By james art 
BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Dozens of dogs from overcrowded Los Angeles shelters arrived at Boise Airport on a special flight organized by Dog Is My Co-Pilot. These animals are getting a second chance to find loving homes in Idaho, thanks to the Humane Society of Idaho and local partners.
Christine Schellhaas, public information officer for the Idaho Humane Society, said, “We put our hands up to help L.A. cities at the shelters weeks ago, and luckily they’ve gotten a lot of responses from the local community and from national organizations. So we were actually on a waiting list to help them get animals that were already up for adoption out of their shelters to make room for these displaced pets.”
The transportation of these animals was handled by Dog Is My Co-Pilot. Frank Maresca, the organization’s pilot coordinator, explained the logistics involved in the flight. “Make sure they, you know, have enough room, zip everything together. We, you know, pack the plane pretty tight normally and that prevents them from moving. And at the end of the load, we always clamp the last few crates down so they don’t move and then we also limit our height and flight. It’s an unpressurized plane, so we can’t go too high.
Upon arrival, the dogs will undergo health checks and vaccinations. Schellhaas noted, “They’ve all had their vets that can’t clear the state and come here without them, but the Idaho Humane Society always does independent vets. And then we go a step further, if they need dentists, if they need orthopedic surgery, we go ahead and do all of that.”
Kelly Mitchell, senior director of shelter operations at Mountain Humane, assured the public that rescues do not take pets from their families. “People have a lot of questions about what if these animals had owners and now they can’t find them, and it’s just important to know that the animals that we’ve pulled from are all animals that have been surrendered by owners, because they could not keep them, or they were homeless and unclaimed. They don’t have to worry about an owner looking for their pet right now,” she said.
With the dogs now in the Treasure Valley, the hope is that they can find their forever homes. For those considering donation or adoption, there has never been a more important time to help.