Animal Rescue Pilot

With about 6 million dogs and cats entering animal shelters in the United States each year, overcrowding has become a serious problem. When space runs out, shelters may be forced to euthanize, or humanely kill, some animals. In fact, about 600,000 shelter animals were euthanized in 2025 alone.

Rescue groups can try to relocate animals to shelters with more space, but these facilities may be far away. That’s when the groups call Race for Life Rescue, a nonprofit based in Tennessee that specializes in transporting at-risk shelter animals all over the country by airplane. Keith Felter is one of the organization’s pilots. He flies a special plane designed to carry animals of all shapes and sizes.

Since 2021, Felter and his crew have relocated more than 10,000 pets—including dogs, cats, potbellied pigs, chinchillas, and rabbits—to shelters where they have better chances of being adopted. Recently, Science World spoke with Felter about his animal rescue flights.

How did you become an animal rescue pilot?

I first learned to fly during my time in the Air Force, where I was on active duty for 30 years. After retiring, I saw that Race for Life Rescue was looking for a pilot for their rescue flights. I truly support their mission, so I jumped at the opportunity to work for them!

How does your organization set up rescue flights?

We usually partner with rescue groups like the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). These groups coordinate with shelters to determine which ones are overcrowded and which ones can accept more animals. Once we’re given pickup and drop-off locations, I need to find suitable airports near those shelters. Race for Life Rescue usually flies about 50 missions each year across the U.S. and internationally.

What is a typical rescue flight like?

I fly a Beech 1900—a plane used by the military to transport people and cargo. For Race for Life Rescue flights, we removed the passenger seats to make room for animals.

Employees at shelters bring the animals to the airport in pet crates labeled with each animal’s information and health data. Then we load the crates onto the airplane, making sure to distribute the weight evenly to maintain the plane’s center of gravity. That way it stays balanced as it flies. Since the crates are all different sizes, fitting them into the plane is a bit like a puzzle. But if we load them efficiently, we can carry more than 130 animals.

The loading process is a new experience for many animals. But once we take off, they usually settle down and nap for the rest of the flight. Most of our trips only last about four hours. It’s much shorter and less stressful for them than traveling by truck, which can take several days.

What kinds of special missions have you flown?

Race for Life Rescue is often called in after natural disasters because shelters need to relocate animals they’ve had long term. This makes room for ones who’ve been lost or forced to separate from their owners due to the disaster. For example, we were called in after wildfires burned large parts of Southern California last year. I also flew several missions after Hurricane Helene hit the Southeast U.S. in 2024. The damage from that storm was so widespread that we had to transport animals from across North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee to other states.

What do you like best about your job?

Saving these animals is very rewarding, as is meeting people who care so much about them. If people have room in their homes and hearts for a new pet, I hope they consider adopting from a shelter. I know firsthand how great rescue animals can be, because two of my own dogs came from these missions!