124 cats take flight toward brighter futures

When Pretty Girl, a floofy feline with striking looks and a personality to match, stepped out of her carrier at Front Range Freedom Rescue, a Best Friends Network Partner in Colorado, she did something unexpected: She rolled onto her back and started purring.

“For a cat to come off a flight that outgoing and ready to party is so amazing for us,” laughs Nicole Mangione, co-founder and executive director of Front Range. “Usually they need some time to settle in after a cross-country flight, but she was ready to go right away.”

Pretty Girl arrived at Front Range after an extraordinary journey. Alongside 123 other cats and kittens, she flew from Texas to Colorado aboard a flight from Dog is My Co-Pilot — a group of volunteer pilots who fly dogs and cats to areas with more adoption opportunities. Sometimes taking to the skies is the fastest way to a fresh start.

The flight was organized to help address two very different challenges. In Texas, animal shelters are often caring for thousands of cats and kittens and looking for ways to place them in homes. Meanwhile, many Colorado animal welfare organizations have more adopters than cats.

Best Friends' goal is for animal shelters nationwide to reach no-kill, and collaboration between shelters and rescue organizations is one of the ways communities work together to save more pets' lives.

"Our shelter and rescue partners in Colorado told me, 'We need cats. We want cats. We can help more cats,'" says Jess Cieplinski, a Best Friends regional specialist.

A shared quest to save cats and dogs

Jess, who regularly helps plan flights connecting Best Friends Network Partners in different states, saw an opportunity.

"I knew our Colorado partners needed cats and our Texas partners had cats who needed opportunities, so I reached out to Dog is My Co-Pilot to see if a flight was possible," she says.

She worked with Sophia Proler, a Best Friends regional director based in Texas, to coordinate the effort.

“Best Friends helped coordinate the flight by making sure the sending and receiving organizations had all the information and supplies they needed,” says Sophia. “We also worked behind the scenes to help ensure everything ran smoothly on the day of the flight.”

Uniting to rescue pets after Texas floods

Three Texas network partners — Fort Worth Animal Care & Control, Dallas Animal Services , and the SPCA of Texas — worked together to send the cats and kittens.

On the receiving end, eight Colorado partners — Eagle County Animal Services, Animal Friends Alliance, Colorado Kitty Coalition, Front Range Freedom Rescue, Happy Cats Haven, Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue, Rocky Mountain Puppy Rescue, and True Companions Animal Shelter — prepared for their new arrivals.

The flight's fuzzy passengers didn't stay available for long. Many have already landed in homes of their own.

"It was really successful, and we're hoping to do it again soon," says Sophia.

And for Pretty Girl? She purred and snuggled her way into a new home in no time. “She was adopted within 48 hours of becoming available,” says Nicole. “We received such a wonderful group of cats, and we were so thrilled we could help get them into homes.”

While Pretty Girl's striking looks and outgoing personality made her hard to miss, every cat on board arrived with the same thing: a new opportunity. And thanks to partnerships that span multiple states, 124 cats got the chance to take the next step toward a new home.

Editor's note: This animal transport took place before the known outbreak of new world screwworm. Best Friends follows local, state, and national guidelines for safe animal transport.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.