As the late aviator’s friends strive to remember him by assisting additional pets, two dogs that survived an animal rescue flight disaster that killed the pilot have found new homes, a shelter director announced Wednesday.
Seuk Kim of Springfield, Virginia, a devoted volunteer who moved cats and dogs from disaster regions and overcrowded shelters to rescue organizations, was killed in the Nov. 24 collision in the Catskill Mountains of New York. His 1986 Mooney M20J crashed while he was transporting three dogs to the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley, a charity in the Albany, New York, area.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the crash, Kim told air traffic controllers that he encountered moderate to heavy turbulence at 5,000 feet (1,520 meters), but that conditions improved to light to moderate turbulence after descending to roughly 4,300 feet (1,311 meters). According to the report, he made no more distress calls or contacted air traffic control.
Two of the dogs, a young Yorkshire terrier mix named Pluto and a Labrador-mix puppy named Whiskey, made it out alive. Whiskey was discovered curled in the snow with two broken legs, while Pluto had internal bruises. Pieper Memorial Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital in Middletown, Connecticut, later performed procedures on the Lab pup.
The family that adopted 6-month-old Whiskey has chosen to keep him, according to Maggie Jackman Pryor, executive director of the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley, and he is already walking and playing at his foster home in Middletown following those treatments and extensive physical therapy.
This weekend, Whiskey will be formally adopted by the foster family.
According to Pryor, Pluto made a speedy recovery and was adopted into a house in the neighborhood of Averill Park, which is close to Albany, a few weeks later.
At Kim’s relatives’ request, the bones of the third dog—a small dog named Lisa—went to them.
People from all across the nation contacted the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley to inquire about adopting the dog survivors, but Pryor advised some callers to look closer to home.
In a Wednesday phone interview, she stated, “These two dogs are incredible, but there are so many amazing dogs in shelters.”
According to Pryor, an organization is being formed by Kim’s friends and fellow rescue pilots to carry on his legacy. According to her, plans call for establishing pet food pantries similar to the one he and his kids established as well as supporting mobile spay and neuter clinics.
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