March 23, 2015 - Heading to St Lucia for Vacation!
February 19, 2015 - "Let's Save Joe the Dog" + 2
Joe, Addie, and Tulip take to the sky in the Saratoga
Saying goodbye to Joe just broke our hearts
October 7- We decide to take a quick trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons
June 20- San Diego road trip with plenty of adventure and some great hikes!
San Diego and the Three Sisters Hike (sans waterfalls)!
We left San Diego behind and headed straight east through the desert of California and Arizona, just a stone's throw from the border. Turning north, we passed Phoenix, then Flagstaff and stayed in Cottonwood for two nights, hiking during the day. Leaving Arizona, we passed through Moab and stayed in Grand Junction, hiking Liberty Cap, on top of the Colorado National Monument. Next stop was Cedaredge for a night, then a leisurely drive home with a stop at Snowmass to hike to the top of the slopes.
June 13, 2014 - Friday the 13th turns out to be lucky for three OK rescues!
May 8, 2014 - Work calls and I head to Florida to inspect flooding for FEMA
May 7, 2014 - Lucy and 5 puppies endure a long, hot flight from Texas
May 2, 2014 - Shadow, Atlas, and BB hitch a ride up from OK
April 11, 2014 - Ranger the doberman finally makes it to his new home in CO
Ranger stretches out in the Saratoga for a Friday flight to freedom
Thank you to everyone who made this possible!
April 4, 2014 - Rocky the dobie gets a ride to a new home
Memories of Rocky's flight to Colorado
March 28, 2014 - Meadow, Angel, and a basket full of puppies
This trip helped out passengers going both directions and also included a Fox 31 reporter who rode along to do a story on the flight. Meadow, a very sweet senior Cane Corso was going to a new forever home after the family that had given her a home for her whole life moved into a smaller apartment and couldn't keep her. She was a great copilot and was obviously happy no matter where she was! Our passengers going back to Denver from OK were Angel, a bird dog mix and her 7 puppies. She was a fantastic rider too, and after snatching a sandwich from beneath the seat and wolfing it down, she relaxed and slept. The puppies were super healthy at four weeks old and will be adopted in a heartbeat. Sean, the reporter was a trooper and hung in there through some pretty rough air. Thanks Sean for letting people know what we do!
It was a whirlwind day (with plenty of wind)!
March 17, 2014 - Buffy and her puppies
Here is her story quoted from TerryLynn in OK: "I received the call on this girl today....she has been seen at a store in Elk City... Skinny and with some skin issues... They called the pound, and when they got there, she ran they followed her... she went to a house near by and she went through a broken window.. Neighbors came out... they told her story... In December, she was adopted from a pound in Clinton (HELL HOLE) she gave birth in January... a week ago, her owners went to jail... her and the babies were locked up inside... To feed them, she broke through the window... every day, she has been seen bringing food back through the window... she was caring for her babies... Now, she is in jail.... another hell hole, high kill pound and tonight, they are suppose to go get her babies... PLEASE... she needs help.... I have no way to do anything, other than get her and help transport... Anyone???" Melissa Haner got the ball rolling and contacted my to do the flight to save these guys. Terry Lynn met me at the airport in Clinton, OK (great to see you Terry Lynn!) Black Canyon Animal Sancutary offered to take them, get them healthy and find them good homes. The flight went without a hitch, Tami met me in CO when I landed, and they are all now safe and sound.
You Go Girl!
August 13, 2013- A Great Loss
It was a very sad day today. We lost a good friend, fellow pilot and all around fantastic person. Ken Volk left this world today following injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident on the 11th. We only had the pleasure to know Ken since May of last year when we met him on a PilotsNPaws run, but he was the kind of person who made you feel as if you had known him his whole life. We were lucky enough to see him on a couple more flights, one just before Christmas, and each time was a pleasure. It was shocking to have to say goodbye to Ken so soon, and we will miss his infectious laugh and personality for the rest of our lives.
Godspeed Ken
April 19, 2013- More Puppies
It was a big puppy day today- the count was 12. Eight came from a shelter just before being euthanized, and four came from an owner who had just decided to "potato sack them in the river". Not the words you want to hear if you are a puppy.
A great morning dawned, clear and windy. When I opened the hangar door, the cowling was off of the Saratoga and sitting on top with a couple of pieces missing. Not good. "Reassemble before Flight" popped into my head! Got it together and Peter Duncan and I headed south to meet Amy with our little furry passengers. We saw her waiting as we taxiied in, so it went quickly loading the airplane with puppies- not much room to spare. A couple of large coyotes sauntered across the runway as we were taking off, bidding us goodbye from Clinton. The headwinds were fierce, and it was a long flight back to Metro. Christy was waiting for our arrival, and we loaded these little guys up for one more journey- this one by car all the way to Crawford, CO. I hope these little guys find great homes and have fantastic lives. Thanks everyone for making it happen! Check the link below to see how they are doing.
Click the little paw to check on our adoption status
March 26, 2013- Skunk week in Golden Gate State Park
We hike at least three times a week at the park, since it is not only close and convenient, but also usually deserted. Of course it is beautiful this time of year too, with the last few piles of snow shrinking and tiny green heads pushing up out of the muddy dirt. Small animals are surfacing with bright eyes after a winter spent underground, and bluebirds are flitting about, alighing on the bare stalks still standing. What a great time of year it is, and Simba and Banjo certainly appreciate all of the new smells and activity along the trail. We never have them on leash once we leave the parking lot, so they are free to wander (within reason) and explore. One animal that acts like a magnet to the dogs is the skunk, a slow colorful blob of fur that wobbles along from side to side almost like a toy that you would pull to entice your dog. Tuesday brought Banjo's first encounter with one, and he fared pretty well, escaping a direct hit. The car ride home was still a windows-down affair.
Hiking on Friday, Simba got his chance to experience what Banjo had on Tuesday. It was a beautiful day, and we decided to try a new hike up Mountain Lion toward the quarry. The trail is wide open, and the deep blue sky and puffy white clouds made it hard to keep your eyes on the trail (and dogs). Simba saw the black and white target and raced to investigate, racing down the hill behind the trees. A couple of minutes later, he appeared on the trail again, and he was one hurting unit. Yellowish green foam was pouring out of his mouth, his eyes were red and weeping, and his chest had a bright, almost neon green streak down it, his own Scarlet Letter (S for Skunk). Watch the video on the right to see what happened next.
March 15, 2013 - puppy flight
Friday was forecast to be a beautiful day, sunny but a bit windy. It looked good for flying 8 Lab pups that were rescued from the Joplin Humane Society. The pups were only 6 weeks old, which meant that their chances of getting sick in the shelter were very high. Apparently they had been found in a cardboard box, left in a field to fend for themselves- not a very good start.
Mountain Pet Rescue in Winter Park offered to foster them temporarily, so Sandi pulled them from the shelter in Joplin and took them home. Working full time and tending to a litter of 8 pups leaves little time for anything else (like sleeping). Now the pups just needed a ride to Colorado, and ground transport was out of the question because of their age. With no immunity yet, they were vulnerable to a particularly deadly form of parvo being seen recently that many dogs don't survive. Mountain Pet posted the request on PilotsNPaws, asking for volunteers to fly the pups to CO. Sam Taylor stepped up right away, offering to fly the first leg from KC to western Kansas. Sam has flown over 275 dogs and makes as many flights as he can (usually 4 or 5 a month). The weather looked like it would be good, so we volunteered to help out with the leg to Colorado.
Sandi met Sam early to get the pups settled in the XL crate in the back of his plane. To even get the crate in, Sam had needed to remove the back seat and passenger front seat- first class seating assured! Sandi was sad to see these little guys go, but glad that they were headed to safety and permanent homes. Sam took off and pointed the nose west.
Suzanne and I landed in Phillipsburg, KS and fueled up the Bonanza for the flight back. The sun warmed us, and we lazed in front of the small terminal building as we waited for Sam. It couldn't have been a more perfect day. Soon we heard the drone get louder and Sam touched down with his tiny passengers. We transferred the furry little puppies to their next ride and said goodbye to Sam.
The flight west to Colorado seemed to take forever- we were battling headwinds between 30 and 40 knots. Ouch. The pups were great riders and didn't make a peep. As we neared Denver, I called Metro tower to report our position and request landing. SURPRISE- airport closed. Apparently an airplane had flipped on the runway in gusty winds, and the whole airport was shut down. New plan- head to Longmont for fuel and water for the pups and wait it out. More time for us to play with the pups and get them hydrated! It turned out to be a bit of a fiasco for Lynda, who was going to meet us, and instead Stephanie from Mountain Pet headed for Longmont. Metro opened up again, and we decided to get the airplane back home- winds were really picking up. Long story short- met Stephanie at Metro, delivered our precious cargo, and Suzanne and I headed home feeling great. As usual it was a special day, and we were missing the pups on the way home.