–Written and photographed by Anna Cooke
O Cinderella.
One by one, the planes began arriving at Charlotte Monroe Executive Airport on a Friday afternoon in late
September.Very early the following morning, before the sun was up,we watched as the SUVs, vans, and trucks began arriving. Filled with home- less dogs and cats, who unbeknownst to them,were headed to a new life. It would be a better life than the one fate had handed all of them.Abused.
Unwanted.Thrown out like garbage. Some of them had been pulled from high kill facilities just hours before being euthanized, like Cinderella, (shown left) a Great Pyrenees/Landseer/Newfoundland mix who was about to be gassed at Cleveland County Animal Control. She is a puppy. The wave of humanity descending upon the airport by land
and air that foggy Saturday morning was overwhelming to wit- ness. Many of us, unprepared for the sheer magnitude of it all, were overcome with emotion.Volunteers who had been foster- ing some of the arriving animals from as little as 24 hours to as long as 30 days just for this mission, choked back tears as they handed over their charges to the pilots. The dogs and cats were loaded onto planes which had been
retrofitted with crates. Less than 24 hours after landing, the planes began to take off with their precious
cargo.As each one ascended into the air, those of us still on the ground stopped to look up and wave. Often, all that was heard was the sound of the engine as the plane disappeared on the horizon. Silent prayers were being sent to the pilots for safe landings, and a better life for the animals. Many of the dogs were headed to Florida, thanks to an organization called Pilots N Paws. And it was one of the most incredible journeys I have ever taken to cover a story for The New Barker.
Continuedg 32 THE NEW BARKER
www.TheNewBarker.com
Pilots N Paws volunteer pilot Jeff Bennett, on our flight from North Carolina to Tampa during the
annual Flyway, sponsored in a big way by Subaru. Jeff’s home base is Big
Pine Key, Florida.He was recently featured on NBC Nightly News for having flown more than 1,000 animals to safer ground, and a better life.
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