Cloud Nine Rescue Flights

Cloud Nine has worked with the Manchester Animal Shelter since our first transport in late August of 2009. Typically, our transports involving them have brought pets out of South Carolina. Journey Ewell, president of the Manchester Animal Shelter, came to me with a somewhat different request. They had a Presa Canario named Sebastian that had been there for a long time, and could not be adopted out by order of the State Police. For those not familiar, the Presa Canario breed is a very large, very strong variant of a Pit Bull. Like Pit Bulls, they have a bad reputation because some people mistreat them and train them to be attack dogs. This is what drives misguided Breed Specific Legislation (BSL). Those who keep Pit Bulls and other breeds with bad reputations as pets can attest to their typically good nature. For example, I have a Rottweiler, and he’s got the temperment of a canary.

Sebastian was in a tough spot. The Manchester Animal Shelter couldn’t adopt him out, but wanted him to be able to live out his life happily and safely. The SARA Rescue in Seguine, TX, had a spot and was willing to take him. In exchange, they wanted Manchester Animal Shelter to take several other dogs that could be adopted out up north. Journey approached me and asked if Cloud Nine could help with this transport request – taking Sebastian down south, and then the other dogs back up north. It’s rare that we do transports both directions, but this one was obviously a win-win situation for everyone involved.

The day of the trip, I arrived at the Manchester, NH airport, and was met by Journey and Sebastian. Sebastian was a huge dog, but also a very sweet dog. Sadly, his size and breed gave people misconceptions about his demeanor. He happily jumped up into the Aztec, and settled in his cage for the flight to Texas. Journey accompanied me on this trip, wanting to meet the people at SARA Rescue, and also see what these transports are like, having never been on one.

We got to Texas late, and got Sebastian over to SARA Rescue to settle him in. Given the fact that it was dark and we were tired, Journey and I headed off to get some sleep. The next morning, we headed back to SARA Rescue to spend some more time seeing the facility. SARA Rescue has a large amount of property, and is actually getting ready to move to Marfa, Texas in West Texas, where they will have even more space. Right now, they have approximately 1,000 animals, ranging from dogs and cats, to pigs and horses, which requires several employees and a number of volunteers to take care of.

After getting a tour of the facility, we headed to the airport with 10 large dogs to bring back to New Hampshire. The first thought from the SARA volunteers was “There’s no way you’re getting all these dogs in there.” We made believers out of them – Even 10 large dogs in the Aztec isn’t a problem for us.

People ask me what a typical transport is for Cloud Nine. The reality is we have a huge variety, and “typical” is whatever we’re doing that day. This was a treat win-win transport for all parties involved, and we were happy to help Sebastian find a safe and happy place to live out his life, and play a part in the 10 great dogs we moved to Manchester find their forever homes.

Blue Skies,

-Ted