Volunteers struggle through snow, schedules and broken landing gear to get stray dog from West Virginia to home in Colonie
There’s no place like home for the holidays, but for a little white pup named Molly, found starved and wandering the streets of West Virginia, getting to her new home in Colonie was a near-impossible task.
Despite snow, plane malfunction and a number of other barriers, a handful of volunteers were able to get Molly to her new owner, Carol Milanese of Colonie, just before Christmas came.
Molly, a 10-month-old pup, was the apple of Milanese’s eye for over a month before eventually being delivered on Christmas Eve.
I picked her off a Web site when I saw that cute little face, Milanese said.
The former stray was rescued in Parsons, West Virginia, nearly 600 miles from Colonie, but Milanese said she wanted to adopt the pup anyway. She said she has been trying for a month to find a traveling partner to go pick up the dog, but due to a number of circumstances, was unable to make the near 9-hour drive.
Milanese said since the dog was found astray, there is no information about its breed, but it appears to be mostly a Dalmatian with some pit bull. She had been in the shelter since August.
She said she did not want to go to pick it up alone because she did not know the dog’s demeanor, and it’s a long trip to make alone.
`I only knew she was as cute as could be,` Milanese said.
Originally, there were a number of plans to meet volunteers who would transport the dog to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but the plans fell through.
`All kinds of obstacles were thrown in the way,` she said.
A new plan was formed after Curtis and Kate Berry agreed to fly the dog to New York on Wednesday, Dec. 23 on Curtis’ private jet. Milanese thought she would finally be able to get her hands on Molly.
The Berry’s were contacted by Kate’s sister, who sits on the board at the Animal Welfare League, to help transport Molly. The League helps place pets that are adopted via Web site’s like PetFinder.com.
The Berry’s started out in Hagerstown, Maryland, and flew to Elkins, West Virginia on Dec. 23. Bad weather in Elkins delayed their trip and it was then to late to fly the rest of the way to New York. They stopped back in Maryland, spent the night at home and then left on Christmas Eve day to get to New York, Kate Berry said.
Again problems arose, this time with Berry’s landing gear, and he could not fly.
With some help from his mechanic, though, he was able to repair the plane and make the trip. Milanese offered to drive to Newburgh, rather than have the couple fly to Albany International Airport, to shave some time off of his trip, since it was Christmas Eve.
`She growled at me when she first saw me,` Milanese said.
But so far, the dog has been well behaved considering it was a stray and had to endure a good deal of travel, Milanese said.
She praised the work of people who help bring dogs around the country so they can have a home.
`They go through great lengths to find a nice home for little doggies,` she said of the volunteers who help cart animals across the country.
Kate Berry said the trip was worthwhile, although it was touch and go to get back for Christmas Eve dinner before 5 p.m. But in the end, `it all worked out perfectly,` she said.
Her and her husband love dogs, and he loves to fly, she said.
`This is going to be a thing we do,` Berry said. Even though it’s optimal to transport in warmer weather, they will continue to volunteer their time to help prevent sheltered animals from being euthanized.
This is the second time Curtis has volunteered to fly a dog.
Six months ago Curtis, a pilot of about five years, made his first flight delivering Basset Hounds from Kentucky. Now, he said whenever he is called to help, he will.
`When the dog has to go, the dog has to go,` He said.
Curtis said he was happy to help, and noted that there are a number of pilots who volunteer there time in a similar fashion to help animals in need.
`We want to get these dogs out of shelters and into homes,` he said.
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