Dogs on the wing

HAYDEN - PBS film crews will visit the Kootenai Humane Society today when it receives its fourth canine airlift from 12:30 to 3 p.m. at the Coeur d'Alene Airport.

The public is invited to attend and watch a Hollywood film crew in action as 100 mostly small dogs are flown from high-kill shelters in California to find new homes in the Northwest. PBS will be filming the event for the show "Shelter Me," a series that focuses on uplifting stories of shelter pets.

"We are so excited to be a part of this historic event for KHS," said Vicky Nelson, KHS director of development. "We want to let people know what we're all about, what a no-kill shelter is, and the success that we've had with Wings of Rescue."

Wings of Rescue is a California-based volunteer organization that works to reduce the number of animals in kill-shelters by transferring them to havens such as KHS. So far, every one of the more than 100 dogs that have been transported to KHS since Jan. 11 have been adopted.

The success of the airlifts attracted the attention of PBS, which will film for five days. Crew members will be interviewing volunteers and community leaders for the episode, "New Beginnings," which will air in September. Previous episodes are available on Netflix.

Today's airlift will be followed by a "'Paw'dopt-a-thon" from 2 to 6 p.m. The airlifted dogs will be paraded from the airport to the shelter by more than 100 volunteers.

"They will literally walk the dogs from the planes to the shelters," Nelson said.

Nelson said "America's Veterinarian" Dr. Marty Becker will also be present for the event. Volunteers will be directing traffic to assist attendees with parking.

The Coeur d'Alene Airport is located at 10375 N. Sensor Ave.

For information, call Nelson at 819-2812 or volunteer coordinator Liz Bailey at 819-3034.