Rescued dogs flown to Cache Humane Society

Peter Rork poses for a photo with staff members of the Cache Humane Society after transferring dogs from Arizona April 5, 2018.

LOGAN – A group of special passengers arrived at the Logan-Cache Airport from a private flight Thursday afternoon. Fifteen dogs were flown in from a high-kill shelter and transferred to the Cache Humane Society where they will have a better chance of survival and adoption.

Before landing in Logan, Rork picked up a group of dogs in Hobbs, New Mexico then flew to nearby Roswell to pick up more. After that, the retired orthopedic surgeon dropped them off to shelters in Denver and Salt Lake City before buzzing back down to Phoenix to pick up more. After transferring some of the dogs in Grand Junction, Colorado and again in Salt Lake City, he brought the rest to Cache Valley.

That’s not an unusual week for Rork.

Since being founded by Rork in 2012, the Dog is My CoPilot organization has rescued and moved almost 10,000 dogs from high-kill shelters. Utah is one of Rork’s main destinations because the state is great with dogs, he said. Rork makes multiple trips per week from the southwestern states.

“They just don’t understand spay and neuter, so they are completely overrun,” he said. “So we provide that long distance transportation out of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California to the northern states where they are much better with their animals. We only fly from the kill facilities to the non-kill shelters.”

Sadie Smith is the transportation coordinator for the Cache Humane Society. She works with other facilities to bring in animals in order to provide a better chance at adoption. For instate transfers the Humane Society uses its van, but Dog is My CoPilot has been a valuable organization for getting animals from out of state.

Smith said the Cache Humane Society is in contact with a lot of shelters and frequently brings in animals.

“It starts with us reaching out to a shelter or them reaching out to us,” she said. “We have lots of connections with them as a shelter already. I think we actually reached out to them saying we have room.”

Rork said there are four main ways people can help the animals. The first, and best way, he said, is to adopt. The second is to foster an animal.

“Every animal that you save, saves two,” he said. “The one that you save and the one that takes its place.”

If you are unable to do that, Rork said, you can volunteer your time at a shelter or donate money to an organization like Dog is My CoPilot, which doesn’t charge the senders or receivers and relies on donations.

“We don’t run on pixie dust,” Rork said. “Jet fuel costs a lot and we burn a lot of it.”

Those who wish to donate to Dog is My CoPilot can do so at this link.

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