78 Dogs Flown To Oregon From Oklahoma Due To Shelter Overcrowding

Dozens of dogs take the trip of a lifetime on Saturday.

“We try to get here real early because we don’t want the dogs too hot,” said coordinator Rob Smith.

On the journey to their new forever home across the country, these dogs are zipped into crates.

“We use about a thousand zip ties each time,” Smith said.

78 dogs and puppies flew out of Will Rogers World Airport Saturday, headed to Salem, Oregon.

Volunteers from all over the state bring dogs they’ve rescued from high-kill shelters.

“If they’re capable to ride together and friendly, we’ll put two dogs in a crate and that’s just that many more animals,” Smith said. “They’ll be crated for approximately seven hours now. But, that is better than the alternative here in Oklahoma.”

“A lot of the small towns don’t have much for shelters or pounds.” said Jen Moser, who assists with dog rescues in Choctaw.

They’re taking a one-way flight.

“It's an overwhelming amount of dogs that need homes,” she said.

Volunteers are working to save as many lives as possible.

“And if you can’t adopt, even foster homes will save their lives so they can make it long enough to get on a flight or get on a transport out of state,” Moser said.

Thousands of dogs are put down annually in Oklahoma.

“There’s literally…I hate to say thousands, but at least hundreds, of dogs, put down, every week every two weeks,” said Smith.

It's a costly trip.

Vikki Smith founded Fetch Fido A Flight to save pets being euthanized due to overcrowded shelters.

She’s approaching 3,000 animals saved.

“Being a donation-backed operation, the flights are rather expensive. They’re approximately 20,000 a flight. So all these rescues collect the animals and have them vetted, and she doesn’t charge anybody for the flight,” Rob Smith said.

Ameriflight charted Saturday’s flight.

“We take dogs all over the country from different area shelters that need to be adopted out,” said Tyler Singh, pilot and first officer.

This chartered flight almost didn’t fit everyone.

“Sometimes the passengers complain but the dogs only bark a little and then they go to sleep,” Singh said.

“It's a huge Tetris game, it's all about how many animals can we fit in, and safely get everyone to their destination,” Singh said.

So Echo and Tilly ride up front.

Sent off with a promise of a new life.

“Typically they’re adopted out within five or six days,” Smith said.

The flight landed in Salem Saturday evening.

Fetch Fido A Flight organizers encourage everyone to spay and neuter their pets.

For more information about the organization, CLICK HERE.