Sometimes flights to and from Hawaii aren’t just for Hawaii vacations. If you have a pet, your heart will melt with this story. Here at Beat of Hawaii, our team mascot is a Big Island mule. She’s 750 lbs. of pure pet and a beloved crew member. Shelter animals want a safe place too, and that’s been an ongoing issue here in the islands.
Step in “Paws Across the Pacific” which was the name given to a recent flight from Hawaii to Seattle. This was no regular flight. Onboard were 600 shelter animals who flew “first-class” to new homes. This was the largest pet rescue flight ever and organized by Great Good Charities and Wings of Rescue. Working in conjunction with the Maui Humane Society, the animals were transported to be adopted in various places including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.
Maui Humane Society said, “We’ve been really overrun with a lot of animals and so this is kind of like a miracle and the fact that we’re all going to be pulling this off with very limited resources it’s really quite a feat in itself.”
Greater Good Charities said, “Pet shelters in Hawaii are in a COVID-19 crisis. Normal operations have been affected by months of the shutdown, economic downturn, limited hours, and routine flights to the mainland halted. The Wings of Aloha mission was urgently needed to make space in Hawaii’s shelters for at-risk pets who otherwise wouldn’t be able to receive necessary care to survive.”
If you are an animal lover you can also help shelter pets during your Hawaii vacation. Many have programs that allow you to take a dog with you for a half-day of companionship. There is a small donation required and the program is available on Kauai, Big Island, and Maui. Check with each shelter directly for more information.
Photo credit: GreaterGoodCharities Facebook.
What a great article! We did the Beach Buddies program last year through the Maui Humane Society and took a dog out for the day, it was such a nice addition to our vacation plans. When my husband and I learned about Paws Across the Pacific (we watched it unfold via Instagram) one of the Maui cats caught our eye… she ended up at an adoption facility 30 minutes from our house and we took that as a sign. She has been home with us for 12 days now!
Hi Danielle.
That’s so great to hear about your new family member from Hawaii.
Aloha.
Aloha-
Thanks for shedding light on the adopt a dog for a day program. We did this last year in Kauai. It was so much fun and rewarding! We took a lab mix up Sleeping Giant. In Kapa’a they have a shave ice stand that gives doggy ice treats that we treated him too after.
Hi Jon.
Thanks for that update on Kauai Humane Society’s program.
Aloha.
Thank you for sharing this! I had no idea we could do this. I will take a dog out for a day on my next trip to the Big Island. It seems like the catch, neuter and release programs on the Big Island have been working for the feral cats. The cat colonies are much smaller now than what they used to be. Aloha
Hi Diane.
Glad to hear that. Please let us know how it goes.
Aloha.
Good story, yes, but it would melt my heart if our nation would care about the unborn with the same conviction, courage, and media coverage.
I love this program! We “sprang” a dog to take on a hike several times on Kauai and it was immensely rewarding, and it’s so so good for the animals.