I don’t recall ever seeing this mentioned on the forum before so I thought I’d bring it up. With so many of us travelling all over the world, there are a lot of opportunities to act as a flight angel and help bring a rescued animal home to their new family as part of our travels.
The general idea is that someone in City A has adopted from a rescue organization in City B but needs another person to bring the animal home. Depending on their size, the rescue will either be in the cabin with you in a carrier or in cargo.
I’ve done this twice so far, with another scheduled for December, and the first meeting of the pup and their new family at the airport has always been so fun!
(I know there is controversy with international pet adoptions when there are so many local pets that need adopting, but these adoptions are happening so if I can help a rescued animal, then I just focus on that.)
Anyway, if you find yourself travelling from a city where they’re looking for flight angels, please consider volunteering for this service. I’ve found it quite rewarding so far.
I’m not aware of a particular company that does it all over the world. I search for “flight angel” + whatever city I’m in (so far all Mexican cities). I’ve done it for the SPCA in Puerto Vallarta and Baja’s Crossing Paws in Los Cabos (which I found through the Cabo Pet Escorts Facebook page). Facebook does seem to be the best place to find these opportunities. That’s mostly what comes up in the search results.
The only caveat is to make sure you have found a true rescue organization and not an overseas puppy mill or something similar.
A friend of mine started an animal rescue that partnered with a rescue in Puerto Rico. They’ve saved so many animals on the street, and many travelers have been angels for them.
Good job bringing this up.
Thought I’d follow up with a photo of the happy rescue pup I flew with this week after he met his new person for the first time. Glad I could play a small part to help such a sweet moment happen.
@meow Thank you for sharing this special moment with us! Flying isn’t my favourite thing but how rewarding to know you can help at the same time. Thank you for educating me and raising awareness about ‘Flight Angels’
So glad you’ve mentioned this. I’ve done this from both Thailand and Greece. It’s zero trouble and you’re helping to give an animal a new life. It only works for specific destinations, but for those visiting Thailand, check out Become A Flight Volunteer | Soi Dog Foundation!
