Ben's Branches

6 months ago, we helped with the massive task of evacuating nearly 400 animals from the Virgin Islands. The majority of which were on St Thomas & facing euthanasia due to extreme overcrowding in their shelter.

Along with our incredible vet partner, Whole Pet Global Outreach, we sponsored & took in dozens of these animals who now have homes instead of the grim future they faced.

Unfortunately as the planes were getting closer to take off, there were still 22 dogs without a Stateside receiving rescue (including Beethoven, pictured above), so they were going to have to be left behind...

We decided to take a chance on them too, so we offered to board them temporarily & take care of their medical needs while the network of other rescues had space open up for them. Sadly, space never opened up anywhere other than 1 partner rescue.

Over the 3 months following the evac flights, 7 dogs made their way to the incredible team at, Stray Rescue of St. Louis. Shortly thereafter, they squeezed in another 8 dogs. We have found homes, fosters, & board/train placement for the remaining 7.

We budgeted a month timewise & financially for these extra pups. So as you can imagine the expenses of the additional months have far exceeded our initial fundraiser, & have forced us to cease rescue operations until we can get caught up.

Over this time, our vet partner worked with us to provide varying medical care for almost 60 animals (Heartworm treatments, spays/neuters, meds, lab work, x-rays, sonograms, overnight monitoring, misc surgeries, transport, etc).

Most ALL of these expenses have been covered by our veterinarian's non-profit arm & our previous fundraising! BUT our remaining bill, $4,357.71, is way overdue...

We have borrowed money to cover cc bills, so we can't "buy" anymore time. We can't charge anymore vet services, so we can't rescue anymore animals until we have the means to provide for their medical needs again.

In the end, we gave these remaining 22 dogs not just a chance, but their LAST chance & that is PRICELESS!!

Please help spread our story so that our rescue efforts get a chance at life again too!

Sincerely,

Danny Robert Pickett

www.BensBranches.org

The St Thomas Humane Society is understaffed and has insufficient funding to operate. We got the message

on Jan 5th, that the Board of Directors of the ST Thomas Humane Society in the US Virgin Islands had to make a difficult decision... (Their shelter is only meant for about 70 animals, but they were/are completely overwhelmed with nearly 400.)

BUT, we rallied an emergency response Stateside team & will be there in a few days; & because of all your amazing donations, we will be able to clear out their entire shelter so that no animals die simply due to overcrowding. Euthanasia is not the solution, only Empathy, Compassion, and Spay/Neuter will help; & planes out of there!

**FREEDOM FLIGHTS = A FUTURE FOR THESE ANIMALS**

Additionally, our friends at the Animal Care Center on neighboring St John are FULL too. Even though they are a NO KILL shelter, they are still in dire need of this transport to give these loves the future homes & families they deserve.

Commercial Airline restrictions & temperature extremes have made it very challenging (on top of everything else they do 24/7) to get mature animals to Stateside rescues. (In 2023 they were only able to get 2 dogs off island.)

Previously our largest evacuation was 333 in 7 days, but this time we are mobilizing to save close to 400 in 24 hours!! With so little time, and so many to save, one plane will not accomplish getting them all out to safety to forever homes and families. So, we (the logistical transport team), have sourced multiple planes to accomplish this mission!

Thank goodness for our longtime Supporters at Last Chance Air who are willing to donate the planes needed to make this magic happen!! We just need to raise funds to cover all the other expenses involved with transporting this many animals to the mainland... crates, ground transport, medical, etc!

Pets With Wings longtime supporters, June and Steve Marsh, have already stepped up to cover the cost of the first plane’s fuel! Now we just need to raise the funds to cover the rest!

Logistics are already in place to transport the animals to various stateside shelters such as our longtime supporters at Stray Rescue St. Louis, Pet Search, Bad Ass Animal Rescue, Grammy Rose Dog Rescue, Ben's Branches, and Angels Helping Animals. So we will be landing in multiple states along the East Coast to reduce stress on the animals.

We are well aware that all Rescues are always overcrowded and we are not looking to make any one area even more overpopulated by bringing in 100s more to one area. Therefore, any Rescues that might consider taking in a few or more of our Island Rescues, please reach out to us at: www.petswithwingsstt.com

More info to come on which states our planes will land in. All will be based on where the Rescues are stateside that can help.

As we are the transporters, & not a Rescue capable of performing adoptions we will share a comprehensive list of partnering rescues with everyone for anyone interested in adopting one of our Island Babies.

Imagine being stuck on an island with no way off but a rescue flight that may never come—that's exactly what these animals face. We all know that all animal rescues face overcrowding and lack of funds. The difference for the Islands, is they are six hours away from help via planes. They cannot just get in cars and drive to help. Airlines have weight and breed restrictions, and limit the number of animals allowed on a flight. These limits, plus Winter temps, give them a less chance of getting out via travelers (their only source of assistance).

Ways to Help!

Partnering Rescues

If you would consider taking in a few (or more) of our Island Rescues, please reach out to our team at:

www.petswithwingsstt.com

Volunteer Transporters

Boots on the ground to meet the planes and help escort animals to their new Rescues from Daytona Beach to Maine Current Rescue Locations: South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maine. *These locations will be updated as other rescue partners confirm their support. So, if there are any states that you could assist in driving, please let us know at: www.petswithwingsstt.com

Material Donations

We are in need of kennels for flights... small, medium and large airline approved dog crates. Here are a few available on Amazon. (The crates 19.5 and 27 inches in height are needed the most.)

https://www.amazon.com/Aspen-Pet-Traditional-Kennel-28/dp/B07255GNXW/ref=sr_1_5?crid=304DROOJC8GAT&keywords=plastic%2Bmedium%2Bdog%2Bcrate&qid=1704828096&sprefix=plastic%2Bmedium%2Bdog%2Bcrate%2Caps%2C109&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.com/Petmate-Portable-Puppies-Outdoor-Perfect/dp/B00DJR9X2C/ref=sr_1_10?crid=2YZ0TFKB60LK8&keywords=19%2Binch%2Bpet%2Bcarrier&qid=1706795061&sprefix=19%22%2Bpet%2B%2Caps%2C383&sr=8-10&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Vceoa-Airline-Approved-Soft-Sided-Carrier/dp/B07ZPPSR2L/ref=sr_1_25?crid=2PT3DQCBONXLG&keywords=sherpa%2Bcarrier&qid=1706794765&sprefix=%2Caps%2C393&sr=8-25&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Petmate-Pet-Porter-Fashion-Kennel/dp/B000MT74YY/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2YZBK3ZWZMK2K&keywords=32%2Bdog%2Bkennel&qid=1706794913&sprefix=32%22%2Bdog%2Bkennel%2Caps%2C347&sr=8-6&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc&th=1

Ship to:

Stephanie Moore

341 Hangar Drive

Statesville, NC 28677

Travelers / Escorts from St Thomas to Mainland

A volunteer will meet you both in St. Thomas and at your arrival destination to bring and pickup your furry travel companion. You can transport an island coconut retriever and give a pet a second chance at a forever home!

www.petswithwingsstt.com/about-us

Monetary Donations

This is the one place you can donate and get to see your dollars changing lives as we will post while we prep the animals for transport, load them onto the planes, land in each state to unload, and finally their final landing at each of their Rescuer Angels’ Facilities!

We have the animals in need & we have the donated planes, but ultimately none of this will happen without the fuel & supplies needed to get them out, so PLEASE share with as many people as you can who might consider donating to save the Island Babies!! They need us!!!! No amount is too small.

For any additional questions, please contact us at:

https://www.petswithwingsstt.com/contact-us

Sincerely,

~Our Logistical Transport Partners, Pets with Wings, & Last Chance Air

Thank you for your Empathy and Consideration!