People.com Lifestyle Pets Over 45 Dogs Saved From Overcrowded Texas Shelters and Flown to Forever Homes in Oregon Dog is My CoPilot and Wondercide teamed up to save over 45 shelter dogs from being euthanized by flying the canines from Texas' overcrowded shelters to forever families waiting for the pups on the West Coast By Kelli Bender Kelli Bender Kelli Bender is the Pets Editor for PEOPLE Digital and PEOPLE magazine. She has been with the PEOPLE brand for more than eight years, working as a writer/producer across PEOPLE's Lifestyle, Features, and Entertainment verticals before taking on her current role. Kelli is also an editor on PEOPLE's Stories to Make You Smile and serves as an editorial lead on PEOPLE's World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest and Pet Product Awards. Before joining PEOPLE, Kelli helped AOL and Whalerock launch a pet lifestyle site called PawNation. She is a pet parent to a cat named Wallace, and her professional and personal devotion to animals has taken her to three dog weddings ... so far. People Editorial Guidelines Published on June 2, 2021 04:45 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Chris Lammert / Wondercide Over 45 shelter dogs are enjoying the comfort of happy homes thanks to pet lovers and a pilot. According to a release from Wondercide — a plant-powered, pet-friendly pest protection brand — the company pledged to donate the proceeds from their Wondercide sampler box made over the holiday season to Dog is My CoPilot. This non-profit transports at-risk animals from overcrowded shelters to adoption centers that have found perfect families for the pets. On May 26, the funds that Wondercide and the company's customers raised for Dog is My CoPilot went to work. The nonprofit used those donations to finance a rescue flight of over 45 shelter dogs at risk of being euthanized. With help from El Paso Animal Services, the pooches were pulled from overcrowded shelters across West Texas and brought to El Paso to fly out. At the airport, the canines met their volunteer pilot Peter E. Rork, who founded Dog is my CoPilot in 2012. Chris Lammert / Wondercide Rork helped to carefully load all the canines onto the Dog is My CoPilot plane and flew the animals to Portland, Oregon. On the ground, they were met by animal lovers from The Underground Dog and One Tail at a Time, who secured homes for the traveling dogs before they arrived in Oregon. Chris Lammert / Wondercide Rescue Saves Dozens of Canines from Slaughter Ahead of the Yulin Dog Meat Festival After the dogs landed in Oregon, they were each given a goodie bag, which included a few Wondercide gifts, and then went off to live happily ever after with the adopters and foster families hand-picked for them. Chris Lammert / Wondercide Chris Lammert / Wondercide Bubbles is one of the dozens of dogs who went from the euthanasia list to a loving home thanks to this rescue flight. The rescue dog was found at a Texas car wash with her jaw detached. She has gone through several surgeries to help with her injuries and maybe need a few cosmetic procedures in the future. Luckily, those potential operations are now her biggest problem since she is now living in a devoted Oregon foster home committed to her full recovery.