WHAT THE HAL?? PODCAST 2.0 – EPISODE 17: Flying Animals to Safety: The Inspiring Mission of Flying Tails
WHAT THE HAL? PODCAST 2.0 – EPISODE 17
Flying Tails: Saving Lives One Flight at a Time
What happens when an award-winning television journalist combines a passion for aviation with a love of animals? A nonprofit that's giving thousands of animals a second chance.
In this episode, Hal Eisner sits down with Ken Wayne, founder of Flying Tails, to discuss how volunteer pilots transport shelter pets, injured wildlife, and disaster-displaced animals to safety across California and beyond. From rescuing orphaned bear cubs and bald eagles to helping overcrowded shelters find homes for adoptable pets, Ken shares the inspiring stories behind this unique aviation-based rescue mission.
The conversation explores the challenges of animal transportation, the emotional realities facing shelters, and how community volunteers are making a life-saving difference—one flight at a time.
KEY TOPICS
• How Flying Tails transports rescue animals by air
• Ken Wayne's journey from television news anchor to nonprofit founder
• Wildlife rescues involving bears, bald eagles, mountain lions, and more
• Helping overcrowded animal shelters through volunteer aviation
• Emergency animal evacuations during California wildfires
• The logistics and safety of transporting animals by aircraft
• The importance of spaying, neutering, and responsible pet ownership
• Building a nationwide network of volunteer pilots
• The emotional impact of animal rescue on shelter workers and volunteers
• How the public can support Flying Tails' mission
Support the Podcast
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Original Theme Music by Stuart Pearson
https://stuartpearsonmusic.com
Listen to Previous Episodes
https://audioboom.com/channels/4960408-what-the-hal
Resources
Flying Tails
Flying Tales (PBS)
https://www.pbs.org/show/flying-tales/
Support Flying Tails
https://flyingtails.org/support
Connect with Us
Hal Eisner
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/haleisner
Facebook:
https://facebook.com/haleisner
X:
Elsa Ramon
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/elsamramon
X:
Hunter Lowry
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/serendipitychick
Takeaways:
- The nonprofit organization Flying Tails, founded by Ken Wayne, transports rescue animals across California to ensure their safety and well-being.
- Ken Wayne discusses his transition from an award-winning television journalist to a dedicated animal rescue pilot, highlighting the emotional impact of his work.
- The podcast emphasizes the critical issue of overcrowded animal shelters, where many animals face euthanasia if not relocated to more accommodating facilities.
- Flying Tails operates a nationwide network of volunteer pilots, facilitating the urgent transport of animals during emergencies, such as wildfires.
- Ken shares poignant stories of wildlife rescues, including transporting orphaned bear cubs and injured bald eagles to rehabilitation centers.
- The conversation addresses the logistical challenges of safely transporting animals by air and the importance of responsible pet ownership in preventing shelter overcrowding.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Flying Tails
- California Fish and Wildlife
- San Diego Humane Society's Wildlife Center
- Pacific Wildlife Care
- Marine Mammal Center
- LA Animal Services
- Hollywood Huskies
Transcript
We mentioned before on this podcast that we're all animal lovers, but today we're looking at a venture that takes the devotion to new heights.
Speaker A:I'm Hal Eisner, along with Elsa Ramon and Hunter Lowery, and this is what the hell.
Speaker A:Smart, fresh, and uplifting.
Speaker A:We've got the stories that make you want to say, what the hell.
Speaker A:We're devoted not only to our pets, but to all animals.
Speaker A:But, you know, sometimes those animals require a very, very special kind of care.
Speaker B:Today we're talking with Ken Wayne, founder of Flying Tails.
Speaker B:That's a unique rescue mission that's dedicated to giving animals a second chance at life by flying them to new locations.
Speaker C:Yeah, this is one of the episodes I was really excited for for multiple reasons.
Speaker C:But first of all, Ken, thank you.
Speaker C:Welcome.
Speaker C:So welcome to our show, and thank you so much for being here.
Speaker C:A lot of people might remember you from your anchoring days, news anchoring days up at Cron TV station in the Bay Area.
Speaker C:But, you know, you took a big leap of faith and followed your heart and your passion and another calling.
Speaker C:Can you tell us what that other calling is?
Speaker C:Obviously, people can kind of figure out that it may have to do with animals, but it's unique.
Speaker C:Tell us about your business, why you left, and what you're doing.
Speaker D:Well, yeah, it was.
Speaker D:It was a hard.
Speaker D:Well, initially it was a hard decision, but now, in hindsight, it was kind of a natural decision.
Speaker D:My whole life has been television news.
Speaker D:I was in Armed Forces Radio and television in the Navy.
Speaker D:I got out and began my career in California.
Speaker D:Actually worked in LA for a while at KTLA back in the late 80s, early 90s, and ended up in my home in the Bay Area working at some legacy stations here, KTVU and cron.
Speaker D:And after my.
Speaker D:My third contract was coming up for a renewal for main evening anchor at Cron four.
Speaker D:And while I was there, they let me do this side hustle, which was doing these animal rescues in my airplane.
Speaker D:And I would put little cameras in the plane and go fly these animals to safety.
Speaker D:And I loved it.
Speaker D:But I wasn't getting any support outside of my own checkbook and my own time.
Speaker D:And my contract came up and I said, let's do something with this.
Speaker D:I think there's an audience for this.
Speaker D:They seem to like the stories we're already doing.
Speaker D:Let's build it into something bigger.
Speaker D:Just wasn't happening.
Speaker D:The economics, whatever for the station.
Speaker D:They just said, you know, we really want you to be our anchor, and let's focus on that.
Speaker D:And if you want to do this on the side, you can keep doing it.
Speaker D:At the same time, I was getting pushed by one of the wildlife rescue organizations I was working for, and they had asked me to fly a peregrine falcon from the Bay Area down to Carlsbad to be released after a wing injury and basically take it home.
Speaker D:And I had never flown a falcon.
Speaker D:I was excited about it.
Speaker D:So I said yes.
Speaker D:But in the back of my head, I was like, that's a $700 fuel expense to fly that bird.
Speaker D:Which, you know, I. I would pay, but you know, you can't do that every day, right?
Speaker D:It starts to add up pretty fast.
Speaker D:So the woman at the Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, Doris Duncan, she said, let me put something on Facebook.
Speaker D:I can get seven hundred bucks for you probably in one day.
Speaker D:And I was like, I don't know.
Speaker D:I feel funny about asking, asking for money.
Speaker D:I just, I don't know.
Speaker D:That's just.
Speaker D:I should be able to do this.
Speaker D:Let me see if the station will kick in some money.
Speaker D:She goes, she said something that has stuck with me.
Speaker D:She said, you know what?
Speaker D:People want to help, let them help.
Speaker D:I was like, all right, we'll.
Speaker D:We'll see how it goes.
Speaker D:She called me back later that day.
Speaker D:This is a long answer.
Speaker D:Sorry, I'm going off track.
Speaker B:No, it's good.
Speaker C:We're here to hear this.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker D:She said, she called me back.
Speaker D:She goes, we didn't get 700 bucks.
Speaker D:I'm like, no problem.
Speaker D:I'll make up the difference.
Speaker D:She goes, we got $7,000, and we're going to set that aside as a fund for whenever we need you.
Speaker D:We can help you with those costs of flying these animals.
Speaker D:And that was the motivation.
Speaker D:She said, you need to start a non profit and you need to go out and rescue these animals because you're doing something that is needed.
Speaker D:Because we need to move these animals up and down the state and across the west coast.
Speaker D:And it's a national thing, really.
Speaker D:And she said for an animal to sit in the back of a truck or a car for hours and hours, it's hard on the animal.
Speaker D:It's stressful for them.
Speaker D:It takes a lot of man hours and people to move these animals.
Speaker D:It takes a lot of fuel and it's taking people away from their primary job, which is taking care of the animals.
Speaker D:They're not Uber drivers for animals.
Speaker D:And I'm not an Uber driver or flyer or pilot for animals either.
Speaker D:We're taking animals that need help.
Speaker D:These are animals that are at risk.
Speaker D:Wildlife and shelter animals, and we're getting them to places where they're getting help.
Speaker D:That's it.
Speaker D:That's the mission.
Speaker D:So we're not flying rich people who don't want to put their little Chihuahua in the cargo hold of a United plane because they want.
Speaker D:Would rather have them get there more comfortably.
Speaker D:And I get it, totally understand that.
Speaker D:But that's not what we're doing.
Speaker D:We're saving animals that if we weren't flying them out, they'd be in danger.
Speaker D:And that is the mission of flying tails.
Speaker D:That was a long answer.
Speaker C:When you say.
Speaker C:Just to clarify, when you say you're saving animals, you're delivering animals to people who may have adopted them from shelters that they've seen online, stuff like that.
Speaker D:No, no, we're not.
Speaker D:We're not taking the animals to individuals.
Speaker D:We're going from organization to organization.
Speaker B:Okay?
Speaker D:So we're, we're working.
Speaker D:We're not working with individual people, except those people that are at those organizations.
Speaker D:So we work with California Fish and Wildlife, San Diego Humane Society's Wildlife center in Ramona, Pacific Wildlife Care, those kinds of organs, the Marine Mammal center, those kinds of organizations that have a need to get animals that have been stranded or lost or orphaned.
Speaker D:This is orphan season.
Speaker D:There's a lot of little baby animals, their mother got hit by a car or shot or whatever.
Speaker D:So we're talking about bear cubs, mountain lion cubs, bobcat kittens, all of those kinds of animals, plus the hundreds and hundreds of dogs and cats that are you overcrowded shelters, particularly in the Central Valley, that need to get out of those shelters or they're going to be euthanized, and then we take them to other shelters that specialize in getting those animals foster homes or adopted.
Speaker D:And those organizations are working with the overcrowded shelters to give some relief.
Speaker D:As an example, during the Palisades fire, we flew about six or seven planes to Van Nuys Airport because the people who had lost their homes in the fire and had pets didn't have any place for themselves to go, let alone their pets.
Speaker D:So they're scrambling to try to find where they're going to be, at least for the short term.
Speaker D:So what happened was LA Animal Services said, look, we can take a lot of animals, dogs in particular, that are up for adoption right now, that are taking space in our shelter, hand them off to us.
Speaker D:And we took those animals, flew them up to Northern California where they could be adopted.
Speaker D:They're already up for adoption.
Speaker D:That opened up space for the fire victims to put their animals into A temporary place until they got their feet on the ground.
Speaker D:So those are the kinds of things we're talking about now.
Speaker B:I kind of get it, but not completely.
Speaker B:Like why would you move, why would you fly a bear cub from one place to another?
Speaker D:It's easier on the bear.
Speaker D:It's a lot easier on the bear.
Speaker D:It's more expeditious.
Speaker D:It gets them there faster.
Speaker D:It relieves the.
Speaker B:But where, I mean, why is the bear not okay where the bear is?
Speaker B:Why does it have to go someplace else?
Speaker D:Well, there's a lot of different reasons.
Speaker D:Some examples, the first story I did that aired on Coron in San Francisco was two bear cubs that needed to fly from South Lake Tahoe to Ramona.
Speaker D:It was February.
Speaker D:The two bear cubs mother had been hit and killed by a car in Mariposa county in the Sierra.
Speaker D:These two cubs were too young to hibernate.
Speaker D:It's wintertime in Lake Tahoe where it snows a lot and it's cold.
Speaker D:They wanted the bears in a place where they would be more comfortable because they're young and this is a new experience.
Speaker D:So they said, can you fly these two bear cubs down to Southern California to San Diego county where it's warmer and they'll be able to get through the winter with less stress.
Speaker D:And there's already another bear cub down there that could be brought back to South Lake Tahoe to be friends with the other bear that was left behind that wasn't the sibling of these two bears that lost their mother.
Speaker D:So basically you're moving animals so that they are, are moving forward with their lives in a more well adjusted way.
Speaker D:So we took two bear cubs to Southern California to get through the winter, brought another bear cub up to Lake Tahoe to hang out with another bear and basically bond and have a relationship.
Speaker D:Because they don't like wildlife being isolated and alone.
Speaker D:They at least like to have one other animal that they can be with so that they can have a partnership and learn from each other.
Speaker D:Because they're young, they don't know how to hunt, they don't know how to be wild animals yet.
Speaker D:And this is something that they can play off of each other with their instincts and basically learn how to be wild animals through each other.
Speaker D:That's one example of those kinds of situations.
Speaker D:I just flew a spotted skunk from Placerville.
Speaker D:The same thing, you know, a little tiny skunk, which is rare in California.
Speaker D:We always see skunks, but they're striped skunks.
Speaker D:Spotted skunk is completely different animal, different species.
Speaker D:And Everything.
Speaker D:And we flew it down to Ramona again because there were already five little baby spotted skunks.
Speaker D:And this poor little guy up in Placerville in Northern California had nobody.
Speaker D:So we flew him down so he could be with these skunks.
Speaker D:And when they're old enough, they're going to be released into the wild together, and then they'll be, you know, a more natural fit as they're out there in the wild.
Speaker A:I'm.
Speaker A:I'm proud to say that I've.
Speaker A:I've known you for a long time and, you know, it seems to me that I've also seen over the years this passion that you have.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think it's remarkable what you do.
Speaker A:And, and, And I'm really taken by the increased devotion of trying to do these things.
Speaker A:I. I'm kind of wondering when you were a little Ken Wayne, you know, was there something about animals, like when you were a little kid and, you know.
Speaker D:Yeah, of course.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:I think.
Speaker D:I mean, I think a lot of us, that's our first exposure when we're kids, the family pet, you know.
Speaker D:And I guess the funny thing about my dad in particular is that he would grab whatever critter he found and bring it home.
Speaker D:So we always.
Speaker D:We not only had dogs and cats, we would have an occasional snake or turtle or.
Speaker D:We had a crow.
Speaker D:We had a pet crow at one point.
Speaker D:I mean, all kinds.
Speaker B:Cool.
Speaker C:Yeah, pretty cool.
Speaker C:I want a pet crowd, and I.
Speaker D:Think that'd be really cool.
Speaker D:Well, I mean, there's a picture of me as a little kid with this crow looking at me, and I'm looking at the crow.
Speaker D:I mean, it's huge, right?
Speaker D:Yeah, right.
Speaker D:He brought home a coyote one time, a coyote puppy that chewed its way out of our rabbit hutch and just.
Speaker D:And took off.
Speaker D:Half the stuff he did was probably illegal.
Speaker D:And in California, it is definitely illegal to take a wild animal as a pet.
Speaker D:That's against the law in California.
Speaker D:Some states it's not, but here it is.
Speaker D:But anyway, I just had a connection.
Speaker D:We had, you know, we moved to Arizona briefly.
Speaker D:We had horses.
Speaker D:Yeah, I mean, it's.
Speaker D:There's something about looking in the eyes of a dog or a horse and just having that, like, real deep connection with an animal.
Speaker D:I can't explain it.
Speaker D:I don't know what it is.
Speaker D:There's probably a lot of PhD studies on that.
Speaker D:But, you know, you know, any animal lover understands the bond that you have with an animal.
Speaker D:It's unspoken.
Speaker D:It's through the.
Speaker D:The stimulation of seeing each Other and touching each other.
Speaker D:I mean, when a.
Speaker D:When a cat crawls in your lap, when a dog lays next to you, I don't know what that is, but I really, really like it, and I just want to keep it going.
Speaker A:I think it's love.
Speaker D:Yeah, it is love.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:Absolutely.
Speaker C:Absolutely unconditional love.
Speaker C:Okay, so I've got to ask Ken, you know, you're talking about transporting bears and snakes and whatnot or, you know, whatever.
Speaker C:You know, having snakes in your life, but transporting bears and other wildlife, how do you secure them during the flight so that, you know everyone's safe and you're not flying, and all of a sudden, oh, my God, the bear is out of his state, and you're flying with this bear running around, you know, in the plane.
Speaker A:Seat belt on a snake, right?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:You know, I mean, I. I would imagine there's.
Speaker C:There's, you know, very specific ways to make sure you're safe and the animals.
Speaker B:On a plane.
Speaker C:Yeah, Snakes on a plane.
Speaker C:Really?
Speaker C:Snakes.
Speaker D:I just flew my first snake the other day.
Speaker D:Seriously?
Speaker D:Yeah, it was a.
Speaker D:It was a red diamondback rattlesnake.
Speaker D:Now, oh, my.
Speaker D:Yeah, he wasn't loose.
Speaker D:He was in a locked crate.
Speaker D:Here's the deal.
Speaker D:So, on the wildlife, in particular, that we're not going rogue on any of this stuff, we are completely following the.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker D:The directions and guidelines of California Fish and Wildlife, and we're.
Speaker D:I'm proud to say that.
Speaker D:I mean, we.
Speaker D:We don't have this written down, but I feel like I'm the official pilot for California Fish and Wildlife to move animals up and down the state of California, and I take that job so seriously.
Speaker D:You don't even know.
Speaker D:You don't even understand.
Speaker D:I mean, when I was flying a mountain lion up here, a kitten in a crate, it kind of hit me that I am flying an animal that belongs to the people of California.
Speaker D:All of these animals are all of our animals.
Speaker D:California animals belong to all of us.
Speaker D:And to be entrusted with that, I take it very seriously, and I.
Speaker D:And I really am proud to be.
Speaker A:Able to do that.
Speaker D:So California Fish and Wildlife will make sure that all the animals that could cause potential harm, like bears and mountain lions and bobcats, those things, they're steel crates.
Speaker D:They're heavy duty.
Speaker D:There's absolutely no way the animal can get out of it.
Speaker D:And usually the crate is so big and strong, it weighs more than the animal or animals themselves, so that's, you know, number one.
Speaker D:And then the other animals usually are in crates that are still secure enough.
Speaker D:They don't have to be solid steel, but they're just not going to get out.
Speaker D:The snake, the rattlesnake, was in a plastic bucket, but it had a lock on the top of the bucket so that the top couldn't come off unless you unlocked it and then physically pulled it off.
Speaker D:And it had a chain connecting it together and it had air holes, so the snake was getting ventilation and all of that kind of stuff.
Speaker D:So all of the animals are always secure.
Speaker D:Now, dogs and cats, completely different story.
Speaker D:I've had plenty of flights where a dog just does not want to stay in the crate.
Speaker D:You know, they're whining and stuff.
Speaker D:And every once in a while, I probably shouldn't admit this, but I break down and I'll let a little dog sit in my lap as I'm flying the plane.
Speaker D:And, you know, we just have our little bonding experience in the air and the dog will look out the window and then lick my face.
Speaker D:And then I'm trying to talk to air traffic control and we just.
Speaker D:But that doesn't happen a lot.
Speaker D:But every once in a while you just kind of melt and you have to cave in.
Speaker B:So now logistically speaking, we're.
Speaker B:You're in a single engine plane, like a, like a Piper or a Cessna.
Speaker B:Yeah, and Cessna.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:And so these animals, other than the cute little dogs that you allow to sit on your lap, they are like secured in the back and you're taking them on like several hour flight.
Speaker B:I mean, I'm still thinking of, you know, trying to get my cat to the vet, which is like 12 blocks away.
Speaker B:Like the screaming and the scratch.
Speaker B:Must be drama.
Speaker B:Co pilot to help or.
Speaker D:Oh, yeah, we have, we have a bunch of volunteer pilots.
Speaker D:We're trying to go national.
Speaker D:I have a pilot in Boston, I have a pilot in Virginia, in Orlando.
Speaker D:We're trying to get more pilots across the country so that we can establish a national network to move animals, particularly, you know, be first responders in a time of crisis such as Palisades fire.
Speaker D:But, you know, in the south, they have the hurricanes and the floods and the tornadoes and all of those things can cause, you know, a lot of harm and damage.
Speaker D:And what I learned during Hurricane Katrina when I was in New Orleans, one of the saddest things I ever saw in my life.
Speaker D:And you know, Hal, you know what it's like to be out on the streets and see really bad things and bodies and all of that kind of stuff.
Speaker D:But the thing that tore my heart out was we were in New Orleans and I was with the CHP embedded with the Highway Patrol as they carried out a mandatory evacuation, getting people out of their neighborhoods and making them leave their homes.
Speaker D:And one woman was in her house and she wouldn't open the door.
Speaker D:And she said, I'm not getting out of here because I'm not going to leave my dog.
Speaker D:And they said, you got to go.
Speaker D:She's like, I'm not leaving my dog.
Speaker D:I'm not leaving my house.
Speaker D:They busted down the door, they took her out, loaded her on the back of a National Guard truck, which I was sitting on after we got on there with her, and we drove down the street with her dog chasing us down the road, and they drove off without the dog.
Speaker D:They've since changed the rules and regulations so that when people are forced to leave, they can bring their pets.
Speaker D:That wasn't the case during Hurricane Katrina.
Speaker D:So you had all of these families separated from their pets and never got reunited.
Speaker D:The pets got loaded up on planes and they were flown off to far distant places.
Speaker D:Bay Area, I know, got a ton of New Orleans dogs.
Speaker D:I'm sure you did in LA as well.
Speaker D:And they never got reunited with their owners.
Speaker D:And it was a tragedy.
Speaker D:And so people got really upset when all that happened.
Speaker D:So FEMA has changed the way they handle that situation.
Speaker D:But that.
Speaker D:That hit me hard, and I was like, oh, my God.
Speaker D:Really?
Speaker D:You're just going to tear these two apart?
Speaker D:An older woman who had no family at her house except for her dog, and you're going to leave the dog on the streets?
Speaker D:Oh, that's so awful.
Speaker A:That's heartbreaking that really.
Speaker B:We're all crying here.
Speaker C:I know.
Speaker D:All right, you know, let's turn this.
Speaker C:Around a little bit.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Can I.
Speaker A:But I want to.
Speaker A:I want to say something else so.
Speaker A:Because I think, you know, you have an experience that.
Speaker A:That's worth talking about, if you don't mind.
Speaker A:Elsa.
Speaker A:Elsa has a big heart.
Speaker A:She has a heart bigger than.
Speaker A:Than a lot of people I know.
Speaker A:And she saw online that a husky one year old was going to be euthanized because they couldn't find a home.
Speaker A:So she immediately applied for the opportunity to foster this dog, whose name is Doc, and she got the foster.
Speaker A:And so she just has had the dog for a little bit of time.
Speaker A:But, you know, that.
Speaker A:That is what we do, isn't it?
Speaker A:We.
Speaker A:We find opportunities to help others, whether those others have two legs or four legs.
Speaker A:And I think that, you know, I'm sure, Alex, as you're listening to Ken, that you're thinking about Doc a little bit and you know, how, how it is that he's gone one way and you've gone another way.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And I, you know, I also like to hear Ken too about, you know, you bringing animals to other shelters because one of the, I mean, I've always known, I've had animals my whole life.
Speaker C:Our, my parents, we always had animals.
Speaker C:We had fish, we had birds, we had dogs, we had cats, you know, so we, we had turtles, you know, when we found them and decided that they were going to be living with us.
Speaker C:But what really strikes me is the, it's so sad, the overcrowding of the shelters here in, especially here in California.
Speaker C:But I mean anywhere.
Speaker C:And a lot of them are high kill shelters.
Speaker C:They, the animals just get a limited amount of time in those shelters to be adopted or fostered and other.
Speaker C:And if they're not, they're euthanized for space.
Speaker C:So I know the work that you do gathers up a lot of those animals and takes them to shelters across the country that have more room for them.
Speaker C:But do you work like I am right now?
Speaker C:The husky I'm fostering is through an organization, a non profit called Hollywood Huskies.
Speaker C:Do you work with those types of organizations as well, in addition to shelters?
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker D:Yeah, there's a lot of rescues that are focused on a particular breed, which is fine.
Speaker D:I mean, we don't discriminate.
Speaker D:Any animal is, is worthy.
Speaker D:So yeah, we will fly.
Speaker D:The Central Valley seems to in particular have a problem with overcrowding with the shelters and a lot of animals being put down needlessly except for not having space.
Speaker D:Two things on that.
Speaker D:First of all, I have a couple people on my board for Flying Tales.
Speaker D:One was a career animal control officer who now has a rescue operation.
Speaker D:And she said there's nobody in those shelters who wants to put animals down.
Speaker D:That is their absolute last choice.
Speaker D:And the only reason they do it is because they absolutely have nowhere else to put them except out on the street.
Speaker D:And they can't put them out on the street because it'd be a worse situation.
Speaker D:And I'm thinking about doing a story we didn't mention, but I, I do have a show on PBS about this and I want to focus on that situation with the people involved in making those decisions and having to put animals down.
Speaker D:There's a very high rate of suicide and PTSD among people who work in shelters and veterinarians.
Speaker D:And I think that needs to be talked about because there's armchair quarterbacks out there.
Speaker D:Nobody wants to see an animal put Down.
Speaker D:Nobody.
Speaker D:Nobody, Especially the people that work there.
Speaker D:And then.
Speaker D:Then you get the criticism, you know, that, oh, you know, you're dog killers.
Speaker D:That's what you're doing.
Speaker D:You're killing dogs at this place.
Speaker D:They have no choice.
Speaker D:That's how bad it is.
Speaker D:That's absolutely how I feel.
Speaker D:Like I'm a complete downer on this show because I'm talking.
Speaker D:I'm just trying to be truthful and.
Speaker C:Real reality of what's happening here, it's terrible and sad.
Speaker C:And what you're doing is help this situation the best you can.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:I mean, you know, we got to tell the truth about what's happening and why.
Speaker C:You know, maybe one of the motivations that drives you to do what you do.
Speaker D:Right?
Speaker D:And it's.
Speaker D:It's just to get the word.
Speaker D:It's just to get the word out.
Speaker D:It's like, come on, get your animal fixed.
Speaker D:Get your animal spayed and neutered.
Speaker D:And I'm trying to figure out a way and maybe through this we can get some help.
Speaker D:But, you know, there's.
Speaker D:There's cultural things going on, too, where there are certain kinds of people that feel like, well, I can't get my pit bull castrated.
Speaker D:That's not manly, you know.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker D:And there's.
Speaker D:There's a.
Speaker D:There's a macho culture, you know, of.
Speaker D:Of space, where people are like, no, not my dog.
Speaker D:You can get your dog neutered, but not my dog.
Speaker B:Why do men take it so personally?
Speaker D:It's not them.
Speaker D:Right?
Speaker D:It's better for the animal.
Speaker D:I mean, it's.
Speaker D:Honestly, they're.
Speaker D:They're all wound up about it, and it's not that big of a deal.
Speaker D:I want to find.
Speaker D:You guys are in Hollywood.
Speaker D:I want to find a celebrity that people in the Central Valley would identify with, like Oscar de La Hoya or some macho guy who will go out on billboards and do public service announcements and say, get your dog fixed.
Speaker D:You know, a real man would get his dog fixed.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker B:Do that.
Speaker D:That.
Speaker D:That's what we need to try to fix this.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Well, let's.
Speaker B:Let's take a left turn here to something a little more fun.
Speaker B:You've.
Speaker B:You've flown bears, raptors, snakes.
Speaker B:What.
Speaker B:What rescue sticks in your mind as the craziest or more adventurous or most wacky rescue you've ever done?
Speaker D:Can I say exhilarating?
Speaker D:The most was the bald eagle.
Speaker A:We.
Speaker D:Oh, you're asked to fly a bald eagle up to Lake Almanor in the Sierra Nevada mountains in what is.
Speaker D:What's the county.
Speaker D:I forgot the name of the county.
Speaker D:It's by quincy.
Speaker D:Anyway, plumas county.
Speaker D:Plumas county.
Speaker D:And.
Speaker D:And so I get this document of paper from the u. S. Fish and wildlife service that I'm authorized to transport a bald eagle.
Speaker D:I mean, as it's like, oh, my God, this is, like, really serious.
Speaker D:So.
Speaker D:And I didn't get to see the eagle because it was in a crate, and they put burlap inside the crate because they don't want the wing tips to get tangled up in anything and break.
Speaker D:So they try to keep the bird protected that way.
Speaker D:So we never got to see the.
Speaker D:The eagle.
Speaker D:Me and my wife flew up.
Speaker D:It's only like an hour flight.
Speaker D:It would have taken them four or five hours to drive up into the mountains to let this birdloose.
Speaker D:So it's barely an hour.
Speaker D:We fly up, and I said, where do I let it go?
Speaker D:And they said, well, it was found in lake almanor, apparently.
Speaker D:Got in a fight with an osprey or something over fish.
Speaker D:And some fishermen literally found a bald eagle flopping around in the lake, and they.
Speaker D:And they pulled it out with a net and took it in and saved it.
Speaker D:So they said, if you take it by the lake and it sees the water, it's home.
Speaker D:It'll know what to do.
Speaker D:So we landed the plane.
Speaker D:We get out, by the way, when we touched down on the landing, I had to say, the eagle has landed.
Speaker C:So, of course you did.
Speaker B:Of course you did.
Speaker D:We got the plane off to the side, we took the crate out, we set it down, set up some cameras.
Speaker D:I opened the door and stood back, and nothing happened.
Speaker B:It was like.
Speaker D:So I kind of started nudging the crate a little bit and finally hopped out and flew away.
Speaker D:And the first time to see that bald eagle fly off into the trees next to the lake was the most exhilarating release I'd ever seen.
Speaker D:It was just hair stood up on my arms, and it's just like.
Speaker D:It was that dopamine moment where I'm like, this is what I need to be doing.
Speaker D:This is.
Speaker D:This is what my calling is.
Speaker D:And it just.
Speaker D:The satisfaction of that release has not been topped.
Speaker D:I mean, it's like, I guess the first heroin high.
Speaker D:I've never had heroin, but I hear the first one's the best.
Speaker D:And you never get anyone that's better than that.
Speaker D:So this eagle was just.
Speaker D:It was exhilarating.
Speaker D:It was fantastic.
Speaker C:That was the most American moment you have ever witnessed in your entire life, that the bald eagle, the freedom all the symbolism that comes along with that, you know, you got to experience that.
Speaker C:That's really cool.
Speaker D:Yeah, it was.
Speaker B:And of course, the entire time it was in the plane it was going, I could do this better, I could do this better.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker B:Why are you flying me?
Speaker C:Does he know I can fly?
Speaker A:We know.
Speaker A:I, I think it's important as we go to wrap this up a little bit.
Speaker A:Tell us about your program on PBS and, and also tell everybody about where they can find out more about you if you have a website, if people can participate and support you.
Speaker D:So our website is Flying Tales.
Speaker D:T A I l s double meaning there flyingtails.org and the show, we did one episode for PBS.
Speaker D:It's online.
Speaker D:Just Google PBS Flying Tales.
Speaker D:It'll pop right up.
Speaker D:Or you can go to our website.
Speaker D:We have a link to it.
Speaker D:We're currently shooting five more episodes for next year.
Speaker D:So we'll have six episodes out early next year.
Speaker D:And it'll.
Speaker D:The first show aired on 176 PBS stations across the country.
Speaker D:It's already aired on multiple occasions on many of those stations.
Speaker D:So.
Speaker D:Yeah, and, and we, we just tell the story of what we're doing.
Speaker D:And the, the best part of it is is we've put the focus on the animals.
Speaker D:So each animal gets to tell their story and each one is different.
Speaker D:You think they're going to get kind of the same story over and over again, but it's not, it's amazing how different each animal is and their stories are so unique.
Speaker B:And if any pilots are out there, what do you want to say to them?
Speaker D:Go to our website, flyingtails.org we have a sign up sheet for pilots.
Speaker D:They can enter their information, we'll give them a call and we would be happy to have you flying for us, you know, right away, especially pilots outside of California because we're trying to spread across the country.
Speaker A:Well, Lila has decided to come and say hello and so on behalf of.
Speaker A:Hey baby girl.
Speaker A:On behalf of Lyla and Elsa and Hunter, Ken, thanks so much for being with us.
Speaker A:Thanks for what you do.
Speaker A:I, I'm, like I said, I'm really impressed with what you do.
Speaker A:I'm so proud to know you and I'll be following you along.
Speaker D:Well, I know you're a legend in, in broadcast news in LA and I really appreciate that.
Speaker D:And, and Elson Hunter, it's great to talk to you guys.
Speaker D:So thank you so much for having me.
Speaker A:And that's what the how 2.0.
Speaker A:I'm Hal Eisner along with Elsa, Ramon and Hunter Lowery.
Speaker A:This podcast is produced by Hunter.
Speaker A:Jamie Knapp is our Technical Director Editor and he handles all of the post production.
Speaker A:Our original theme music is composed by Stuart Pearson.
Speaker A:Earlier versions of the podcast were produced at the studios of Fox 11 in Los Angeles and are available through the link in our Show Notes.
Speaker A:This version of the podcast is available on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts.
Speaker A:And what the hell.
Speaker A:2.0 Is produced in Los Angeles, California.
