A Smashing Success!

Hangar Full Moon Fundraiser keeps our rescue missions flying!

Thanks to the McNeely Foundation, Pets Lifeline, Dogwood, Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, Wine Country Zoo, Schellville Sonoma Valley Airport and special individuals who stepped up to help us save more animals.

THANK YOU!

Former KTVU & KRON TV News colleagues Diane Dwyer, Darya Folsom and Lawrence Karnow share the spotlight with Flying Tails supporters.

Our new Cessna 421 Golden Eagle is being used to ferry kittens and dogs from the Bay Area to Canada where they can be adopted. We’re met in Bellingham, Washington by “Embrace a Discarded Animal Society” which is able to get our unwanted American animals adopted into loving homes in the Vancouver area.

Flying Tails on PBS!

The first six part series of Flying Tails is nearing completion and will be turned over to PBS by the end of the year. Look for the series to air on your local PBS station across the country next Spring. Click the box above to see the first episode that already aired on more than 170 stations across the U.S.

Help Save Animals!

Flying Tails: Saving Lives

One Flight At A Time

Flying Tails is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a simple mission: Fly at-risk animals to safety. In practice, that mission covers a lot of ground—and a lot of lives.

Flying Tails pilots transport dogs and cats out of overcrowded shelters to prevent euthanasia. They fly orphaned bear cubs and mountain lions to licensed wildlife rehabilitation centers, where they are raised and ultimately returned to the wild. They transport injured Bald Eagles and other raptors to specialized aviaries for treatment—and then fly them home once they recover. When animals are in danger and time matters, Flying Tails provides the fastest, most humane option available.

The organization was founded by former KTVU and KRON reporter and anchor Ken Wayne and his wife, former United Airlines flight attendant Carole Moschetti. The idea began with a small plane flight to Baja, where they rescued a street dog named Mango. That single rescue led to more flights, then more requests from shelters and wildlife agencies. Eventually, Ken walked away from a 40-year television news career to devote himself full-time to building Flying Tails into a professional aerial rescue operation.

Today, Flying Tails supports California Fish and Wildlife, the UC Davis Raptor Center, the Marine Mammal Center, Dogwood Animal Rescue, and many other organizations across California and the U.S. Ken has also recruited and coordinated volunteer pilots nationwide, including organizing air rescues for dogs displaced by the Palisades fire in Los Angeles. Flying Tails is proud to have flown the first mountain lion to its release site for California Fish & Wildlife.

Because of the uniqueness and impact of this work, PBS approached Ken to create a television series documenting these rescues. The first episode of Flying Tails aired on PBS KVIE Sacramento in November 2025 and was distributed nationally on March 27. Ken is now producing a 6-episode season slated for release in early 2027, highlighting volunteer pilots who serve as first responders for animals in crisis.

The purpose of the series is bigger than storytelling. It raises national awareness about the issues facing domestic animals and wildlife, the professionals who care for them, and the volunteer pilots who use their own aircraft, time, and resources to save lives. The long-term goal is to build a national Flying Tails first-response air network—ready at a moment’s notice when animals are in danger.

Support from donors makes the broadcast and continuation of this series possible. Funding helps complete future episodes, expand public awareness, and directly strengthen Flying Tails’ capacity to rescue more animals, faster. This is an opportunity to help scale a proven life-saving mission—and share it with a national audience.

Popular aviation host Max Trescott talks about Flying Tails, airplanes and animals on our first podcast!

Listen to Podcast

Check our YouTube Channel for previous missions:

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We now have pilots in Virginia and Massachusetts who are joining our growing aerial animal first-responder team. We have many FT volunteer pilots in California. Our goal is to have a national presence to be able to swiftly respond to animals in need. We need pilots in the South and Midwest. Many of those rescues will be highlighted on our Flying Tails PBS program to spread awareness about animal safety, and also promote the good work of general aviation and volunteer pilots.

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