Best Friends Animal Society and Wings of Rescue Team Up to Fly 40 Pets to Safety in Wake of Devastating Southern California Fires
To provide direct relief to communities affected by the blazing California wildfires, Wings of Rescue, in partnership with Best Friends Animal Society, is making an emergency flight of approximately 40 dogs, transporting them to Kanab, Utah, where Best Friends operates the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary.
Tomorrow’s lifesaving airlift will help reduce overcrowded conditions in shelters impacted by the wildfires and free up space and resources.
In the rush to evacuate a disaster such as the Palisades and Eaton fires, often pets can be escape or become separated from their owners. It then becomes the work of first responders and shelter workers to find and secure these lost pets until they can be reunited with their owners.
Best Friends Animal Society, a leading national animal welfare organization working to end the killing of cats and dogs in America’s shelters in 2025, has been closely working with Los Angeles based animal shelters and rescue groups to provide aid and help increase pet lifesaving. As the leader in the no-kill movement, Best Friends has been in unpredictable situations before and knows how to navigate them making them a uniquely fit partner. The organization also operates the Best Friends Pet Lifesaving Center in West LA where they are currently operating a Pet Pantry for affected Angelenos.
The Wings of Rescue twin-engine turboprop plane will be waiting at the Hollywood Burbank Airport on Saturday morning for Best Friends transport vehicles, which will contain pets pulled from the Los Angeles County Animal Shelter in Lancaster. Loading should take place at approximately 1 p.m. PST and the plane will take off at approximately 1:15PM PST.
Wings of Rescue flies only pressurized, temperature-controlled aircraft and has saved over 75,000 pets since its inception in 2012. The nonprofit responds to disasters and transports pets from overcrowded shelters to those where there is empty kennel space and willing adopters. All pets are medically cleared for travel and several safeguards are built in to avoid ever transporting a pet that is simply lost.
On Sunday, January 12 Wings of Rescue will be making a second flight from Hollywood Burbank Airport with a load of pets headed to Seattle, Washington. Both flights are supported in part by a donation from the Cencora Impact Fund.
ABOUT BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY
Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters and make the country no-kill in 2025. Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from an estimated 17 million per year to 415,000 last year. Best Friends runs lifesaving programs across the country, as well as the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary. Working collaboratively with a network of more than 5,000 animal welfare and shelter partners, and community members nationwide, Best Friends is working to Save Them All®. For more information, visit bestfriends.org.
MEDIA CONTACT: Erinn O’Connor, 630-334-7881, erinno@bestfriends.org
ABOUT WINGS OF RESCUE
Wings of Rescue is a donation-supported charity that air-transports abandoned, homeless and otherwise at-risk pets from overcrowded shelters, disaster areas and dangerous circumstances to the safety of rescue facilities and animal-welfare organizations where each pet is given proper care and a new home. Additionally, every year Wings of Rescue planes deliver thousands of pounds of humanitarian and veterinary aid to communities and pets in need, and the group serves as advocates for spay/neuter programs and other life-saving practices. Since its founding in 2012, Wings of Rescue pilots have safely and efficiently flown over 75,000 pets out of harm’s way and on to new lives. The nonprofit group operates hundreds of missions per year carrying thousands of dogs, cats, and other small companion animals to and from locations throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Advocating that all pets deserve a healthy and loving home, Wings of Rescue believes that responsible pet ownership enriches lives and builds stronger and more compassionate communities. For additional information or to donate, please visit www.wingsofrescue.org.
MEDIA CONTACT: Gene Gable, gene@wingsofrescue.org 707-235-0869.