Peter, “The Pilot”, is an East Coast refugee, who always believed that he was switched at birth with a kid from New Jersey. After working his way through medical school as a pilot, he practiced Orthopaedic Surgery for more than thirty years. Instead of retiring to a golf course, he has returned to the skies as our Chief Pilot. Peter holds an Airline Transport Pilot rating and is qualified to fly single and multiengine aircraft as well as seaplanes. He is also a certified flight instructor. Transporting animals to furever homes in a Cessna Turbo Cessna 206 Stationair and Cessna Grand Caravan, he says that the view from his new office beats any other.

Peter, “The Pilot”, is an East Coast refugee, who always believed that he was switched at birth with a kid from New Jersey. After working his way through medical school as a pilot, he practiced Orthopaedic Surgery for more than thirty years. Instead of retiring to a golf course, he has returned to the skies as our Chief Pilot. Peter holds an Airline Transport Pilot rating and is qualified to fly single and multiengine aircraft as well as seaplanes. He is also a certified flight instructor. Transporting animals to furever homes in a Cessna Turbo Cessna 206 Stationair and Cessna Grand Caravan, he says that the view from his new office beats any other.

Plain and simple, I love dogs…always have…always will. Have adopted several wonderful rescue dogs over the years and am now honored to be in a position with DIMC to help transport dogs and cats to their forever homes. I am retired from my career in aviation as a commercial pilot flying all over the world. In addition to helping dogs and cats get adopted by good people, I have a personal goal of breaking the sound barrier in the Cessna Caravan.

Jeff works as a Test pilot and instructor for a DOD aircraft manufacturer. He spends five to six months deployed overseas per year, supporting the US military programs. While stateside, he lives in Southern California with his wife of 30 years and their 5 rescue dogs. Jeff looks forward to helping DIMC save as many pets lives as possible.

Dr. Brent Blue is an Airline Transport Pilot rated aviator with over 9,000 hours of flight time. He practices medicine in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and has three adult children. His whole family has grown up with and currently have dogs of all types. He is a FAA designated Aviation Medical Examiner and consults for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. In addition to aviation, Dr. Blue skis, mountain bikes, travels, and photographs extensively. Dr. Blue is an original board member of DIMC and is an enthusiastic support of rescue dog missions. He stated “dogs are incredible animals and bring such great joy to people. How can we not rescue as many as possible?”

Karen Valenstein Ford retired from Wall Street investment banking and moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming in 1989 to indulge her love of skiing. After skiing at least 75 days a year for 23 years, she and her husband Glenn retired (again) to Scottsdale, Arizona.

Having grown up in a dog-less family in NYC, she purchased her first dog, a Jack Russell Terrier. There followed another Jack Russell and finally Turbo who came from Jack Russell Rescue. Rescue was an unknown concept to this dog-neophyte. What followed was a procession of rescue dogs, dogs of friends, family and neighbors hanging out at her Fish Creek Road home in Wilson, WY. Neighbors’ dogs would avail themselves of two always open dog doors for a snack or just to hang out with the 3 residents.

In Scottsdale, her home is still a haven for visiting dogs of friends and family to keep Jasper, a Jack Russell mix, company. She lives in a golf community which has a large dog park, populated by mostly rescued dogs. Her friends and family feel equally as strongly in the concept of rescue.

In her previous New York life she was involved in non profit fundraising for such diverse charities as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, The Big Apple Circus and The U.S. Ski Team, to name a few. She hopes to use her talent for separating people from their money to benefit DIMC’s rescue operations.

Susan has a doctorate in nursing from Case Western Reserve, and is a nurse in the state of WY. She has worked in the orthopedic community for the past 14 yrs taking care of people, and a few dogs with broken bones along the way. Susan works for the Ossur America brace company, and is an international consultant to Cast Nylons Ltd., a manufacturer of cast nylon bearing materials, where Susan uses her fluency in Spanish to assist Cast Nylons in their expansion of sales to Mexico, Central and South America. Susan is the copilot in her husband’s Piper Meridian, that they fly around the US, Bahamas and Mexico with their two passengers, Tank, a yellow Labrador and Chamois, a Golden Retriever.

Brent is a family practice and emergency medicine physician in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and is a recognized expert in aviation medicine. He founded Aeromedix, a medical aviation company, and has served on the Board of Lighthawk. Brent owns three aircraft and four dogs—two Bergamascos, a Golden Retriever, and a Lagotto Ramagnolo.

Ted Kerasote is the author of many books, including the national bestseller Merle’s Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog, Out There: In The Wild in a Wired Age, which won the National Outdoor Book Award, and Pukka’s Promise: The Quest for Longer-Lived Dogs, which has helped to change how people think about canine health. His essays and photographs have appeared in Audubon, Geo, Outside, Science, The New York Times, and more than sixty other periodicals. Ted lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.