ASPCA and IPAW Rescue Commit $1.4 Million to Expand Air Transports for Shelter Animals
The ASPCA and Carl C. Icahn's IPAW Rescue announced in New York a joint multi-year $1.4 million funding initiative to support Dog Is My CoPilot, expanding its work transporting at-risk animals by airplane from crowded shelters to areas where they have a greater opportunity to find homes. The ASPCA has committed $1,000,000 over four years, providing $250,000 annually beginning in October 2026, with IPAW Rescue contributing an additional $400,000.
Dog Is My CoPilot transports more than 8,000 dogs and cats annually using three rescue aircraft, primarily moving animals from high-intake, crowded shelters in states including California, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas to adoption partners on both the east and west coasts. Since its founding in 2012, the organization has flown more than 50,000 dogs and cats to safety, working with over 200 shelters and rescue organizations nationwide, at no cost to partner organizations.
Matt Bershadker, ASPCA President and CEO, said the ASPCA Animal Relocation program has transported more than 300,000 animals since launching in 2014, and that such partnerships also create space and resources in shelters for other animals in need. Dr. Peter E. Rork, founder and chief pilot of Dog Is My CoPilot, said no single organization can do this alone and that collaboration among shelters, transport organizations, adoption partners and supporters gives thousands of at-risk animals a second chance. Carl C. Icahn, founder and president of IPAW Rescue, called the three-way effort the kind of collaboration animal welfare needs.
The ASPCA noted that nearly six million dogs and cats entered shelters and rescues in 2025, many shelters are at capacity, and animals are staying longer before being adopted. Flight transports let organizations reach partners in areas ground transport cannot practically serve. The new funding will create additional transport capacity, building on previous ASPCA collaboration with Dog Is My CoPilot. The ASPCA relocation program operates in 40 states with 140 partner shelters and has moved over 300,000 animals, including more than 225,000 dogs and more than 100,000 cats, on over 11,000 ground and air trips since 2014. (Source: ASPCA)
Source: ASPCA
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：等待转运的收容犬只装在运输笼中（资料图）。图：FEMA，Jocelyn Augustino 摄，2005 年，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Shelter dogs in carriers awaiting transport (file photo). Image: FEMA, by Jocelyn Augustino, 2005, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
