17 larger dogs took up so much space on the plane that we had to send poor No Dog Left Behind Pilot Pete Lehmann all by himself on a very long mission to get these animals from danger to safety. The mission was sponsored by an anonymous donor who did this mission in honor of one of our pilots childhood dogs. This was for you Abbey, Molly, and Barney (Barndog). Thank you for planting the seeds.
Pete set off early Wednesday morning for Huntington, WV where 17 dogs from Western West Virginia Animal Rescue Alliance were waiting at the airport for our plane. With the shelter at capacity, moving these animals out not only gave them a new start, but it created space for other animals that need a place to stay until they too get their new beginning. With larger dogs on this mission we had to carefully load the plane to keep the weight and balance within limits. Pete was the right man for the job and he had that plane perfectly balanced and loaded. Not brining the second pilot allowed us to save weight which translated into bringing more animals on board. The No Dog Left Behind Airvan is very easy to fly with a single pilot so it was a pretty simple decision for us to make.
The plane took to the sky and Pete made the three hour flight north to Linden, NJ where he landed with 17 happy passengers in the back. Louie’s Legacy Animal Rescue was waiting on the tarmac to take all 17 dogs directly into foster homes as they prepare for their eventual furever homes. This time last year this mission would have taken three separate flights to accomplish but our new cargo plane did it in one trip. We are thrilled to have such an amazing asset that tripled our capacity! Great job everyone!
