In a CBS Bay Area Morning Mix segment, host Giana interviews crew member Jessica about her weekend volunteering with Pilots The Rescue, a New York City nonprofit founded by Michael Schneider that rescues animals from overcrowded shelters and relocates them to larger facilities to increase adoption chances. Severe thunderstorms disrupted a planned transport mission to the Carolinas, so the team instead assisted at a local shelter adoption event, gaining hands‑on experience with the animals. Jessica shares a statistic that roughly 920 animal shelters euthanize animals each year—a decline from the past decade but still significant. She notes the organization’s future goal of establishing a West Coast base and directs viewers to the website pilots to the rescue.org for more information. The conversation also includes light‑hearted banter about naming dogs after aircraft.
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Giana. All right, Jess, thank you. Well, time now for the Morning Mix, and everyone loves animals, and one of our crew members, speaking of Jess, loves animals so much that, uh, she decided to dedicate some time helping them out. So Jessica, why don't you tell us a little bit about your experience over the weekend?
It was so cool when you were just telling us about what were you— you were headed to do. No, such an amazing thing that we did. But I'm going to start off by saying there were severe thunderstorms that swept through the Northeast over the weekend that actually impacted it. So I was out there spending my time volunteering with a charity called Pilots The Rescue. Take a look at this. The mission of this New York City-based nonprofit is to rescue animals from overcrowded shelters who euthanize and then actually relocate them to larger shelters to give them— those animals an opportunity to find good homes. Now, the founder Michael Schneider invited me out to learn more about the organization, and I got to check out the hangar too and make some new friends, clearly.
Yeah, I know, I'm surprised.
I know, I know, it was amazing. So what ended up happening was we were supposed to do a mission all the way down to to the Carolinas to pick up some animals, but the severe weather had a big impact on that mission. So we made the best of this volunteer experience by heading over to one of the local shelters. We actually got to be hands-on with those animals at an adoption event. And one thing I'll say about this too, which is I didn't know this, but about each year, approximately 920 animal shelters or animals in shelters are euthanized. And that's down a lot from the past 10 years, but still this is something to keep in mind. I have a rescue. I know Amanda has a rescue. Same. So this was a really, really awesome opportunity to be here hands-on. They fly all over the states, and Michael Schneider's plan with this nonprofit is to eventually have a West Coast base. So eventually we're going to have that over on this side too.
So when it comes over here, will you continue to try to do— absolutely.
And if you guys have more information, or if you want to find more information on this, you can go to pilots to the rescue.org. I think it's an amazing organization. That's the reason why I went out to New York City over the weekend to check it out. But it was really, really fascinating to just see how pilots and dogs, you know, you can combine them together and make an impact.
Yeah, it does. It's very cool. Pilots and pets. I know. I'm waiting for the day though you're going to bring home another dog. I can't. Chopper and doggy buddy? Chopper will get a best friend. No pressure. Chopper can get a car.
Would you do another like plane name for a dog? Yeah, I would think about it. Yeah, probably Arrow or something. That's cool.
Or Black Hawk. I don't know. All right, we mentioned Lionel Messi's former
