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Pilots To The Rescue - February 2026
Pilots To The Rescue News
Love is in the air at Pilots To The Rescue! Thanks to your generous support in February, we brought love, joy, and hope to 280 dogs and 158 cats across the US, from Louisiana to Tennessee to New Jersey. In this month’s newsletter, we thought we’d give you an extra helping of love with three heart-melting stories of survival and triumph, including an adoption pup-date on one of our most memorable paw-ssengers of 2025: Tofu! Read on to see how you helped us give three pups in need the happily ever afters they deserve.
Love at First Sight: Roxy's Forever Home
Roxy was just a month old when a family opened their front
door and found her abandoned on their front porch. She was
shaking, starving, and so weak she could barely lift her head.
But kindness intervened. That family didn’t turn away. They
wrapped her gentle arms and helped her stabilize until she
could be cared for by Atchafalaya River Rescue in Simmesport,
Louisiana.
Because of you, Roxy’s story didn’t end on that porch. It took flight.
On February 9th, with the support of BISSELL Pet
Foundation and compassionate donors like you, we rescued Roxy
and 21 other dogs waiting for a second chance. When we flew her
to Harbor Humane in West Olive, Michigan, she was promptly
brought to an adoption event so she could find find her fur-ever
home as soon as possible. Attending this event was a young
lady named Ashley Day, who was searching for her furry soulmate.
It was love at first sight! If you've rescued a pet, you know the feeling. Now Roxy spends her days snuggled in her favorite fuzzy
bed (below), rolling on the grass, and causing all sorts of mischief
around the house...but with that face and those floppy ears, she gets
away with it all! “I waited in line for almost two hours just to meet her,” Ashley said. “It was so worth it. She was meant to be mine.”
Roxy’s story is a testament to the power of collective compassion. The phrase, “It takes a village,” never rang so
true. Some of you support us financially. Some share our
posts. Some forward this newsletter to friends. Every single action makes a difference. Today, we’re asking you to take
one more step. Will you help us spread the love by making a larger gift, sharing Roxy’s story, or inviting someone new to
our community of animal lovers?
Right now, another Roxy is waiting for you to rewrite her story.
Adoption Pup-Date: Tofu
It’s impossible to forget little Tofu, a fragile and severely malnourished puppy who weighed just 2.5 pounds at the time of his rescue last summer. Less than half the size of his siblings, Tofu had previously been diagnosed with Megaesophagus caused by PRAA (Persistent Right Aortic Arch), a rare and serious congenital condition that made his survival uncertain. Transporting Tofu from Louisiana to upstate New York wasn’t easy. Our team had to feed him specially prepared food by hand mid-flight since his tiny body could only take in small amounts of food at a time.
We flew Tofu and 34 other vulnerable animals to Friends Forever Animal Rescue, which refused to give up on him. What followed was an intensive journey of care, coordination, and commitment, including a life-saving surgery. After several months of intensive foster care to help him gain weight, we’re thrilled to report that little Tofu has finally been adopted! Now he's eagerly gobbling up meals in his upright chair and zooming around with FOUR cat siblings! He's also famous at his local pet store (who could pass up his kissing booth?). "Thank you guys for getting him here safely so he could find his home," says Lys. "This puppy has a million miles left to run with us."
Rock Star Donates Plane to Pilots To The Rescue!
We recently added a new plane to our fleet, and you wouldn’t believe who it came from: Tom Scholz, founding guitarist and chief songwriter from the rock band Boston! It turns out that Tom is not only a licensed pilot. He’s an animal lover, too!
Introducing "Little Paw" — our new special ops plane! After logging over 700,000 miles in the air over the course of 46 years, Tom and his wife Kim, decided to donate their Beechcraft Bonanza A36 to Pilots To The Rescue. “I am deeply grateful to Tom and Kim for this extraordinary gift and for their commitment to saving lives,” said Michael Schneider, founder of Pilots To The Rescue. “This donation will support special ops missions, including transport of endangered species such as wolves and sea turtles, enabling us to operate more effectively as we continue to grow. I am truly honored by their generosity and support.” Little Paw will be based at Essex County Airport in New Jersey, alongside Big Paw, which will continue to fly our large-scale rescue missions. "We are so grateful to Tom and Kim for choosing us as the recipients of this game-changing gift! The selflessness of the animal rescue community truly knows no bounds."
Meet Cordelia the Peaceful Pitbull
These beautiful eyes belong to Cordelia. While wandering
along in South Carolina searching for scraps, she was shot
in the leg and left to suffer. Not because she was dangerous.
Not because she did anything wrong. But because her life
didn't matter to someone. This is the sad reality far too
many stray dogs face. Instead of compassion, they are
met with fear.
On February 8th, our founder and "Top Dog" Michael Schneider, along with co-pilot Stephen Nur, rescued Cordelia and 13 other dogs, picking them up on Little Paw's first special ops mission to South Carolina. Originally, Project Freedom Ride had organized
this mission as a ground rescue, but their plan fell through at the last minute. Well, we call ourselves Pilots To The RESCUE for a reason! Even though we had just completed another mission less than 24 hours prior, we were able to say “yes” when they put out the SOS - a perfect example of how quickly we can respond to emergencies.
Cordelia is now safe in the care of the East Greenwich Animal Protective League in Rhode Island, where she is recovering from her critical surgery. She gently nuzzles every person she meets - adults, kids, other dogs, even kittens. After everything she has endured, she still chooses trust. She still chooses love. When you support Pilots To The Rescue, you are fighting for furry souls like Cordelia. You are stepping in where others failed. We hope you will answer the call again to help us deliver what matters most: LOVE ❤️
