NEW YORK (AP) – When Seuk Kim took off from Maryland in the United States (US) last weekend with three small dogs aboard his plane, it was the latest of many volunteer flights he had made to rescue animals in need.
After realising a childhood dream of becoming a pilot, Kim transported cats and dogs from disaster areas, overcrowded shelters and other misfortunes – including a dog trapped for days in a shipping container – to rescue groups. He lined up other aviators to do the same.
But Sunday’s flight to New York was his last. Kim’s 1986 Mooney M20J crashed in the snowy woods of the Catskill Mountains, killing the 49-year-old pilot and one of the dogs, authorities said. The other two pups survived and were recovering on Tuesday.
“There are very few people like Seuk in this world. He has no ulterior motives. He never needed recognition,” said a fellow rescue flight volunteer Sydney Galley. “He just wanted to help.”
Whiskey – a four-month-old Labrador-mix puppy who was found huddled in the snow with two broken legs – was doing well while awaiting surgery at Pieper Memorial Veterinary emergency and specialty hospital in Middletown, Connecticut. Videos showed the tawny pup getting belly rubs, licking a staffer’s face and, later, calmly looking around while having a leg bandage changed.
The other surviving dog, an 18-month-old Yorkshire terrier mix called Pluto, was found on Monday with minor injuries. By Tuesday, Pluto was at the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley, the New York organisation that had been set to receive all three dogs. The third was a 2.3-kilogramme puppy named Lisa, Galley said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday that the aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances in mountainous terrain.
