October 2025

Pilots To The Rescue - October 2025

Happy Halloween! October is national “Adopt a Dog” month, when we celebrate the unconditional love that shelter dogs bring into our lives. We’ve felt this love firsthand at Pilots To The Rescue. But when we think of the furry and non-furry lives we changed forever this past month, it’s our community that deserves celebrating. 

Thanks to your support, we rescued 107 dogs and 77 cats from euthanasia in October. Loving homes across the country are spoiling their new furry family members at this very moment, and these pets were given a second chance because of YOU!

In this edition, meet Poopie Louie, Julie and Della. One was abandoned in the South Carolina wilderness. One will give you a good chuckle, and another watched her pups find their fur-ever homes, but never lost hope that her own freedom flight would arrive one day. 

Thank you for your support in making these missions possible!

Out Of The Woods Because Of You

Though she’s just seven months old, you can tell by Julie’s soft, sad eyes that she’s been through a lot.  Shockingly, she was abandoned in the middle of the woods in South Carolina, locked in a crate, weakly panting, with no food or water!  She wouldn't have survived if she wasn’t discovered by a shelter volunteer who just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Pilots To The Rescue volunteer pilots MacKenzie Brendlen and Michael Nuzback took to the skies to fly Julie to safety along with 16 other dogs and 22 homeless cats.

As you can see in the following photo with Michael, Julie was very gentle and grateful for her first experience with real human compassion.

After picking up the the furry paw-ssengers in South Carolina, our volunteer pilots headed back up north to our home airport in New Jersey, where our ground crew was waiting to transport the animals in our rescue vans (YOU helped purchase) to New York shelter partners committed to keeping them safe and healthy until they find their fur-ever homes.

Now that Julie has been given some much-needed love and care, Julie 2.0 is as sweet and playful as ever, spreading joy wherever she goes!  Just look at her scruffy, smiling face! It's hard to believe this is the same dog who was discovered in the middle of the woods on the verge of starvation (photo credit to A New Chance Animal Rescue).

Adoption Pupdate: Poopie Louie!

Rescue animals have the tendency of coming into our lives when we least expect it. Just ask Amy Pitera, who works at Signature Aviation at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT).  Amy was on the tarmac ready to welcome our rescue plane when we landed at MHT back in June. As we unloaded our furry cargo, Amy instantly fell in love with Louie, a tiny puppy who had been rescued from an overcrowded shelter in Tennessee.  Amy and her husband had lost their beloved dog, Stasiu, just two years ago, and were finally ready to open their hearts again to another fur baby.

We'll give you one guess how he got his nickname. Completely undeterred, Amy and her husband decided to adopt Poopie Louie that same day!

"Louie is always on the hunt for the perfect stick and once he finds it, he thoroughly enjoys digging the largest hole imaginable to bury it for later.  He has been a total joy over these four months and we can't ever thank you enough for bringing him to our little FBO in New Hampshire. He is living his best puppy life!"

Because of YOUR generosity, a beautiful puppy who would have languished in a shelter...or worse...now gets to play frisbee, chase squirrels, and hog a king size bed!

Special thank you to Tito's Vodka for Dog People for co-sponsoring Louie's rescue mission!

In honor of national Adopt a Dog month, we hope Louie’s story serves as an inspiration for anyone considering becoming a pet parent. So many Louie's are still waiting with wagging tails and hopeful hearts for someone like you to love them. When you adopt, you don’t just save a life, you gain a best friend who fills your days with love, laughter, and muddy paw prints. Your Louie is out there...waiting to rescue YOU.

Mama's Turn

Being dropped off at an animal shelter is heartbreaking, but you know what’s worse?  Being dropped off at a shelter when you’re pregnant with eight puppies.  That’s what happened to Della, a gorgeous three-year-old hound mix.

Della gave birth to her litter of puppies at a shelter in South Carolina. Since the shelter was short of space, the pups were taken to Freedom First Rescue in Pennsylvania, leaving Della behind and alone.  Over the next few weeks, Della’s puppies were adopted one by one while she faced euthanasia at an overcrowded shelter.  Throughout it all, she held out hope for a freedom flight of her own.  Thanks to you and our generous community of supporters, her dream came true!

On October 24th, Pilots To The Rescue volunteer pilots Stephen Nur and Ryan Ortiz rescued Della along with 23 other dogs in partnership with Hartz Loving Paws.  Just like her puppies, Della was lifted to Freedom First Rescue, which matched her with a kind foster family until she finds a permanent home. 

According to her foster family, Della is literally the best pet anyone could ever ask for.  Cuddle queen? Check. Kid-Friendly? Check. Dog-Friendly? Check!  They don't know her breed, but Della's personality has officially been confirmed as "100% Love."  Once left behind, Della now knows what it feels like to lay on a soft bed, to be held, to belong.

 But so many others like her are still waiting for their rescue flight...their own family to love them beyond measure.

Please help us rescue more dogs like Julie, Louie and Della. When you support Pilots To The Rescue, you become the reason tails wag again. You can be the reason someone finds their soulmate.

Please consider donating today so we can fly more of these sweet souls out of overcrowded shelters and into loving arms, where they belong.

From our team at Pilots To The Rescue, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!