SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
With 20 puppies between two litters and approximately 15 dogs arriving from surrounding communities over the past month, the Yellowknife SPCA was short on space, but a kind offer has lightened that load.

On board a Summit Air Twin-Otter headed for Abbotsford pilot James Steward, left, SPCA board members Dana Martin and Nicole Spencer of the SPCA keep a hand on nervous four-legged travellers Lady, May and Calibre. Out front, Matthew McElligott, director of business development for Summit Air, left, SPCA board member Randy Hillworth, pilot Josh Pedersen, and SPCA manager Krista Harbin stand along with Cruiser, the fourth canine. - Elaine Anselmi/NNSL photo

On Monday, a Twin Otter airplane headed for California with a stop in Abbotsford, B.C. brought a few four-legged passengers along for the ride. The four dogs - Lady, May, Cruiser and Calibre - will be headed from Abbotsford on to Victoria where the local SPCA offered up space and the prospect for adoptive families.

"If we don't get dogs out, then that means we can't take more dogs at the shelter and that means they're going to likely die in the communities," said Nicole Spencer, NWT SPCA president. "Its like a revolving door sometimes but it has to be so we can save as many dogs as possible."

The plan to transfer the dogs to B.C. was facilitated by Marvin Robinson, a long-time supporter of the SPCA who reached out to his connections at Summit Air.

"I have an SPCA rescue dog that has turned out to be a very, very good dog, so I often try and help out

if I'm travelling," said Robinson. "I'll call them and find out if the SPCA is full or if they need a hand moving dogs to locations. Even if travelling back and forth on WestJet I'll see if a dog needs escorting."

Aware of the challenge of moving large dogs on commercial flights, Robinson said when he heard a private flight was headed south, he reached out to the airline and the SPCA to create a partnership.

"I knew one of the aircrafts were getting ready to go for maintenance, so I got a hold of Summit to see if they could help out," said Robinson. "They jumped on it right away to say , 'Yes, we could help out'."

The Yellowknife SPCA made the necessary arrangements in Victoria, and Matthew McElligott, director of business development for Summit Air, said the company was happy to be involved.

"We didn't have to go too far out of our way to do a good deed here and certainly, when it comes to getting involved with charitable organizations, that is usually the mandate through (our parent company) Ledcor," said McElligott. "This one just kind of fell in our lap and seemed like the right thing to do."

Breaker: Private flights of benefit

The opportunity to fly the dogs privately has its benefits, says Spencer.

"We've had a couple of larger dogs at the shelter for a long time, so this is a great opportunity because there's no crate-size restrictions because it is a private plane," she said.

"This is a great opportunity for us to get larger dogs out to a great shelter."

Further to that, the dogs will have a good chance at being adopted, says Spencer.

"I can't turn down this opportunity because ... we've sent several dogs (to the Victoria SPCA) and they get adopted within two weeks, almost instantly," said Spencer.

"It's good to get them out of here and maybe to a new population of people down south that want larger dogs."

When possible, the SPCA sends dogs down south to various shelters but Spencer said this opportunity was particularly good because, as well as allowing for larger dogs, the private flight did not require escorts for the animals.

The option of flying dogs on a private flight is a first for the shelter, said Spencer. Medium and small dogs are sent south on WestJet flights when possible, and First Air cargo to Edmonton, if a spot is open at an Alberta shelter.

Two Summit pilots, James Steward and Josh Pedersen, flew the Twin Otter south, ultimately to California for maintenance, with several stops along the way. Staff from the Victoria shelter was set to meet the plane in Abbotsford, before bringing the group of dogs back to the Island.

"It was fortuitous timing and we said we'd be happy to work with them on that," said McElligott.

In the future, Spencer urged any travellers interested in escorting a dog south to contact the NWT SPCA at nwtspcayk@gmail.com, with their flight reference code so staff can look into the availability of space for dogs.