Pilots volunteer to help pets

Carmen Ott and her fellow animal rescue volunteers have logged hundreds of miles to transport dogs to caring families, but they might soon get assistance from the air.

The program is called Pilots N Paws, and it connects pilots with shelters that need to get animals to their new homes.

“I was trying to get a deaf border collie to a (rescue group) in Casper, Wyo.,” Ott said.

But weather delayed the trip, so she sent an e-mail to the animal rescue contacts she’s made over the years.

“We have a humongous network now with rescue groups,” she said.

A woman from Sun Valley, Idaho, suggested she contact Pilots N Paws,  a Web-based message board where volunteer pilots can access information about animals in need.

“It’s just an incredible program,” Ott said.

Rich Clover responded to the Best Friends request, and said he could meet someone in Boise to pick up the dog.

The program works like this: a group who needs to transport an animal adds their needs to the Pilots N Paws calendar (date and destination), and then the volunteer pilots can choose the mission, then contact the rescue group.

Sometimes, the longer routes require a relay between pilots, and maybe even a leg by car.

“It’s like an underground railroad,” Ott said.

Participating with Pilots N Paws is also a way for the pilots to log flight hours, and their expenses are considered a tax-deductible donation because the program is non-profit.

The main goal is to transport animals from “high-kill shelters” to rescue groups across the country determined to find homes for the pets.

The program began in February 2008 after co-founder Jon Wehrenberg of Knoxville, Tenn., discovered how many miles rescuers drive to deliver saved animals.

To garner more attention to their mission Pilots N Paws is hoping to transport 5,000 animals in one week, from Sept. 12-20.

Organizers hope to raise awareness that about 4,000,000 animals or more are euthanized annually — a number that could be reduced by better spay and neuter programs — and that many animals can find permanent homes if they could be transported to other areas, which requires more pilots.

Best Friends of Baker is a good example of the need for animal transportation. Ott estimates that about 80 percent of the animals they rescue are adopted out of town.

Locally, the Best Friends volunteers who drive animals are Ott, Karen Skeen, Joanne Britton, Ken Hauter, Susan Castles, Norma Job, Glenna Namcheck and Kelly Tanzey.

Since 2005, Best Friends has “touched the lives of” more than 800 animals. That includes rescuing dogs from being euthanized, taking in pets when owners move or can’t afford to care for them, and reunited lost animals with their families.

“This is what makes us happy, when we can hand a pet back to the owner,” Ott said recently as she held Choco, a 10-year-old Chihuahua found running along Highway 7 near Sumpter.

Thanks to “lost dog” signs Best Friends posted in Sumpter, Choco’s owners were able to locate him and drive from Bend to retrieve their pet.

When an animal comes into Best Friends care, it gets a visit to the veterinarian, then is placed in a foster home. The dog or cat is held for two weeks before being put up for adoption on the Best Friends posters and on the Internet at www.pet-finder.com.

Best Friends depends on donations, and has several donors who help provide a pet food bank at the Salvation Army (available Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and pay for emergency medical care.

Ott said Best Friends also works with MayDay to house pets when women must escape a domestic violence situation.

Best Friends is currently raising money to build an animal shelter for Baker County.

“We really, really need a shelter in Baker,” Ott said.

For more information about Best Friends, call 519-PETS (7387), e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or visit the Web site: www.bestfriendsofbaker.org.

The group meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. Meetings will be held at the Baker County Library for the summer, then return to the regular location at Basche-Sage Place, Suite 214.

To learn more about Pilots N Paws, visit the Web site, www.pilotsnpaws.org.