Helen Woodward Animal Center Welcomes Pilots N Paws from New Mexico Carrying 6 Mommy Dogs and 44 Puppies…
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (Aug. 27, 2020) – This Friday, Helen Woodward Animal Center will head to the Palomar airport to pick up a very special rescue arrival that seems more stork than airplane. Six mother dogs and their 44 collective puppies are taking the 3 hour flight from Las Cruces, New Mexico to California, thanks to Pilots N Paws, an organization that is uniting Barkhouse (aka Uncaged Paws) orphan canine families with the Center. The media is invited to welcome our new fuzzy friends. Please join us, THIS FRIDAY, August 28th @ 2:00 p.m. at McClellan–Palomar Airport.
Helen Woodward Animal Center is dedicated to finding homes for orphan pets both locally and around the world. The Center’s commitment to this goal can be seen within its international campaigns and, more directly, in the thousands of lives placed into forever families each year. Devoted to assisting the most overburdened shelters throughout the country, dogs and cats arrive by transport vehicle multiple times per week, traveling days at a time from as far away as Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and farther, to seek the salvation of the Rancho Santa-Fe based organization. The long journeys are challenging to both transporter and pets but worth the efforts that result in the saving of lives.
Enter Pilots N Paws®, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization partnering volunteer pilots with shelters in-need. Barkhouse/Uncaged Paws, a Las Cruces rescue organization approached the heartwarming air transfer service for help. Determined to change the New Mexico pet overpopulation issue in a multitude of innovative ways (including low cost spay and neuters, and transportation out of state), Barkhouse has had a standing partnership with Helen Woodward Animal Center. The new possibility of transport by air, however, was special. It meant that orphan canine mothers with young puppies had a much shorter and less taxing trip to take before meeting with the Center’s veterinary team, making these transfers even more agreeable.
This Friday, August 28th at 2:00 p.m., pilot Julian Javor will arrive at the McClellan-Palomar Airport with what is hoped to be the first of many transports between Helen Woodward Animal Center and Pilots N Paws. Passengers include Bessie – nicknamed “Big Momma,” a Terrier/Lab blend with her 10 puppies (only 2 and ½ weeks old), and Tilly, a heeler blend with her 8 puppies (just over 2 weeks old), among others. A total of 50 dogs, 6 mothers and 44 pups, will arrive via the short 3 hour flight.
After a quick van ride to the Center, mothers and puppies will receive medical checks from veterinary staff before being transported to the homes of foster families who will shelter the canines while they receive further medical care and any needed procedures before going available to potential adopters.