Welcome to Wings of Rescue
Wings of Rescue is a donation-supported 501(c)3 public charity that flies abandoned, homeless and at-risk pets from overcrowded shelters and disaster areas to shelters with available space without displacing any locally sheltered pets. The result is that great pets in need of loving homes are brought to welcoming locations where families are eagerly waiting to adopt them. At Wings of Rescue we strive to transport pets to their new homes safely, quickly and with as little stress as possible.
In times of natural disaster we often use our in-bound planes to deliver humanitarian and veterinarian aid, pet supplies and shelter materials, thereby making the most efficient use of each of our flights.
From our unique perspective traveling across North America we know that spay-and-neuter programs are key to reducing the number of unwanted pets flooding municipal shelters. For this reason we sponsor spay/neuter programs to make a difference.
Our core philosophies are that all pets deserve a healthy and loving home and that responsible pet ownership enriches lives and builds stronger and more compassionate communities.
Hurricane Ian's and Fiona's Impact on At-Risk Pets
We're on the job with our partners and sponsors, scheduling flights, securing aid to deliver, and lining up pets to save.
In our many years of transporting pets out of harm’s way and into stable, supportive and kind circumstances, we’ve learned one lesson the hard way. Hurricanes are among the most devastating events that can happen to any community. So, for us, it’s all hands on deck and flaps up as we respond to Hurricane Fiona and prepare for the impact of Hurricane Ian. We have a number of flights headed for Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Fiona, which hit the island nation extremely hard. Area animal shelters are expected to take in and watch over the many sick, injured and lost pets until they can be returned to their owners. The problem is, in Puerto Rico there is already a shelter and stray-dog crisis, so the rescue systems are stretched to capacity. We lighten the load (and help shelters avoid euthanasia options) by moving out pets that were already taking up kennel space and that have been identified as adoptable and not lost. We’ll do the same in the communities hit by Ian. Look for more information here and on our Facebook page, and please join us in solidarity and support for our fellow citizens, neighbors and four-legged friends – they are facing a long and difficult recovery.
When disasters strike, WOR will be there on behalf of the pets!
Of Note Recently in the Wings of Rescue Community:
Last of the Rescue Beagle Flights Has Landed
Working in partnership with the Humane Society of the United States and the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, we were honored to carry the last group of what was originally over 4,000 orphaned beagle puppies destined for medical research on to a host of partner shelters in Maine where many of them have already been adopted. In these pics you can see the enthusiasm of Operations Director Ashley Wright as she unloads our plane and shows one of the happy beagles to our co-pilot for the flight.
Here's What Some Amazing Teamwork Can Do in 48 Hours:
Our two flights on August 27th from Puerto Rico to New York and Maine demonstrate just how much teamwork matters to the success of our flights. In this case partners The Sato Project and Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland had been working for months to prepare for both the sending and receiving of the over 300 pets we flew that day. And when the big day comes, it’s all hands on deck! While we were arriving at the airport on Friday to unload over four tons of donated pet food (thanks to Barkbox for that), both The Sato Project and ARLGP were on the ground preparing pets, gathering crates and putting last-minute paperwork together. Then in the middle of the night, loading began with a huge crew in Puerto Rico. On landing in New York and Maine, more teams awaited to help with unloading and, in the case of the happy little boy in the last picture and others, deliver the pets directly to their new guardians. You can read more about the effort, which was sponsored by our friends at Tito’s Homemade Vodka and AmerisourceBergen Bergen Foundation, by viewing our press release about the partnership.
Check out this cute photo from our September 10 flight from the Dominican Republic to Toronto carrying 108 dogs and 4 cats.
See the schedule below for our upcoming flights, and look for Wings of Rescue to announce additional Operation Pit Stop programs soon as well as several other exciting partnerships and innovative ways we can save even more pets.
And we think you might enjoy this extended video interview with our CEO, which appears on the Aerotime website:
Operation Pit Stop in Miami, which we co-sponsored during July, was a huge success with over 500 free spay & neuter procedures completed.
A Busy Schedule Allows Us to Save Thousands of Pets Each Year
Arrivals
3 October Naples – New Castle 15 dogs, 51 cats
2 October San Juan – Morristown 27 dogs
1 October Hammond – Georgetown – Coatesville 78 dogs, 35 cats
29 September Charlotte – San Juan – Wilmington North Carolina – Morristown 104 dogs, 27 cats
24 September San Juan – Miami – 27 cats – 3 dogs
17 September Delaware – Coatesville – 15 cats
17 September – Fort Worth – Coeur d’Alene — Arlington Washington 25 dogs, 10 cats
17 September – Hammond – Georgetown – Coatesville 111 dogs
10 September Foort Lauderdale – Puerto Plata Dominican Republic – Toronto – Cleveland – Canton 108 dogs, 4 cats
4 September Hagarstown Maryland – Portland Maine – 100 dogs
8/27 Fort Lauderdale – San Juan – Fort Lauderdale – White Plains – Portland Maine – 85 dogs, 56 cats
8/27 Fort Lauderdale – San Juan – Fort Lauderdale – White Plains – 80 dogs, 87 cats
8/27 Bend – Merced – Calgary – Bend 33 dogs
8/20 Hammond – Georgetown – Coatesville – 87 dogs
8/10 Fort Worth – Coeur d’Alene – Seattle – Bend 38 dogs, 27 cats
8/6 Hammond – Georgetown – Coatesville 91 dogs, 29 cats
7/27 Hobbs New Mexico – Dubuque Iowa 26 dogs
7/26 Bend Oregon – Fort Worth – Waukesha, Wisconsin 37 dogs
7/23 Hammond – Georgetown – New Castle – 88 dogs
7/10 Hammond – Georgetown – Coatesville – 110 dogs, 25 cats
6/29 Freeport – Fort Pierce – Farmingdale New York – Portland Maine – 20 dogs, 44 cats
6/24 Conroe Texas – New Castle 111 dogs
6/22 Hammond – Georgetown – New Castle – 88 dogs, 21 cats
6/22 Bend – Van Nuys – Fort Lauderdale – San Juan – St .Vincent – Tampa – 32 dogs
6/18 Bakersfield – Coeur d’Alene – 4 dogs
6/11 Hammond – Georgetown – Coatesville – 86 dogs, 22 cats
6/11 Bend – Van Nuys – Fort Worth – Tampa – Fort Lauderdale – San Juan – 6 dogs
6/9 Bakersfield – Coeur d’Alene 4 dogs
5/14 Hammond – Salisbury Maryland – Coatesville 84 dogs, 14 cats
4/30 Hammond – Georgetown 66 dogs, 22 cats
4/24 Nassau – Portland Maine 53 dogs, 98 cats
4/20 Merced – Arlington Washington- Omak Washington 42 dogs, 38 cats
4/18 Tulsa – Sookane – Portland – 80 cats
4/16 Hammond – Georgetown – Coatesville – 87 dogs, 39 cats
4/15 San Angelo Texas – Portland Maine 55 dogs, 11 cats
4/13 Fort Worth – Waukesha Wisconsin – 46 dogs, 48 cats, 3 guinea pigs
4/12 Bend – Merced – Logan Utah – 15 dogs, 3 cats
4/9 Bend – Bakersfield – Shelby – 35 dogs
4/5 Bend – West Memphis – Everett – 6 dogs, 90 cats
4/2 Hammond – Georgetown 57 dogs, 20 cats
3/25 Freeport – Talahassee – Portland Maine 18 dogs, 48 cats
3/22 Fort Lauderdale – San Juan – White Plains – 39 dogs
3/19 Hammond – Georgetown – Coastesville – 67 dogs 24 cats
3/17 Visalia – Portland Oregon 28 dogs
3/5 Hammond-Georgetown – Coatesville – 80 dogs, 11 cats.
2/8 Hobbs – St. Louis 21 dogs
2/5 Hammond – Georgetown – Coatesville – 79 dogs, 6 cats
2/28 Bend – Blythe – Bakersfield – Calgary – 24 dogs
2/19 Hammond – Georgetown – Coatsville – 109 dogs, 26 cats
2/18 Hobbs – Kansas City 34 dogs
2/14 Fort Worth – Coeur d’Alene – Arlington 42 dogs, 11 cats
2/12 San Juan – White Plains, 105 dogs, 13 cats
2/12 Nassau – Halifax 118 cats
2/12 Fort Lauderdale – Georgetown – Portland Maine 79 dogs, 37 cats
2.1 Merced – Arlington – 40 dogs, 31 cats
1/22 Hammond – Georgetown – Coatesville 80 dogs, 38 cats
1/19 Fort Worth – Coeur d’Alene – Arlington 38 dogs, 9 cats
1/18 Hobbs – Kansas City – 39 dogs
2/11 Freeport – Fort Pierce 21 dogs, 9 cats
1/8 Hammond – Georgetown – Coatesville 90 dogs, 20 cats
Departures
5 October Naples Florida – Morristown
6 October San Juan – Richmond Virginia, Charlestown West Virginia
6 October Bradenton Florida – White Plains
9 October – San Juan -Kansas City
Wings of Rescue Flies Where We're Needed When We're Needed
We Fly All Over North America Saving Pets and Delivering Veterinarian and Humanitarian Aid
Thanks to our extensive network of planes and pilots, we have the ability to fly on short notice to rescue and transport helpless pets out of overcrowded shelters and from disaster areas. We also have the ability to respond to natural disasters, such as hurricanes in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas, tornados in Alabama, floods in Tulsa and Nebraska, earthquakes in Haiti and Puerto Rico, and a volcano in St. Vincent. On these missions we deliver urgently needed veterinarian and humanitarian relief aid and supplies on our in-bound flights.
Our Flights Help Shelters Reunite Families with Pets Lost or Displaced During Emergency Situations
When Conditions Require that Pets Need Help, it Often Means the Human Community Does Too
While the mission at Wings of Rescue is to primarily help pets in need, during times of natural disasters we work very hard to deliver relief for the human community as well by loading our incoming planes with whatever supplies will do the most immediate good. It is our mission to help alleviate suffering and make the world a better place with each of our flights. In addition to supplies for pets, we have delivered human medicine, food, water, blankets, a complete field hospital and just about anything a community facing challenges needs. Our versatile fleet and experienced pilots go where we’re needed.
We Invite You to View "Coming Home," a Video About Wings of Rescue
Safety is Our Highest Priority
We fly only pressurized and temperature-controlled aircraft suitable for safe long-distance and high-altitude journeys. We have worked with other national pet welfare organizations and veterinarians to develop strict transportation protocols that both we, as well as our shelter partners, must follow in order to keep our pet passengers safe and comfortable while on the ground and in the air. Our highly experienced pilots and Wings of Rescue crew members are extensively trained on the intricacies of handling pets, safe and efficient loading, and how to handle emergencies should they come up. Additionally, all pets meet strict medical requirements and carry with them any medical, behavior or other records available.
Why Our Services Are Needed so Badly
A great deal of success in reducing unwanted pet populations has been achieved in recent years thanks in great measure to the implementation of successful spay-and-neuter programs, comprehensive behavior training, and low-cost vaccination clinics. The availability of educational resources has also proliferated, which helps give people the skills they need to successfully retain their pets and not discard them in shelters. Yet sadly in many areas, especially those that have been hard hit by economic and housing challenges, pet overpopulation and high euthanasia rates remain an issue. Irresponsible backyard breeding also contributes to the pet-population problem. This means that local shelters, which are already often underfunded, end up with far more pets than their staff and facilities can care for.
So that’s where we can help. Wings of Rescue partners with outstanding animal shelters and a number of prominent rescue groups throughout North America to facilitate the transportation of at-risk pets. These partners not only have the available space to take in and care for our at-risk passengers, but also have dedicated staff and volunteers who work in their local communities finding responsible and loving individuals and families to adopt each and every rescue.
Wings of Rescue will never transport pets to communities where locally sheltered animals would be displaced by our arriving pets.
Wings of Rescue often responds to tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters by delivering emergency humanitarian and veterinary aid, and pet supplies, to disaster victims and pets throughout North America by making use of the space on its incoming flights sent to rescue at-risk shelter pets in the afflicted areas.
