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We all know we live in a community that loves our dogs … We recently had the satisfaction of being part of a rescue effort to save some of our furry friends. Dog Is My CoPilot (DIMC) visited SUN on Friday, October 6, 2017. DIMC is a nonprofit organization that saves dogs and cats from euthanasia by transporting them to no-kill shelters across the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest regions. During their visit on Oct. 6, DIMC delivered five dogs and five cats to the Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley. All the critters were from Texas and rescued following Hurricane Harvey. They were brought here to make room in Texas shelters for other displaced animals.

The Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley works closely with DIMC and other shelters around the United States. When animals are brought to our local shelter, the adoption coordinator works with those shelters and DIMC to make sure the animals will be the perfect fit and easily adopted within our valley. This latest delivery of animals will be ready for adoption soon; the dogs will be available early this week, and the cats will be available later in the week. All the animals will be spayed and neutered (if they haven’t been previously “fixed”).

DIMC relocates many animals at once — between 40 and 200, depending on the airplane — which drastically reduces costs and saves multiple animals at once. Most of the dogs (and cats) transported by DIMC are from areas with overcrowded animal shelters, where they face euthanasia. The animals are then flown to locations with animal rescue organizations that have capacity and where the chances of adoption are greater. As a dog-loving community with a no-kill shelter, the Wood River Valley is an ideal place for these animals to find their “furever” homes in no time! To date, this amazing organization has helped save 7,877 animals.

We want to give a big thank you to Atlantic Aviation, our local FBO. For this visit, Atlantic GM Brian Blackburn gave some big discounts to DIMC which allowed them to make the trip to our airport and community. Thank you, Brian and Atlantic! We also want to say thank you to Hillary, Hannah, Jenny and Shelly who were here at the airport to meet their new arrivals. In general, thank you to the staff of the Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley for all you do for these animals.

Dog Is My CoPilot was created in 2012 by a doctor in Wyoming and a lawyer in Arizona. Peter Rork, M.D., and Judy Zimet, Esq. work with a supportive Board to fly animals from areas of the U.S. where they are not wanted, to areas of the U.S. where they are in demand. There is no charge to the animal welfare organizations for whom DIMC flies … the planes fly on public donations alone. The organization is a 501(c)3-approved organization based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

For more information about Dog Is My CoPilot or the Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley and for a list of adoptable animals, click on their names and visit their websites.