Doomed dogs flown to new lives

From North Carolina to Philadelphia: that's just one life-saving route for dogs who were scheduled to die – but were saved. They flew to life and freedom because a Virginia college prof and his network of helpers in the air and on the ground all pitched in.

“Pilots N Paws” is the name of Michael Young’s avocation – plucking adoptable dogs from high-kill shelters and flying them to pet-rescue agencies. In the last year, he has completed more than 20 rescue flights, according to a December issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The dogs fly away from the death chamber in a four-seat Columbia 400 plane owned by Young and a few friends. He can remove seats if he’s transporting a number of dogs, and he counts on help of student volunteers from his aviation club at George Mason University, in Virginia, where he teaches engineering.

Young made his first flight in 2010, after his family dog, suffering from cancer, had to be put to sleep. A friend asked him to help with a mass airlift of dogs abandoned during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and that was the beginning.

Volunteers on the ground start the process by visiting high-kill shelters to line up canine candidates for rescue flights. The receiving groups get photos and information on the dogs coming to them, and can make plans for their future.

Young has diverted two dogs bound for rescue to his own home. “Molly” and “Biff” missed their flights but gained new lives.

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(Alert to readers: For more information and opinions about pets, try www.NJ.com/pets.)

Smart dogs don't make coffee

Recent radio news indicated that a few bomb-sniffing dogs at Philadelphia Airport failed their re-certifying tests. The announcer hurried to add that the dogs will be re-trained and no doubt test better next time.

Reportedly, these dogs "work daily to sharpen their craft"; the ranks of bomb-sniffing dogs are elite!

To all of which I say only, "Smart doggies!" Being a service animal is bad enough; being a successful bomb-sniffer is worse, especially if there's any chance you'll sound the alarm a few seconds too late.

I hope those dogs failed on purpose. Now they can relax for awhile and maybe even live doggie lives. They remind me of the stories years ago about women in offices who deliberately made terrible coffee in the break room. That cut their chances of ever being asked to make coffee again.

Good dogs!
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Crating is wrong

Dedicated to all those who think a dog belongs in a crate, day and night, and being outside the crate is the exception -- this sign on a PETA dog park bulletin board:

No, he doesn't "love" his crate.
He loves YOU. And he will do anything to please you, including
sitting behind bars, waiting patiently for you to free him.

No, a crate is not a "cozy den."
A real den doesn't come with a locked door.
No, a crate is not like a playpen.

A crate is an extremely cramped and impoverished environment.
Sure, it keeps dogs safe.
It also keeps them from living.

How would YOU like being locked inside a small see-through box?
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