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So can you tell us your name and title?

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Sure.

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Do I look over there but stay here?

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Yeah.

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Okay.

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Just plan to take a look at whoever's going to ask them for us.

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Okay, sounds good.

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So you have to say it again, it's about like first and last name for us.

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Okay.

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My name is August Slim.

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I'm a volunteer pilot with Pilots to the Rescue.

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We're here in Madison, Wisconsin today.

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We're currently waiting for the Beagles to arrive in ground transportation.

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And we have some kennels behind us where they'll be transported over to New Jersey

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and meet with some east coast animal rescue organizations.

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That way they got malchicare, they got behavioral care, and eventually out to loving homes.

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That is today's rescue.

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We're here to go ahead and bring seas and floors and busing animals so they can have similar situations.

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I see I imagine everyone's different, but...

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That's a good question.

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So as far as our missions go, we do specialize in getting animals from overcrowded shelters

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and making sure they go to shelters that are specifically no kill,

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which is very important.

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We save them from being euthanized.

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The thing that's special about today's mission is that they're coming not from a shelter

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but a research facility.

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So that being said, this one was sort of an emergency mission.

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It wasn't normally something that was on our dock.

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It was a surprise to us.

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It was really nice.

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Yeah, exactly.

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And so this obviously has gained national attention to be part of this opportunity.

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Being part of Pilots, the rescue means being able to use your pilot's license in service of others.

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Making change in the world instead of just using your license to get a cool job,

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you actually get to serve not just the animals and give them another chance,

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but these animals are going to humans that will love them and it'll help with their depression,

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anxiety, grief, whatever they're going through.

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So in a way, not only do you help the animals, but people get family members.

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When you say this was an emergency, like how short notice was it?

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That I can't say because it was really only short notice to me.

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So I don't really know the specifics, sorry.

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A day?

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A day?

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A day.

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Whereas you normally kind of know what you're going to be doing how far into the future.

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Exactly.

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So with Pilots and the rescue, we have a great team, one person on our team being a coordinator.

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She has a docket of the missions that are upcoming that the pilots can get on,

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and I volunteer for.

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So this one specifically with the Beagles wasn't on our dock originally,

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so that's why we call it an emergency mission.

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And how many other missions have you been part of?

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I believe four.

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Okay.

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Four.

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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?

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The first emotion that comes up is definitely gratitude,

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but I do want to highlight how different it is seeing it on camera.

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It's a different feeling when you actually see their malnourished bodies in person

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and their very cute faces in person.

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It's definitely a different vibe versus just seeing them through screen for sure.

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It's a very emotional thing to be part of, and lots of feelings of hope for them

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and excitement for them.

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And even though they come looking very sad, we don't really know all of their stories,

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but you know what their future is going to look like.

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They'll do lots of love, so that's always a good thing.

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Yeah.

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Lots of money that take you think.

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But if we have a tailwind four hours, if we don't, five hours, so pray for us.

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Sorry if you already mentioned this, but are these crates the amount of dogs that are going with you

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or how many dogs are going with you?

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Oh, is this 20?

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22?

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22?

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Oh, right.

76
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Okay.

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So, Pilots of the Rescue has air transport and also ground transport.

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So, in the air today, we're taking 20 big goals, and then on the ground, it'll be 40.

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And why, I guess, fly them instead of all of them being ground transport?

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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?

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Well, one of the barriers for animals actually finding new homes and preventing them from being euthanized is transportation.

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So, having an airplane gives us access to quicker transportation, especially if there's medical care involved.

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That's all I've got.

84
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Anything else you want to add?

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Yeah, I was immediately trying to say something else along the way.

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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?

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Well, Pilots of the Rescue has a relationship with a few different shelters.

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It's a good relationship, I would say. So, if we wanted to actually keep up with the animals, we have access to that.

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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,

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because I was especially invested in one of the cats that we rescued that had broken legs from getting hit by a car.

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And so, I was very connected to this cat for some reason.

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So, I asked for the vet's contact, and she's setting the updates as we speak on that cat.

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That's a very personal thing for you.

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For me, I have a rescue myself, and I love him.

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And so, when I see other animals that were in a similar situation, or even worse, they were almost euthanized and started touching.

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Make sure that they get a second chance of life instead.

97
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Of course.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.