Celebrating a Year of Life-Saving Flights: 2025 in Review

November 13, 2025

As 2025 draws to a close, we’re taking a moment to celebrate the incredible year we’ve had at Dog Is My CoPilot and it’s all thanks to our extraordinary pilots, team members, shelter and rescue partners, and generous supporters like you.

This year, we completed over 150 rescue flights at no cost to our partner shelters and rescues, helping animals in overpopulated communities find their forever homes. Our three DIMC-owned aircraft continue to fly nationwide, bridging the gap between shelters with too many animals and the loving adopters waiting for them. With more than 200 shelter and rescue partners, the impact has been enormous and it’s only possible because of this amazing network of people and organizations who share our mission.

Why Transporting Shelter Pets Matters

Many shelters face overcrowding, limited resources, and long stays for animals. Transporting pets to communities with more adopters can mean the difference between life and death.

Every flight provides hope, frees space for other animals, and connects dogs and cats with loving homes they might never reach otherwise. At Dog Is My CoPilot, every mile flown is a step closer to a forever home.

Double your impact today and help us continue saving lives, one flight at a time.

This Giving Tuesday and throughout our End-of-Year Match, your donation can have twice the impact. Thanks to a generous matching gift, every dollar you give will be doubled helping us fly even more animals to safety in 2026.

Your support keeps our three aircraft maintained, ensures our pilots can continue transporting at no cost to shelters, and gives animals in overcrowded shelter a lifeline to finding homes and love.

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Success Stories

This year was filled with countless moments that remind us why we do this work. Each dog and cat we transport represents a life changed and a new beginning made possible through this amazing community. The happy tails below are a reminder of what we can accomplish together because every pet deserves a loving home.

VIEW ALL HAPPY TAILS

Honored in The New Yorker

We were also honored to be featured in The New Yorker this year. The article captured the heart of animal rescue the challenges, the hope, and the extraordinary efforts that connect shelter pets in need with families waiting to adopt. One scene from the story perfectly illustrates the spirit of our work:

“Two hours before dawn, a small blue Cessna touched down on the tarmac. It was painted with the logo of Dog Is My CoPilot, a nonprofit that has transported more than forty-three thousand animals in the past twelve years. The volunteer pilot, a Wyoming physician named Brent Blue, told me that there’s usually not too much barking unless there’s a cat on board. The volunteers stacked crates in the cabin. For a moment, it seemed like they might not all fit… ‘Sixty-four dogs are going on that plane,’ Heather Hall said, the director of One Tail at a Time-West Texas.”

This article shines a light on the very real struggles faced by rural shelters, like those in West Texas, where animals once had little hope. But thanks to strong partnerships, tireless determination, and the generosity of supporters like you, today those same dogs are finding homes across the country.

We hope you’ll read the full story here to see how these journeys unfold. Thank you for being part of this story every flight we make, every tail wag at touchdown, happens because of people who believe in giving animals a chance to live their good life.

READ THE ARTICLE

Beyond Rescue: How Saving Dogs Also Heals People

Transporting dogs is only one part of a much larger story about the ways that rescue not only helps homeless and unwanted pets, but also supports communities and the people in them during extremely difficult times.

This year, we had the honor of helping Bonita and Paris, lifelong companions whose owner, Jessica, faced unimaginable challenges after losing her husband and then experiencing a serious car accident. The only housing available to her family didn’t allow dogs.

Thanks to our amazing partners at One Tail at a Time – WTX and Pecos Animal Shelter, Dog Is My CoPilot was able to fly Bonita and Paris from West Texas to One Tail at a Time –PDX. After being lovingly fostered in Texas, the pair boarded the Big Dog together and landed safely in Portland—still side by side. Just two weeks later, they found their forever home, together!

When Jessica learned they were not only safe but together, her relief and joy were overwhelming. Bonita and Paris’ journey reminds us that when we help dogs, we help each other creating hope, connection, and healing for people as well as pets.

From the Cockpit to Forever Homes

Our Founder, President, and Chief Pilot, Dr. Peter Rork, leads Dog Is My CoPilot with the same passion he brings to every flight. His commitment to saving lives is deeply personal; this year, two of our furry passengers even became part of his own family at home!

“Every time I fly, I see the difference one flight can make, not just for the animals onboard, but for the families waiting to love them. Adopting a few myself was just my way of joining in on the joy we help create.”

As we head into the winter months, our team will be busier than ever, continuing to provide flights at no cost to shelters and rescues, ensuring that thousands more dogs and cats have the opportunity for a new beginning.

Your support makes this all possible.

Every donation helps keep our aircraft in the sky, connecting animals with adoptive families and giving shelters critical relief. With a generous match available this year, your gift can go even further, doubling the lives saved and the hope delivered.

From all of us at Dog Is My CoPilot, thank you for helping us make 2025 a year of lifesaving flights, unforgettable reunions, and incredible adoptions. Here’s to another year of connecting more animals with the families who love them.

🐾 Support our mission today and help us take even more flights in 2026.

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