ROCK SPRINGS — A Wyoming-based nonprofit flying dogs and cats out of high-kill shelters stopped in Sweetwater County this weekend. 

Dog is My Copilot was founded by Jackson orthopedic surgeon Dr. Peter Rork and operates three Cessna Caravan aircraft to nearly 5,000 animals per year, though the group is currently down one plane after it flipped over during a windstorm. The group flies animals into the arms of rescue organizations across the country has saved nearly 45,000 animals. The organization’s routes stretch across most of the country, connecting overrun shelters in high-euthanasia states with rescue partners in the Pacific Northwest, the Mountain West and beyond.

Dog is My Copilot never charges for transportation and relies entirely on donations to stay operational.

“I can’t fill the fuel tanks with pixie dust,” Rork said. “It takes real dollars to keep the wheels up.”

How It Works

Flights typically begin around 4 a.m., when temperatures are cool enough to safely load animals. Crates are lined up on the tarmac in reverse order, last ones out go in first, before the animals are secured and the plane departs. Each Caravan can carry more than 200 animals per flight, making multiple stops to drop animals off with different receiving rescue organizations along the route.

“When you’re flying 200 animals, there’s no group that can accept 200 animals at a time,” Rork said. “So we’re making multiple stops.”

The organization focuses on long-distance transport pulling animals from Texas, New Mexico, California and other high-euthanasia states. Texas ranks second in the nation for euthanasia rates behind California, with New Mexico not far behind.

Rork said the moment the cargo door closes and the turbine spins up is one that stays with him.

“They get completely silent,” he said of the animals on board. “This is a sound they’ve never heard before. These dogs have had such a terrible life up to this point and they don’t realize they just got the golden ticket.”

The Sweetwater County Connection

For local organizations like the Red Desert Humane Society in Rock Springs, Dog is My Copilot is an essential part of the rescue pipeline. RDHS pulls animals primarily from Texas and New Mexico, with flights stopping in Colorado, Utah and Rock Springs on the way north. Shelters must commit to pulling at least five animals to secure a stop on the route.

Rork is candid that air transport, while life-saving, is not the ultimate answer to the crisis.

“This is not a dog problem,” he said. “It’s a people problem. The solution is spay and neuter, and hopefully it’ll put us out of business someday.”

How to Help

Rork said there are four ways the public can get involved. Adopt from a shelter instead of purchasing from a breeder. Foster an animal to help socialize it for adoption. Volunteer at a local shelter walking dogs, cleaning kennels or providing human interaction. And if none of those are options, donate.

“Money is the mother’s milk of nonprofits,” he said.

The organization has donors in all 50 states and several in Europe. Those looking to support Dog is My Copilot can visit dogismycopilot.org. Those interested in adopting animals brought into Rock Springs can contact the Red Desert Humane Society directly.