Did You Know That Dogs Can Fly?

Dog Is My CoPilot  is a non-profit that transports at-risk animals from overcrowded shelters to adoption centers in other geographic regions where loving families are waiting.

Dog Is My CoPilot transports animals from shelters in California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas where adoptable pets are at the highest risk for euthanasia, and flies them to adoption partners where each one has the opportunity to find a loving forever home.

Peter E. Rork, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and lifelong pilot, co-founded the organization in 2012 with the goal of saving as many animal lives as possible. He started flying lessons when he was 12, earned his pilot’s license when he was 16, and took his first solo flight on May 15, 1969.

Years later, his plane filled up when Peter began flying 20-30 pets for animal rescue organizations in his Cessna 206H “Stationair.”

After his wife died in 2012, he teamed up with Judy Zimet, a Scottsdale real estate attorney and animal lover, to start an organization that combined their shared passion for animals and charity with Peter’s passion for flying.

Dog Is My CoPilot soon became a victim of its own success and DIMC acquired a larger Cessna 208B Grand Caravan — aka “Big Dog” — that was retrofitted from a 12-passenger plane to one that can carry up to 251 animals in crates, from the smallest kittens and Chihuahuas to much larger dogs.

With a 675HP turbine engine up front, Peter says there is more than enough power to fly rescued dogs and cats to their new homes and meet the demand for DIMC’s services.

And, there is plenty more room in the cockpit, he says. Amazingly, while it seems chaotic with lots of barking and scrambling on the ground, Peter says it’s very peaceful once he starts the engine and taxis down the runway.

It’s as if the dogs know they’re on a flight to freedom. It’s as if the dogs truly are his co-pilots.