In this live‑mission video, host Michael Schneider joins volunteers, a pilot, and a law‑student to transport Vista, a Labrador guide‑dog‑in‑training, from Raleigh‑Exec Jetport back to New Jersey after completing 16 months of RAZR training. The conversation covers Vista’s training timeline, the emotional difficulty of parting with a puppy raiser, the role of Guiding Eyes for the Blind and the Pilots to the Rescue partnership that provides low‑stress air transport, and the personal backgrounds of participants (pilot from Republic Airways, IP‑law student, and volunteer Steve Spokane). Flight specifics—2 hr 45 min, 16,000 ft, small aircraft—are described, and the group reflects on the bittersweet nature of the hand‑off, the possibility of adoption if Vista does not complete final training, and the broader mission of matching guide dogs with vision‑impaired individuals free of charge.
Chapters
It's a beautiful day here at Raleigh-Exec Jetport down just south of Raleigh, North Carolina. We had about a 2-hour and 45-minute flight at 16,000 feet, and we're here to pick up Vista. Vista has completed her RAZR training. How long was Vista with us— with you?
16 months.
16 months of training. Now it's going to head back up to New Jersey, our home airport, and eventually to Guiding Eyes headquarters so she can receive further training and be matched with a vision-impaired individual free of charge. Guiding Eyes, wonderful organization that we started partnering with in their transports to give a beautiful flight, far less stress, and get the pups where they need to go. So today we had a couple people join us for the flight. I'll introduce you. You see, here's the Schulichs. Am I pronouncing that correctly? The Schulich sisters. Bree and Larissa, how was the flight?
It was wonderful. Great. Yeah, super smooth. Um, beautiful, right above the clouds. So we're excited. We are here to transport Vista back to New Jersey, um, to finish her training.
Awesome. Great. Well, thanks for joining us. Thank you. Really appreciate it. And you fly for, uh, Republic Airlines, right?
I'm a pilot. I'm a first officer for Republic Airways. Um, so it's really cool to be in a small airplane again. It was really fun.
Great. Excellent. And Bree, you are studying to be an IP attorney?
Yes. Yeah, that's right. I'm in my last year of law school and also adopted a dog, so I love the opportunity to join you all.
Great. And your dad's a pilot, right? So you have memories. We were asking about memories of you guys flying with them.
Yeah.
Look what— look what happened. One of his daughters ended up flying for the airlines. Great. And over here we have Carrie. Carrie, we dropped down last week. We brought a puppy with us. What was the name of that puppy again?
So that was Jada. She's a 10-week-old Labrador who went to a puppy raiser who's going to start this journey. And now we're seeing the other side. From our puppy raisers, Vista, who has been down here since January of 2021, and she is ready to come back and start harness training.
Okay, and you, sir, are the wonderful volunteer that volunteered 17 months, you said, right? 16 months. 16 months of your time. This was your first experience?
It was.
What's your name, sir? Um, Steve Spokane. Steve. And if we didn't provide this flight today, you would have had to drive all the way up to New York, right?
Would have been a long drive.
A long drive.
Yeah, so we're very grateful.
All right, and here is who we've been waiting for. Here's Vista, go.
She's watching the takeoff.
Yes, she is. Yeah.
Good girl.
Good girl. So this is Vista's first plane ride, yeah?
Yes, it is.
A lot of firsts for Vista.
Any comments you want to tell our audience about what it's like to be a puppy raiser for Guiding Eyes?
It's been a wonderful experience. Vista has been a very active pup and super smart, super sweet, and you know, over the last couple months she's just become a a dog that we know is ready for her next step. So we're very excited.
It must be hard though to let the dog go.
It's unbelievably hard.
Yeah. And is it just yourself that helped with the training or you have—
No, my wife Leanne was really the principal trainer. So we— but we did it together.
That's great. It's a great experience. Will you do it again?
We'll see.
We'll see.
It's hard to ask that question on this day.
Yeah, this is not a good day.
Now there's a chance that if Vista doesn't make it through the next training that you have an opportunity to adopt her, right?
I mean, you would.
That's kind of bittersweet, I guess. You know, you don't— you hope she makes it and matches up with someone.
We did it so she could serve, so we hope that's what happens.
Gotcha.
We always call this day happy-sad day because you're so happy that your dog is going on to college, but it's really, really difficult to say goodbye.
Yeah.
Or at least to say see you later, because hopefully we'll see her at graduation.
Aww.
That's one of our goals.
Great. Well, thank you for doing what you do. We're happy to fly. And we're going to load up Vista on the plane for about a 2.5-hour flight back to Essex County Airport in Fairfield, New Jersey. And thank you so much for all your support, Pilots to the Rescue. We look forward to seeing you on our next rescue. Thank you so much.
