Review: Dog is My Co-Pilot by Patrick Regan

Title: Dog is My Co-Pilot
Author: Patrick Regan
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publish Date: June 19, 2012
Source: Netgalley

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're an animal lover.
• You're looking for a warm story.
• You have an interest in flying.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "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."

My Two Cents:

This story is both about the Pilots N' Paws program and the stories of many of the dogs (and some of the other creatures) that this program has transported. The Pilots N' Paws organization is a volunteer based organization where pilots fly mostly dogs but other animals in need from high threat shelters to rescues or even to owners sometimes.

I had first heard of the organization when my husband's cousins did a couple transports. I thought it was so cool that these pilots would take the time to do something like that. My husband's cousin and his girlfriend actually adopted a dog from the program, which is super cool. And their dog is so awesome that it makes the program just that much more awesome.

Although the book is about the organization, it is mostly the stories of the various rescues that the program has done and therefore is probably more fitting for animal lovers than pilots perhaps. Each chapter covers a different rescue. Some of the rescues are funny like the one where this pilot gets stuck flying four very naughty dogs. Some are really touching like the ones about some special needs animals that find their "furever" home. I also really liked the stories and the pictures of some of the stranger animals that the program has rescued. Snakes on a plane? Yes, in this book there are most definitely snakes on a plane.

Bottom line: This is a great book for any animal lover. This is definitely a cool organization with a great mission and a great story!