Mission – Getting Layla From a Kill Shelter to Service Dog Training

Layla was rescued nearly at the last minute from a shelter in North Carolina. She is a sweet dog with a great attitude and Crisis Dogs NC spotted her within an hour of he being put down.

Mission Details

Our Out of Pocket Fuel Bill: $462
Hours to Complete Flying Responsibilities: 11
Flight Hours: 6

Jude with Crisis Dogs NC gave us a call about a wonderful dog she had rescued within an hour of her scheduled to be put down. Jude said this dog, Layla, had a wonderful temperament and she needed help getting her from Chapel Hill, NC to Dayton, Ohio where she would be evaluated and trained to serve as a service dog for a military veteran with PTSD.

This flight would be the longest one we had flow. The trip was about three hours each way and going to Dayton we faced some pretty stiff headwinds over the mountains of West Virginia.

Typically we fly at about 170 MPH but at times our speed was down to 113 MPH with the winds we were flying into. The weather looked a bit dicey over those West Virginia mountains and Steve was prepared for some tough instrument flying through a lot of rain and clouds. Thankfully the rain turned out to be light and the clouds we did face were not bad.

It was a dark and early morning for us. We headed out for the airport before dawn and as we approached the airport a brilliant morning sky greeted us as if to say it was going to be a good day.

The morning sun oozed up from the dark horizon to greet us on the way to the airport.

While the sunrise was beautiful, as we arrived at the airport the clouds were already looking like a potential problem.

Layla greeted us with a wagging tail and cuddles. Jude was right, Layla was a special dog. Before long we prepared to depart the Chapel Hill, NC airport which is owned by the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. They let us land there to pickup Layla.

You’ll see in the video that Layla was eager to fly with us. She jumped up in the plane and settled right in. Pam got Layla all secured and soon we were off.

With a lot of clouds, there often was not much to look at and both Pam and Layla dozed on and off while Steve paid close attention to the flying at hand.

Layla was a dream in flight. Pam spent a lot of time rubbing Layla’s head and she had her covered up with her jacket to keep Layla warm.

As we descended towards Dayton we spent time flying in and out of the clouds. And once out from under the clouds the airport was dead ahead.

Layla and Renee meet for the first time. Both were very happy.

We landed in Dayton, OH and met Renee from the Greater Dayton Lab and Dane Rescue. Renee and Layla look like they bonded quickly and off they went. After a brief break topped the plane off with fuel and got back in for our return flight. We both missed Layla on the way home but Pam broke into tears again as usual.

A few hours later we touched down at our home airport and put this successful mission behind us.

Renee tells us that Layla is doing well in her training and it is looking encouraging that she will make it all the way through the service dog program and become a great therapy dog.