Pilots N' Paws
Staunton,VA

“Basically, pilots are just looking for any excuse to fly,” Andre Bohy joked. “It’s a lot easier to tell my wife I’m flying to save dogs than to have lunch with a friend.” Donna, Andre’s wife, was so intrigued by her husband’s unusual flight trips that she decided to join him in his efforts.

At $5 per gallon for gas, Andre’s single engine Bonanza F33A can easily use 60 gallons in a weekend on rescue missions. As a busy professional with a full-time career, these trips are strictly a labor of love.

Andre is solidly dedicated to world community volunteerism, including time with the Veteran Airlift Command, a national network of over 900 pilots and owners that fly wounded soldiers to their homes, and brings families to Walter Reed  Hospital where their loved ones are recovering.

But this weekend,  Andre’s mission is saving dogs. And it’s a critical one. With an overabundance of companion animals in southern states, dogs are little more than commodities. Shelters are overrun because of the lax spay/neuter laws. But the silent work of rescue networks makes  it possible to spare some companion animals from certain death.

Many shelters look into the eyes of wonderful, highly adoptable dogs, only to ask,” How long can we keep you alive”? Can you imagine how horrible that must feel? That’s why a large number of shelters work closely with rescue organizations to save as many innocent lives as possible. 

On this hot day in July, that very question gets answered as three floppy eared, tail-wagging canines bound out of the Bohys small plane, fastened to secure leashes. Thanks to an animal rescue group, the scheduled kill date for these three was cancelled.

As the dogs from the Bohy plane stretch their legs and lap up some water, rescue pilot, Rhonda Miles and her single engine plane, a Cesna 180 Skywagon, touched ground. Peering out of the small plane window, another set of happy tails were wagging.

As Rhonda carefully opened the plane door, she placed leashes on the three dogs. But suddenly, six Border Collie puppies came tumbling out. Leaping around mom, tugging at each other, they were now a puppy party!

Some of the  dogs on Rhonda’s flight were  in a kill shelter in Chattanooga, Tennessee.   The  Border Collie with her pups, had been saved from a kill shelter in Kentucky by a fledgling humane society in neighboring  Blount County, Tenn.  Having no real shelter, this group of dedicated volunteers had housed the mom and her pups in the basement of this  humane society's thrift shop.  When they found a rescue for pregnant and nursing dog mothers in upstate N.Y., they contacted Pilots n Paws and this transport began to take flight. Now, the Border Collie mom and her six balls of fur would  stay with a  Mosby volunteer  for just a few days. 

Mom and her puppies stayed locally  until their flight to safety would  arrive, via another Pilots n Paws volunteer who took  them to upstate New York to be fostered until  adopted.

In the meantime, Rhonda, a commercial pilot by profession, was grinning from ear to ear. She joined the non-profit, Pilots N Paws, the first of the year. Right from the start, she set a goal to rescue 100 dogs by the end of  the year. Happily, she points to the sign on her airplane. It boasts 101 dogs saved, a goal reached five months early. “With this trip, I’ve now surpassed my goal,” she says proudly.

Rhonda’s professional career has been an amazing one. She has had the privilege of flying celebrities such as Reba McIntyre, Hank Williams, Jr., as well as executives from the Cracker Barrel Company. A good friend of hers, Nikki Mitchell, also a pilot, has been president of Waylon Jennings’ company for 15 years. Both she and Rhonda made headlines in Southern Living and Guideposts magazine because of their flight around the world together. It was Nikki who got Rhonda interested in volunteering with the rescue organization, Pilots N Paws. And she’s loved every minute of it.

Without good people like Rhonda, Nikki, and Andre, the world of rescue would be even harder., with kill  rates  dramatically higher. But their dedication is part of a vital network of thousands of people who want to give dogs a real chance at having a loving home.

There simply aren’t words to describe our thanks at such selflessness. But we’re guessing these pilots have gotten many dog kisses for their efforts. And that pretty much says it all.