Tim Hawk
Photography

When the Piper Saratoga touched down at Sky Manor Airport in Pittstown Sunday afternoon, the 42 dogs aboard took the next step that will bring them closer to a new life.

Abandoned and mistreated in Mississippi, these dogs were welcomed in New Jersey with hugs and kisses by dozens of masked volunteers from Puppy Love Pet Rescue and families looking to adopt.

"She's perfect," said Greta Luria, speaking from behind a blue face mask splashed with white dots. Everyone attending the drop off was required to wear a mask due to the pandemic. 

"She seems to really like me and her coloring is beautiful," said Luria, a  17-year-old Chatham resident, while holding the brown and white five-week-old puppy tight to protect it from the chilly winds as her sisters searched for the dog of their choice.

As families searched for the next addition to their household, volunteers checked on the dogs that were put into temporary pens so they could stretch their little legs. Looking on with a smile on his face was Matt Kiener who was happy to see his efforts from the last two days come to fruition.

Kiener is president and chief pilot for FlyPups and was responsible for delivering this plane load of excited tail-wagging dogs in need of love, while also delivering joy to potential adoptive families.

"These trips are amazing, they're absolutely amazing," said Kiener, who got his private pilot’s license in 1995.

FlyPups is a non-profit organization that flies rescued dogs from kill shelters and other harmful situations.

Kiener started transporting dogs in 2011 when he filled in for a friend on a dog rescue mission. Before then, it never occurred to him that there would be such a need.

"The very first mission I did was in a tiny little two-seater aerobatic plane, and it was a mission gone bad."

Kiener explained that after flying five puppies up to New Windsor, New York and dropping them off, one of them followed him as he was walking out the door.

"I picked her up and said you think you're coming home with me and she started licking my face," he said. "So that's a yes."

He named her Piper and she was the inspiration for founding FlyPups.

"This short plane home from New York State was an eye opener. It was one of these moments where your mind is racing and you know your life is on this course but now it's going 20 degrees to the right."

Since that flight, FlyPups has flown an equivalent of two trips around the world and the last transport brought the total number of dogs rescued to more than 1,000.

Sunday's mission was for Puppy Love Pet Rescue and started with a 6.5 hour flight down on Saturday and then a 4.5 hour flight back Sunday.

"There were some really heart-wrenching stories with a couple of the dogs on this mission," Kiener said.

His co-pilot for the trip was Liz Taras, who owns Gladstone Corner Deli & Grill, which is closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was her first flight with Kiener and she admitted she was nervous because she never flew in a small plane.

While the majority of the dogs slept, Taras got to play with one lucky puppy who sat on her lap for most of the trip back.

"Kind of silly not to play with a couple of them," Kiener said.

Accidents do happen though, as the pup peed on her foot. "It claimed me," she laughed. "I feel like it needs to go home with me now."

For some of these dogs, a garbage dump was their home. For all of these dogs, their forever home is now only weeks away thanks to volunteers Charlene Heafner and Kimmie Fuller, who work the front lines in Mississippi, said Joan Gilmore, president of Puppy Love Pet Rescue.

A 3-month-old mix terrier covered in mange was found in a garbage dump with his dead mother.

"He looks like a leather dog right now," said Gilmore. "But he's in good hands now and you know it will take some time but he'll grow his hair back and be happy and healthy."

Another dog was abandoned when a shelter refused to take her in after her puppies were born.

"The animal control officer was out for two weeks looking for her and they found her in a garbage dump eating rags," Gilmore said. Back on the green Jersey grass of the airport that same black dog went from pen to pen looking for her puppies.

Gilmore explained that all the dogs will go into foster care where they will be provided with all the medical attention they need before being put up for adoption.

"We'll post them on our website and start taking applications," she said.

Gilmore, who started her rescue in 2003, said she has worked with FlyPups for approximately four years.

"He's done many flights for us and we're very grateful to have him because a four hour trip in the plane is a lot easier than a 24 hour trip in the car, especially for the little guys."

Kiener said he usually makes a few dozen trips a year mostly east of the Mississippi and knows that this is exactly what he should be doing.

"When we're loading the dogs up there is absolutely an energy and they know that they're going someplace better and that things are going to improve."

There's nothing more rewarding, there's nothing more invigorating, he said.

Published on NJ.com, May 13, 2020