.
DIMC couldn’t count Hobbs as its 10,000th passenger if it weren’t for the tireless work of the dedicated rescue workers at our partner organizations who provide the vital collaborations that give us dogs to bring home.
“The real hero isn’t the guy flying the dogs to safety, it’s the people who walk into the shelters every single day and deal with those animals,” said Peter ‘The Pilot’.
To learn more about our partners on this flight please visit:
From Forgotten to Forever Rescue and Transport
Reeds Ranch and Rescue
Amazing Grace Pet Rescue
DC Paws
Dog Is My CoPilot
