One of the more needed, but less sexy elements of animal rescue is transportation. So Greenpoint resident and commercial pilot Michael Schneider is tackling that issue head on with his non-profit organization Pilots to the Rescue.
Founded in 2015, Pilots to the Rescue’s mission is to prevent homeless and vulnerable pets from being euthanized and give them the best possible chance at a better life by combining Schneider’s love of aviation and rescue animals. His first-ever mission was to save a litter of abandoned puppies scheduled for euthanasia in North Carolina due to shelter overcrowding. Since then, the group has rescued 3,191 pets across 264 missions.
In the years that followed, he would balance the org with his corporate career, before making the switch to focus solely on PTTR during the pandemic. He now works for PTTR from his home office in Greenpoint, where he lives with his wife, a teacher at PS 86 in Bushwick, and four sons.
All the animals picked up by Pilots to the Rescue are adoptable and connected with East Coast shelters and adoption centers. More recently, they’ve put a lot of their efforts towards rescuing homeless animals displaced or pets surrendered during and in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. (And Schneider confirmed that they have systems in place to ensure animals rescued are not wanted pets being separated from their owners.)
“After a disaster, sometimes the airport’s the only thing that’s open and the roads are impassable,” Schneider noted. “So we’re probably gonna do more disaster response, we all know we’re gonna see more of these major storms. So we can bring supplies in for humans and then take animals out.”
The plane isn’t their only means of transportation, even if it is the most eye catching.
“We’ve pivoted the last couple years to ground transport, which is how most people are doing this work,” Schneider explained. “The planes are sexy, they’re a novelty, but they’re so expensive that we don’t dispatch them for any little rescue. But a lot of people ask how they can get involved — if you have a large vehicle and you’re a good driver and willing to drive, that’s a much needed volunteer service.”
Which is even true if you ask around among more localized rescue organizations needing to move animals to forever homes and vet appointments, especially given how much rarer it is to own a car in NYC.
Any support is always appreciated, since Pilots to the Rescue is mostly volunteer-run aside from Schneider and a few paid employees, and they’ve been lucky enough to get some financial backing over the years through generous crowdfunding donations and partnerships with groups like BISSELL Pet Foundation (yes, like the vacuums). That being said, since their focus is solely on transport, they recommend bringing things like food and supply donations to your local shelters.
And to answer one of the more common questions they get, pets mainly just feel sleepy on the planes, with the most stressful parts being loading and take-off (planes don’t go above 8,000 feet with animals). But Schneider also notices the change he sees in every animal during the journey, and notes how intuitive they can be.
“They’re very scared when you put first [an animal] on a plane and sometimes a little scared getting on their crates, but then they realize that they’re going to a better situation,” he said. “So animals are always so intuitive and surprise me every day when I work with them, that’s the payback for doing this type of work.”