In this segment of The Morning Show on 89.3 FM, hosts Rachelle and Carter interview Michael Schneider, a pilot and founder of the charity Pilots to Rescue. Schneider explains that he started the organization in 2015, but intensified his involvement during the pandemic, eventually committing to it full‑time despite living in a cramped 1,500‑square‑foot Brooklyn apartment with four children. He shares his lifelong affinity for rescue animals, recounting how he grew up caring for injured neighborhood pets and how that shaped his belief that animals teach unconditional love and loyalty. Schneider describes the charity’s mission: using his piloting skills to transport rescued puppies to shelters that lack them, citing a recent operation that rescued 26 puppies from Beaumont and flew them to locations in need. He frames his work as a ministry, linking the love animals provide to spiritual blessings and expressing gratitude for the “God’s work” he feels privileged to do. The conversation highlights the personal sacrifices, logistical challenges, and heartfelt motivations behind running an animal‑rescue charity that leverages aviation.
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It's KSVJ with The Morning Show, Rachelle and Carter. You know, when you go to one of those shopping centers and they're having the pet adoption things, even when you're not looking to get a puppy, I know it's hard to keep walking and not get one.
I think a lot of us, a dream would be a pool of puppies and just dive right in. Yeah. And it's interesting. We're going to talk with Michael Schneider here in a second. Michael Schneider is a pilot. He works for a charity. He's 45 years old and he finally found his dream job. He's all about the puppies. Tell us a little bit.
Well, I've had Pilots to Rescue since 2015, but it wasn't until the pandemic that I switched gears and I started to put more time in the charity. And now let me tell you, living with 4 kids in a 1,500-square-foot apartment in Brooklyn, it's very hard to survive running a charity.
Oh my goodness.
But it's hard to survive at all.
I just, it really is. It's worth it. You know, my wife is really an angel. And to answer your question, yeah, that's when I realized, hey, this is what I need to do full-time. This is my real passion. And the rest will fall into place. You know, we'll figure it out.
Why animals? What started that for you? Do you— I'm guessing you have pets.
Yes, I have one 90-pound shepherd mix from Tennessee, which is hard to imagine with 4 kids in that tiny apartment. But yeah, why animals? I grew up with rescue animals. This is a thing we did. We went to the local shelter and we picked out the sad puppy or kitten or adult dog or cat. We brought them home. To my parents' dismay, I was always the person rounding up the injured animals in the neighborhood and nursing them back to health. So I always had an affinity towards animals, but as I get a little older and wiser, I realized if we were more like the animals that we rescue, we would all be better people. They're loyal, they have unconditional love. No matter how your day is going, they're there waiting for you, wagging their tail, licking your face. It's amazing. We can learn a lot from these animals. You know, they don't have a voice, so we're, we're their voice.
We all love animals so much here, so we were really I'm really grateful to see this story connected to something that's super close to home. Thank you for your time. And we look at this as a ministry for a lot of people, because I know that the animals in my life have changed my life. And like you said, I think that unconditional love that we connect to the love of God is shown through these little guys. And so you're flying 'em all over to the places of the world so that people can experience that too. And it's awesome.
My pleasure. I'm really happy to do God's work. Honestly, it's, uh, it's a privilege and the blessings come to me tenfold for doing this work.
Michael Schneider, and being able to fly these puppies to places that don't have them. And of course, we know we have an uptick of a lot of shelters right now.
He just rescued 26 puppies from Beaumont. That was really, really cool.
And flying them to places that need those puppies.
And there ain't nothing better than a Texas puppy.
