In this YouTube segment, Pilots to the Rescue crew members Michael Schneider (pilot) and Daniel Balmill (copilot) document a large-scale animal rescue operation in Greenville, South Carolina, conducted in partnership with the Bissell Pet Foundation. The team loads over 20 dogs and cats into their aircraft, describing the logistical challenge as a "game of Tetris" due to the sheer number of crates. They introduce several rescued animals by name—Russell, Peony, Woody, Lucille, and Lacey Bear—while sharing brief backstories, such as Lacey Bear’s five‑year stay with a caretaker whose daughter was deployed. The dialogue also touches on the distance traveled (8‑hour flight from Rochester) and the variety of breeds, including a large Alaskan Malamute. The segment concludes by noting that this is the crew’s 12th mission of the year and that they have rescued more than 200 animals so far, highlighting the ongoing impact of their partnership with the Bissell Pet Foundation.
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How's it going, everybody? Daniel Balmill, copilot to Michael Schneider at Pilots to the Rescue. Today we have a big rescue. We're taking over 20 dogs and cats from Greenville, South Carolina. This might be the most crates we've ever had in the plane. As Michael always likes to say, it's a game of Tetris when we do these. So you even see here, we're taking down some supplies. Hey guys, Michael Schneider here, top dog, Pilots to the Rescue. Today we got a bunch of cuddly supplies. We're getting to the Greenville Animal Control, Greenville, South Carolina. Guys, we have a whole bunch of cuddly supplies for you guys. Michael Schneider here, Pilots to Rescue. We got 20 dogs and cats from Greenville, South Carolina. This is Russell. You got to coax him out a little bit, right? There you go, and he's out. What's his name? Peony. And where are you from? 5 hours? Where in New York?
Oh, that's a long, a long drive. Well, if it makes you feel any better, we flew 8 hours today. Well, thanks for driving so far. I didn't know you guys coming all the way from Rochester. Buddy.
Oh, Woody. Oh, he's excited. He's very excited, this dog. Hi, Lucille. Yeah, look at that dog. Look at that face.
I had it for 5 years. I was supposed to puppy-sit for a week for my daughter. She's in the Army. Ah, and then she got deployed, and, uh, I ended up keeping Lacey Bear for 5 years. And then she had a collapsed trachea. She went everywhere with me. I used to carry her around in the bear bag, I called it. Her nickname was Bear because she was only about that big.
I don't know if you guys could get an idea of how large this dog is.
Who was the loudest on the—
This is not the largest dog we've transported.
We transported, uh, no, we transferred Alaskan Malamute.
Malamute, is that how you pronounce it? Malamute. Yeah, who was in Florida and he ended up in Vermont. That's a better place to be, right, for Alaskan Malamutes? 150 pounds. Hi guys, thank you so much for watching. This is our 12th mission. We now have over 200 animals saved this year alone.
