It's amazing what a great group of volunteers can do...especially at the last moment. The emails started rolling in after 9pm on Monday evening with word that a pregnant Basset Hound was going to be put to sleep first thing Tuesday morning at a shelter near Columbia.

Diane Caban pulled "Momma Basset" from the shelter first thing and met me at Eagle Aviation at Columbia Metro Airport. D Thompson was there as well. I had just parked the plane and shut down the engine when they walked inside Eagle Aviation. Perfect timing! :-)

"Momma Basset" is beautiful and loves to be carried! We had to tote her around as she was not wanting to walk on her own. After visiting for a few minutes, we loaded her up and I headed out. Unfortunately, I had a maintenance issue crop up just before takeoff and I had to taxi back to the ramp. Since D and Diane had already left, it was just me and "Momma Basset". I had to coordinate trying to get the maintenance done AND babysit our pregnant hound. I was able to call my wife, Kim, to get a hold of D and Diane. Without hesitation, they came back to assist.

Once the fouled spark plug was replaced, we loaded her back up and off we went to Greensboro, NC. We were met by Lori Yarbrough (and her kids), Tammy Graves, and Sandra Lumley . A special thanks to Lori for hooking up this pilot with lunch and Starbucks!

But the adventure didn't end there. On the way back to Hilton Head, a line of thunderstorms developed that I couldn't get through so I opted to divert and land at Florence Regional Airport in Florence, SC. I spent about four hours in their pilot lounge watching the weather and a Cops marathon on Dish Network! hahahaha

I was able to depart Florence at 7:30pm for the hour and 15 minute flight back to Hilton Head.

Thanks again to everyone who assisted in this rescue and transport!

Enjoy the pictures below.

Ted Holstein
Hound Dog One Pilot
"Flying Hounds Into Your Hearts."