Pilot Flies Around the Country Saving Condemned Dogs

By Penny Arévalo

Torrance, Calif. – Pilot Zach Bryson is flying around the country on a mission of mercy – saving dogs from high-kill shelters.

In this report from CBS Los Angeles, Bryson shares what motivates him to shuttle four-legged passengers.

“In the U.S., we euthanize about three-to-four million dogs per year,” Bryson told CBS. “There’s actually a lot of homes available for those dogs, if we could just get them here.”

Redondo Beach resident and rescuer Rebecca Chambliss found Bryson and his Bryson Air throughPilots For Paws, which like it sounds, connects pilots with those seeking to place dogs who would otherwise be euthanized into new homes.

“He’s been amazing,” Chambliss said of Bryson’s recent effort to fly nearly a dozen Finnish Lapphunds from a hoarder in Northern California to Los Angeles. She told CBS: “He volunteered not only one, but two planes to fly up and get the dogs and bring them back here.”

Bryson said flying dogs makes the transport much quicker and more bearable – and is often cheaper than arranging ground transportation.

He volunteers his time and fuel, as he jets – OK, maybe jets isn’t the right word – around in his 1979 Grumman Tiger plane.

Bryson just focuses on the dogs. On his Facebook page, he calls what he does “freedom flights.”