Dog Is My Copilot: True Tales of Flying Dogs, Reclaimed Lives, and the Hero That Might Just Live Next Door

Chicken Soup for the Soul meets Marley and Me…with a dash of The Right Stuff. Since 2008, an unlikely alliance of volunteer pilots and animal rescue enthusiasts has worked together to save thousands of death-row dogs by flying them to safe havens and better lives. Through two dozen stories—some heartrending, a few hilarious—Dog Is My Copilot tells the inspiring story of Pilots N Paws, America’s most unique and high-flying animal rescue organization.

Dog Is My Copilot tells the story of Pilots N Paws, a high-flying animal-rescue operation founded "accidentally" in 2008 when a private pilot offered to fly a mission of mercy to save an abused dog for a friend. Once on the ground, the pilot asked his friend if there was a big need to transport shelter animals from one part of the country to another. She responded, "You have no idea." Since that time, Pilots N Paws has grown to include thousands of pilots who have transported tens of thousands of "death-row dogs" (and a fair amount of cats and other animals), sometimes more than 1,000 miles away to new homes or no-kill shelters, where they have a much higher chance of adoption.

The true heart of Dog Is My Copilot are the 24 real-life rescue stories collected from pilots and their animal-rescue counterparts on the ground. The short, captivating stories are accompanied by more than 100 charming, poignant, color photos--most taken by the pilots themselves--of their canine passengers in flight.  

Unexpected things can happen when dogs reach cruising altitude, and the stories in Dog Is My Copilot run the emotional range from hilarious to heart rending--but the endings are always happy. These dogs are the lucky ones, and most of the pilots will tell you that when they get on the plane, they know it. After all, waiting for them on the ground hundreds of miles away is a second chance at a happy life with a loving forever family.

Dog Is My Copilot--it's Chicken Soup for the Soul meets Marley and Me . . . with just a dash of The Right Stuff. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the Pilots N Paws organization.

Patrick Regan lives in the middle of flyover country with his wife and children and their mostly good dog, Pearl (rescued, naturally). As often as possible, he accompanies his pilot friend, Sam Taylor, on animal rescue flights.