In a live‑streamed rescue event, Michael Schneider of Top Dog Pilots to Rescue coordinates the transport of 32 dogs—mostly puppies—from downtown Knoxville, Tennessee to New Jersey. The operation includes a driver from Amazing Muttz who drove overnight from Texas, and two Delta Air Lines flight attendants, Sabrina and Shannon (who is also a private pilot), who join the flight as influencers. The group showcases the puppies, discusses a special case—Stormy, a dog needing a leg amputation in Texas because the procedure is cheaper there—and explains the logistical challenge of fitting 31 dogs (Stormy will travel separately) into a small aircraft. Schneider highlights the crisis of overcrowded Texas shelters that resort to euthanasia, urges viewers to share the livestream, adopt the puppies, and donate. The stream ends with a call to action on Earth Day, emphasizing the mission’s broader animal‑rescue advocacy.
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We're here at downtown Knoxville, downtown island Knoxville airport. This is Michael Schneider, Top Dog Pilots to Rescue, and today we have a historic rescue because I believe this is the most dogs we've ever rescued at one time. 32 dogs. Of course, most of them are puppies, but we're here in Knoxville connecting with the drivers, the driver who came from Texas, who drove through the night from Amazing Muttz. And today we also have a couple influencers on board with us, two Delta Air Lines flight attendants, of which Shannon is also a private pilot. So very excited to have them on board today. And we brought one dog, Stormy, who is going to have his leg amputated, unfortunately. But he's going to Texas because it's a lot cheaper to do it there than New Jersey. So we brought Stormy here and we're bringing 31 dogs back for a total of 32 dogs rescued today. Uh, so we're going to go, uh, interview Shannon and Sabrina, and then we'll take a look at the pups. Here's the van that drove all the way from Texas. Uh, Amanda from Amazing Muttz, she drove from Texas through the night to meet us here in Knoxville, and we're doing the rest of the journey in the plane. Amazing Muttz is a great organization, really Appreciate working with them. We're going to post where you can adopt these animals in the feed after the livestream, but they're going to go quick. Definitely going to go quick. Hi, Sabrina.
Hello!
How was the flight today?
Oh my gosh, it was beautiful. Absolutely perfect. We had our amazing captain, of course. Yeah.
Tell everybody about yourself quickly.
So I'm Sabrina. I'm from Tampa, Florida. I'm a flight attendant with Delta Airlines. I'm based in Atlanta, Georgia, and I'm here today to hang out with these Awesome, awesome people and puppies.
Was this your first time flying in a small plane?
No, it actually wasn't. It wasn't, but, um, yeah, it was such an amazing experience. It's been so long, I will say. Yeah, awesome. Great.
And where is your counterpart? She's hiding.
Shannon, she found some friends.
Yes, Shannon, how was the flight?
It was so amazing. This was the most amazing and rewarding flight of my entire life. Oh my gosh, 2 moms and 30 babies. They're so cute.
Yeah, that's a lot of puppies. All right, well, everybody wants to see the puppies. Enough about us. So we got 5 beagles here. Look at those adorable faces. We got—
look at the blue eyes.
Oh, these are— it says 3 Delta. They named them Delta.
Yeah, awesome.
We got more beagles here. Look at those faces. 9 littles.
We got 8 littles. These are the mamas? Uh, I, I know, I think some moms are down here.
Here, bring, bring the phone down to the end.
All right everyone, look at those ice blue eyes.
That's the one you want to adopt, right?
This is the one I want, you guys. Oh, hi sweet girl. Hi. And then We have the two mamas. Hi, huh, sweetie? I want to bring Chico home with me. You guys, these puppies are so sweet. Say bye, puppies! Comment a heart if you're in love, cuz the We're so in love! Oh my gosh! Aww. Stormy's outside. Yes, let's show Stormy. People want to see Stormy.
People want to see Stormy? Oh, here's Stormy. What's the story with Stormy? I can't remember. Do you guys remember?
Yeah, so Stormy's mom, when she was pregnant, was on a type of medicine that's not good when you're pregnant, but they did not know that Stormy's mom was pregnant, so They had— she had 4 puppies. 2 of them sadly passed away. One is doing really good, really strong, but Stormy's gonna need surgery. So that's the story of Stormy. So prayers and good luck wishes for Stormy, uh, going to Texas to get his surgery and then go back to his foster family up in New Jersey.
Amazing. We're gonna miss you, Stormy. You're a great possum. Bye, Stormy.
Bye, sweetie.
One last look at some of these guys. All these puppies are 8 weeks or older. I think that's how they can travel, right?
Yes.
So now we're gonna play the huge game of Tetris in the back of the cabin of the plane, and we might end up with a few on our laps, but we're gonna play that game of Tetris to fit 20, uh, 30 31 dogs because it's 32 with Stormy, but Stormy's going on to Texas, as you heard. And thank you. I want to wish— I want to thank everybody for supporting us and wish you a beautiful weekend, today being Friday. Happy Earth Day, by the way. And please share this livestream, share our mission, share a post. We wouldn't be able to do this without your support and posting it to your page. Donations are wonderful, but sharing also really helps more people follow us. The more people learn about what we do and about the problem that we still have in the US with euthanizing animals. The reason we're transporting these animals is because these shelters in Texas really need our help. They're overcrowded. They don't have space. So what do they do? They euthanize animals. And I believe a bunch of these puppies were thrown in a ditch or under a porch. They were unwanted and the local shelters are full. So we're transporting them to New Jersey to Amazing Mets where —and I am drawing a blank where they're going, but they're going to be flying, I think, back to Knoxville. I'm not sure. I'm not doing that rescue. Bobby is doing that with Daniel, and we'll see you soon. Thank you.
