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From Jake’s viewpoint, the big vehicle before him looked like no car or truck he had ever seen. “Why am I here in this big asphalt field, and what’s happening next?” he must have wondered. Before he knew it, Jake was being lifted into a plane owned by Chris and Heather Golden, pilots volunteering through an online forum called Pilots N’ Paws.
As with many rescued dogs, we can only wonder what Jake’s life journey was like before he found himself at a Bainbridge shelter in south Georgia. But once there, he so thoroughly impressed the shelter staff that they started making extra calls for this exceptional five-year-old black Lab mix. Eventually, the Atlanta Dog Squad (ADS) stepped in and adopted him as a member of the rescue group. ADS is a charitable organization that has rescued almost 800 dogs in a little over three years from around the state. And, as with many rescue groups, ADS’ primary resource is only a group of volunteers who give of their time, homes, individual skills and ingenuity.
So ADS wondered, how would they get Jake all the way to Atlanta? After all, you can’t just give him a boarding pass and put him on a plane … or can you? Thanks to Pilots N’ Paws, that’s exactly what happened. Pilots N’ Paws was started about a year ago and already had a nationwide network of animal loving, flying enthusiasts who donate their air time and plane fuel to rescue efforts. Knoxville pilot Jon Wehrenberg, a 65-year-old retiree, brainstormed this Internet forum, connecting other recreational flyers with yet another reason to fly – a love of animals.
Yep, Flyboy Jake flew on a private plane with his very own pilots, occasionally peering out at the blue sky all around, behaving himself like a perfect Southern gentleman’s dog, of course. Upon landing, Jake hopped out of the plane on cue as though he had travelled first-class many times before. In the experience of many participating pilots, rescued animals can make better passengers than some of their human counterparts. Flights organized through the Pilots N’ Paws forum have transported hundreds of animals, dogs and cats alike, in humanitarian efforts. Their stories can be found at www.PilotsNPaws.org, which details just how amazingly adaptable, resilient and tolerant these saved pets can be.
Finding a Home for Jake
The next leg of Jake’s journey was handled by ADS volunteers who met the small plane at a local airport and took Jake to his waiting foster home. His new foster mom, Louise Clynes, had joined ADS volunteers in September 2008, shortly after her own dog’s passing. Louise had already fostered over half a dozen dogs before Jake, and she was thoroughly experienced with the ins and outs of the foster process.
“I feel fostering is a great way to help rescue a dog and at the same time help someone who is looking for a great companion animal,” Louise said. “It’s a terrific bridge between prospective dog owners and a dog needing a new permanent home. If I can foster a dog, I can contribute to saving that dog and getting him or her into a new home and a new, bright future.”
Like many animal rescue groups, ADS relies on a volunteer network of foster homes to provide shelter and care for animals until they are adopted. The benefits of having rescued animals fostered instead of boarded are numerous and include:
• Getting to know each pet’s habits and preferences, which can help the rescue group match a person or family with a new companion
• Learning if a dog gets along with cats or is afraid of storms, likes to chew, walks nicely on a leash, loves children or needs a home without very small children
• Finding out about a particular animal’s energy level and dietary needs
• Helping a rescued pet relax and thrive under a foster parent’s love, care and attention
• Identifying an animal’s unique abilities – she may excel at agility, he may be a terrific therapy pet candidate
• Providing a loving, comfortable environment for a rescued pet to recuperate from a temporary non-contagious condition, such as heartworms
Rescue groups can only save as many animals as they have foster homes. When people provide temporary homes for rescues, they are truly saving lives. It's that simple. Fostering is rewarding, sometimes frustrating, sometimes heartbreaking, but never boring. What does it take?
Foster parents welcome stray pets into their homes, care for them as if they were their own, lightly train them if needed, attend adoptions and ultimately say good-bye when they are adopted, sending them lovingly on the next leg of each animal’s life journey. Yes, there can be tears, but since the focus is on finding the pet a new home, they are usually tears of joy.
Jake’s Journey Continues
In Jake’s case, Louise, his foster mom, became so smitten with him that she adopted him! She recruited Jake as an ADS volunteer, and he now assists with fostering new ADS members in their life journey, showing them the ropes of being a rescued, fostered dog – giving them a doggie leg up, as it were. 
Louise and her dog Jake have now jointly fostered four dogs, and their journey together is sure to include many more. “Now that I am involved with Atlanta Dog Squad’s fostering program, I can’t imagine not helping in this way, and Jake’s input is absolutely invaluable with a new foster dog,” Louise said. “Jake contributes by helping the new foster feel at home, reinforce good habits, play or just relax, plus show respect towards my cat. I am looking forward to helping other dogs like Jake, and I know Jake is too!”
Truly, Jake’s journey has come full circle: from rescued stray, to flyboy, to fostered dog, to adopted pet, to a partner in the rescue of other strays, some of whom may be flown by the very same folks who flew this lucky dog. What a difference a plane ride makes!
More Animals Need Help
If you don’t mind a little hair in your house and being greeted with the enthusiastic wag of a tail or a whiskery kiss when you return home from work, fostering might be for you. Of course, fostering isn’t for everyone, and there are other ways to volunteer – help with fundraisers, update a Web site, make phone calls or hold a leash at an adoption.
• Dog enthusiasts can go to www.AtlantaDogSquad.org for information about fostering and volunteering.
• Cat enthusiasts can go to www.furkids.org, a local private shelter in the Norcross area.
• Pilots can visit www.PilotsNPaws.org for information on coordinating with transportation for many participating rescue groups.
Helping to rescue animals may not change the world, but the world will change for that animal. You can contribute to animal rescue in a myriad of ways, and your help will be
meaningful no matter what form it takes.
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