Finally made a Pilots and paws flight

cowman

cowman

Final Approach
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Cowman
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We'd been trying to one for a while but it just never worked out. Finally was able to go, we were the middle leg for a pair of labs coming from OK. Picked them up in Kansas city, speaking of which the tower at KMKC sent me on a pretty scenic departure course for someone who doesn't fly cities.

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I love helping animals.

Just curious, are there ever other animals involved in PnP?? Cats for example??
 
It's obviously dog oriented but I'm pretty sure they'll move any critter someone is able and willing to load into their airplane.
 
That's cool! I'm doing one in the morning and a middle leg as well. This will be my second. We are transporting a weimaraner and a catahoula.

Did you crate both? I plane on crating the catahoula in the baggage are and the weimaraner I'm the back set tethered.
 
I let them sit in the backseat, haven't crated any yet though I had a Shepard that I had to block from sitting up front
 
I also haven't crated one yet. but I usually either have help or I've done a few where I was right seat so I was the help. one time I did a solo run and the dog wasn't crated, he just went to sleep as soon as I fired up the fan.
 
Yes that! I won't do it alone, even crated there's too much that can be a distraction to the pilot. Better to have an FO who can manage the dogs
 
I saw a monkey request on PnP once. And a couple of snakes, which I would never do except to spend the next week quoting bad movies (which I can do without having to spend any time around snakes). I have carried three dogs, on the middle leg of transcontinental trips. All three seemed to understand that they were on a great adventure to a better life, and one was so excited to get there that she jumped into the plane before we were even ready.

I always crate. Unknown dogs are too unpredictable. I also prefer to have a copilot but I did one trip solo.
 
My first one, I was leg one from Houston to Dallas with a momma pitty and her six pups. I took a friend and fellow pilot along as "dog handler". As we're taxiing out with the pups crated in the rear seat of a 172....a horrible smell fills the cockpit! One of the pups pooped everywhere in the crate! We had to shut down on the taxiway and fling the poop out into the grass. Momma then proceeded to eat what poop we didn't get. We had a bit of cleaning to do when we made the handoff in Dallas, but the plane was no worse for the wear. Made for an interesting experience.
 
I've done a couple dog flights as an IFR capable backup for a neighbor pilot. We did it with some crated, some loose, full grown and with buckets of pups.

All went well. However on the last one one dog sprayed some mightily strong urine all over the place. Turns out that the transport protocol includes no water in the AM for the dogs or older pilots.

That enzymatic pet urine cleaner really works well... not a trace.


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I've done a few. Always crated - strongly recommend PetNation brand soft collapsible crates (on Amazon) / fold flat when not in use, comes in many sizes, big doors top and front.
My experiences have always been positive except the one time a very sick puppy on his way to a Veterinary School in MN died before he reached the airport where I was to pick him up. :(
 
I have done several, including one with @SixPapaCharlie. But his version of the flight is way more interesting than my story. Somehow he works in me trying to do him harm with an inverted forward slip.

Whether to crate or tether depends on the temperament of the adult dogs. Cats, puppies, and toy breeds are always crated.
 
Crating is really pilot's discretion IMO. I crate my own dogs on flights because they like to come up into the front seats on car rides to say hello/look out the windows and can be a huge distraction that I wouldn't want in a critical phase of flight. Also it contains all the fur- I normally only vacuum the plane out a couple of times a year and I don't want huge amounts of fur everywhere.

For these flights I don't know the dogs or their temperaments, we usually get reports but even then the dog may never have flown so who really knows? What finally made me decide to purchase a second crate(we only had one big enough for a lab) for this flight was that the crate was cheaper than anything in the airplane the dog might chew up and was worth it to me not have to try to clean urine, vomit, or poop out of the plane. We were the middle leg for this flight and I was the only one using a crate so maybe I'm being overly cautious but I'm taking the better safe than sorry route here.

This was the crate we used:
https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/you-and-me-portable-canvas-crate-large-2505416

The large 36" size fits, just barely, into the baggage area of a Piper Archer II. This style is really nice because they quickly collapse so you can get it through the baggage door folded up then open it back up inside fairly easily. A hard plastic 36" crate will also just fit into the back seat of an Archer II, you have to fold the front seats forward and slide it in at an angle but it does fit.
 
wrbix said:
Uh oh!
Talk of Evolution.
Here come the Creationists and eventual thread lock.
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Yes, here I am! Where shall we go from here?

And for the record, I have yet (to my knowledge), gotten a thread locked and I don't report threads. Creation deniers and evolutionists don't offend me, I just think they are wrong.
 
Cooter said:
Yes, here I am! Where shall we go from here?
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Let's not go there. Neither the place nor the time.
And for the record, I have yet (to my knowledge), gotten a thread locked and I don't report threads. Creation deniers and evolutionists don't offend me, I just think they are wrong.
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Nor have I (AFAIK). Everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
 
I haven't done any PnP flying but if I did I think I would crate. A long time ago in a Luscombe I took my dog up. He loved riding in a car so I figured no problem. He was fine sitting in the right seat until we were about 200 ft up. He looked out and immediately dove down and huddled up on the rudder pedals. That was his last plane ride.
 
wrbix said:
Let's not go there. Neither the place nor the time.
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You brought it up, yet you don't want to go there? :dunno:

I see, you and Tim like your jabs to be affirmed but aren't comfortable with dissent. How about this, quit trying to sneak one in and just let it be. No creationist responded to the evolutionist comment, you did.
 
Cooter said:
You brought it up, yet you don't want to go there? :dunno:

I see, you and Tim like your jabs to be affirmed but aren't comfortable with dissent. How about this, quit trying to sneak one in and just let it be. No creationist responded to the evolutionist comment, you did.
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Jeez, lighten up, man.
Just trying inject a little humor as to how things (unfortunately) go here sometimes.
 
wrbix said:
Jeez, lighten up, man.
Just trying inject a little humor as to how things (unfortunately) go here sometimes.
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Yeah, poking fun at religion is a hoot! Good one, you got me there.:blowingkisses:

Let me give it a shot. Did you here the one about the people that believe everything comes from nothing? :rofl:
 
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Like I said, let's not go there. This is neither the time nor the place.
This thread was started and should continue to be about a truly worthy and generous venture of PnP flights. If I got your zealot nature riled up by my attempt at comedic interlude, then I apologize. Nowhere HERE have I made fun of religion. If that's what works for you, fine - but don't go picking fights about it.
So as not to further provoke or prolong, I'm gone. PM me IF YOU REALLY FEEL YOU NEED TO.
 
My first one was a husky who really enjoyed staring outside or napping. No crate needed. Just kept him in the back with a handler.

My second was with another pilot. Twelve cats in crates. They were loud (until we were high enough when they presumably napped) and the smell was awful.
 
wrbix said:
Like I said, let's not go there.
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Like I said, you went there. Don't bring it up if you don't want a response. You did post on a public forum you know.
wrbix said:
If I got your zealot nature riled up by my attempt at comedic interlude, then I apologize.....but don't go picking fights about it.
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If that's your attempt at an apology, go back and try again. My PM is open. It's the same as your initial post, you just have to try to sneak one in. Then, you feign indignation like you're above it all when I respond.

Otherwise, to the OP I do apologize. Carry on with the P&P!
 
My last one was a Shar Pei with really bad gas. The look on the adopting family's faces is worth the trip. I'd really like to put a decal on my plane but I don't even like bumper stickers on vehicles but this one is pretty cool.

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Geesh all I've hauled were dead bodies, rarely in a coffin unfortunately.
 
We flew several cats - actually our cat dog ratio is in favor of cats... :)

We recently had a request for goats but couldn’t fly them. I would have loved flying them.
 
Timbeck2 said:
I'd really like to put a decal on my plane but I don't even like bumper stickers on vehicles but this one is pretty cool.

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A pilot acquaintance based in Houston has these for his Cardinal but instead of the airplane there is a “25”.

He recently put the 40th sticker by his window.
 
Skywalker said:
We flew several cats - actually our cat dog ratio is in favor of cats... :)

We recently had a request for goats but couldn’t fly them. I would have loved flying them.
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I think I saw the goat flight request and considered going out of the way for it. Just because ... goats.
 
I used to get at least 3 request a day for a total flight of over 1,000 miles. I was dumbfounded at how they can request that. Then I realized that I put down that I'd fly a 500 mile radius and changed my preferences to 200 miles and they went down considerably. I'd like to do another one soon.

No goats though. They stink before they get in.
 
Timbeck2 said:
I used to get at least 3 request a day for a total flight of over 1,000 miles. I was dumbfounded at how they can request that. Then I realized that I put down that I'd fly a 500 mile radius and changed my preferences to 200 miles and they went down considerably. I'd like to do another one soon.

No goats though. They stink before they get in.
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A poorly deserved reputation of goats. Generally only the uncastrated males stink. Our Lamancha wethers did not.

But can't even imagine trying to keep a goat calm in an airplane.
 
No offense to any goat intended. I doubt I'd even be able to fit a full grown goat in my Cherokee. Pilots and Hooves site searching.
 
mscard88 said:
Geesh all I've hauled were dead bodies, rarely in a coffin unfortunately.
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I have hauled a few. Most were at least in bags. A few were just wrapped in blankets. One was a body found a week after he disappeared. In summer. That's when I found out that a 207 can fly with windows open.

I would venture to guess that goats would smell better.
 
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