Joel Goldstein shades his eyes against the sun as he watches the small plane rise into the air, carrying a dog named Bentley to a new home in Visalia, California.

Goldstein, who lives in La Grande, has owned Bentley, a 2-year-old black and tan coon hound, for little more than a year. In that time, the energetic dog kept following his nose over and under the fence.

“He really needs to run,” Goldstein said.

When he and his wife realized Bentley needed a different environment, he contacted Best Friends of Baker, which rescues animals and tries to find adoptive homes.

Best Friends, based in Baker City, also has contact with various breed-specific rescue groups. It was to one of these that Bentley was headed on June 22 — in an airplane, thanks to an organization called Pilots N Paws.

Pilot Wayne McClelland made a three-hour flight from Truckee, California, that morning, accompanied by Josh McDonald.

McClelland signed up with Pilots N Paws two years ago and Bentley was his 20th transport.

This trip, from Oregon to California, differed from most of his missions.

“Most dogs on the West Coast go south to north,” he said.

Pilots N Paws has a network of 5,000 pilots who volunteer their time, airplane and gas to transport animals.

According to the website www.pilotsnpaws.org, the organization was founded in 2008 by Debi Boies, who loves animals, and pilot John Wehrenberg after the two collaborated to save a rescued Doberman by flying it from Florida to South Carolina.

Establishing the website furthered their mission by providing a place for pilots to connect with rescue organizations and plan flights for animals.

In addition to the pilots, Pilots N Paws has more than 12,000 volunteers.

The website provides a place for pilots to log in and view a list of needed transports. Then they simply volunteer to fly the animal in need.

“It’s pretty simple,” McClelland said.

And these flights for Pilots N Paws count toward logging hours in the air.

“We would be flying anyway,” McClelland said.

Best Friends has utilized Pilots N Paws several times over the years, said Carmen Ott, who joined Best Friends in 2005.

At first, Best Friends tried to find adoptive homes in the local area, then expanded by posting available animals on the website petfinder.com.

“Most of our dogs are seen and adopted through Petfinder,” Ott said.

Best Friends also has contact with breed-specific rescues, such as the one that took Bentley.

“They usually help us find an appropriate home,” Ott said.

A big part of Best Friends is providing foster homes for an interim safe environment before a dog or cat is adopted. More foster homes are needed, said Susan Castles of Best Friends and anyone interested in caring for an animal is encouraged to call 541-519-7387.

See more in the June 29, 2016, issue of the Baker City Herald.