Bruce and Sally Post, of West Bend, Wis., are unabashed animal lovers and do all they can to help animals.
They flew their private plane to the Edgar County Airport Sunday morning to transport a dog traumatized by abuse to a new home and new chance.
“We’ve always been oriented that way,” said Bruce Post.
The couple has rescued dogs in the past, and their daughter works for an animal shelter. They got involved with the all-volunteer Pilot N Paws organization approximately two years ago.
“We are going to fly anyway, so its an opportunity for us to give back,” he said.
Post added the pilots do the “easy but expensive part” compared to what Andrea Gross at the Edgar County Animal Shelter and others encounter when dealing with abused animals.
His first flight as a Pilot N Paws volunteer involved 11 dogs.
“There were a lot of puppies,” Post recalled.
Transporting the dogs, he said, usually does not pose a problem as the drone of the engine often puts the animals to sleep once the plane is in the air.
According to Post, most of the Pilot N Paws rescue flights involve abused animals from either Kentucky or Texas and the destination is commonly Wisconsin or Minnesota.
He said pet owners in those northern states seem more conscientious about spaying, neutering and preventing their pets from running at large.
“There is a shortage of dogs in Wisconsin,” Bruce Post claimed. “The average time for a dog to stay in the Milwaukee shelter is two days before it is adopted.”
That statement astounded Gross.
“Every day I’m getting dogs in,” said Gross. “I’m full all of the time.”
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