Can you tell us your name and title?
Sure.
Do I look over there but stay here?
Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
Just plant it, you can look at
whoever's kind of asking the
question.
Okay, sounds good.
So yeah, just stating and spelling
first and last name for us.
Okay.
My name is August Slim.
I'm a volunteer pilot with Pilots to
the Rescue. We're here in Madison,
Wisconsin today.
We're currently waiting for
the beagles to arrive in
ground transportation and
we have some kennels behind us where
they'll be transported over to
New Jersey and
meet with some east
coast animal rescue organizations.
That way they get medical care, they
get behavioral care and
eventually out to loving homes.
As a lessy animal, so it's a kind of
similar situation that you guys see,
I imagine everyone's different.
That's a good question.
So as far as our
missions go, we do specialize
in getting animals from overcrowded
shelters and making sure they go to
shelters that are specifically
no-kill, which is very
important. We save them from being
euthanized.
The thing that's special about
today's mission is that they're
coming not from a shelter but a
research facility.
So that being said,
this one was sort of an emergency
mission.
Um, it wasn't normally
something that was on our docket, it
was a surprise to us, so,
yeah, exactly.
Being part of Pilots to the Rescue
means being able to use your
pilot's license in service
of others, making change in the
world instead of just using your
license to get a cool
job. You actually get to serve not
just the animals and give them
another chance, but these animals
are going to humans that will love
them, and it will help with their
depression, anxiety, grief, whatever
they're going through.
So in a way, not only do you help
the animals, but people get
family members.
When you say this was an emergency,
like how short notice was it?
That I can't say because it was
really only short notice to me, so
I don't really know the
specifics, sorry.
A day.
A day?
A day!
Whereas you normally kind of know
what you're going to be doing, how
far into the future.
Exactly.
So with Pilots to the Rescue, we
have a great team.
One person on our team being a
coordinator.
So she has a docket of the
missions that are upcoming that the
pilots can get on and
volunteer for.
So this one specifically with the
Beagles wasn't on our docket
originally. So that's why we call it
an emergency mission.
And how many other missions have you
been part of?
I believe four.
What are those emotions like?
I mean, when you guys touch down and
you're seeing these animals kind of
go to their new beginning.
The first emotion that comes up
is definitely gratitude.
But I do want to highlight how
different it is seeing it on camera.
It's a different feeling when you
actually see their malnourished
bodies in person and their very
cute faces in person.
It's definitely a different vibe
versus just seeing them through
a screen, for sure.
It's a very emotional thing to be
part of and
lots of feelings of hope for them
and excitement for them.
And even though they come looking
very sad, we don't really know all
of their stories, but you know what
their future is going to look like.
Filled with lots of love, so that's
always a good thing.
I'm not going to take you.
But if we have a tailwind, four
hours.
If we don't, five hours.
So pray for us.
Sorry if you already mentioned this,
but are these crates the amount of
dogs that are going with you, or
how many dogs are going?
Oh is it 20?
22?
Oh right, okay.
So Pilots to the Rescue has
air transport and also
ground transport.
So in the air today we're taking 20
beagles and then on the ground it'll
be 40.
And why, I guess,
fly them instead of all of them
being ground transport?
Is there kind
of like an urgency to it or is it
just a way of making sure they're
getting to where they need to go?
Well, one of the barriers for
animals actually finding new homes
and preventing them from being
euthanized is transportation.
So having an airplane gives us
access to quicker
transportation, especially if
there's medical care involved.
Anything else you want to add?
Yeah, I was immediately trying to
say something else, hold on, let me
think.
Have you ever met the families
that they go to or you just
deliver them and
you don't know kind of
where everyone ends up?
Well, Pilots to the Rescue has
a relationship with a
few different shelters.
It's a good relationship, I would
say. So if we wanted to actually
keep up with the animals, we have
access to that.
We can't say we know everyone's
journey and everyone's story, but I
know that just on our mission
yesterday, I got the contact of one
of the veterinarians because I was
especially invested in one of cats
that we rescued that had broken
legs from getting hit by a car.
And so I was very
connected to this cat for some
reason. So I asked for her.
The vet's contact and
she's setting the updates as we
speak on that cat.
So this is a very personal thing
for you.
For me, I have a rescue myself,
and I love him.
And so when I see other animals that
were in a similar situation, or even
worse, they were almost euthanized,
it was very touching.
Make sure that they get a second
chance at life instead.
Of course.
Thank you. Alright, let's get you
inside.