Hallmark Film Star Aaron O’Connell Flies Rescue Dog to Her New Home

Aaron O’Connell is successful hearts on display screen and within the air.

The actor, who performed the romantic lead in Hallmark Channel’s With Love, Christmas and 12 Gifts of Christmaslately helped a rescue canine attain her new home with a dreamy charity flight.

O’Connell earned his personal pilot’s license in 2012 and has a Cirrus SR22T (Turbo) plane.

“I acquired my pilot’s license and loved flying, after which I purchased a Cirrus, and I loved flying much more,” he tells PEOPLE, including that he’s getting his “industrial ranking proper now.”

After turning into a licensed pilot, O’Connell began in search of extra alternatives to fly. The actor says he targeted on discovering methods to present again by his flights.

“I began performing some Google looking out and located Pilots N Paws,” O’Connell says.

Pilots N Paws is a nonprofit organization that connects volunteer pilots with animal rescues and shelters trying to transport pets throughout lengthy distances shortly and freed from cost.

“I believed, ‘If I can do a few of these journeys, I really feel prefer it’d be not solely rewarding and I’d be serving to out, however I’d additionally be capable of fly and fulfill my ardour and dream of mine,'” O’Connell remembers.

He began flying for Pilots N Paws in 2015. After flying quite a few volunteer rescue flights, O’Connell is much more enamored with Pilot N Paws than when he began.

“I began doing these flights, and I discovered that I liked it greater than I believed I’d since you’re not solely rescuing these animals, or taking them to life-saving surgical procedures, or including new members to households, however you are assembly nice people who wish to be a part of an incredible mission,” O’Connell, who’s the canine dad to a pup named Fig, says.

On March 28, O’Connell accomplished his most recent Paws N Pilots flight, the place he had the consideration of escorting rescue puppy Patches to her new home.

Patches was a part of a shock litter. An older household in Ramona, California, adopted her mom. Later, the canine gave start to seven puppies, which shocked her pet dad and mom, who didn’t know the canine was pregnant.

“It was manner past what they have been in a position to maintain, however they have been prepared to maintain these puppies till all of them acquired adopted, which I believed was nice,” O’Connell explains.

Patches was one of many shock pups, and he or she discovered an adopter who lived a number of hours away by way of automotive from Ramona by Grandma Betty’s Animal Rescue. The rescue posted on the Pilots N Paws discussion board, looking for a volunteer pilot to shortly get the canine to her new home.

“I noticed Patches was prepared to be rescued and adopted into a brand new household, however there was no approach to get her there. So that is the place I got here in. I jumped at that chance,” O’Connell says about how he grew to become a part of Patches’ story.

For the flight, O’Connell flew to Ramona to select up Patches. Before taking off, the actor gave the Great Pyrenees combine puppy an opportunity to get used to his Cirrus plane.

“I put her within the aircraft by herself so she might simply get acclimated to the odor and see what it was like,” he says.

O’Connell at all times appears to be like for “the most secure approach to transport” his animal passengers. For Patches’ flight, he did a pre-flight briefing the night time earlier than and noticed their flight path “confirmed some important turbulence descending into” their authentic vacation spot, an airport in Burbank.

“It’s not essentially a giant factor for me as a pilot as a result of I fly by that on a regular basis, however I’m at all times leaning in the direction of, ‘How is the canine going to do?'” O’Connell says. So he opted to vary the flight plan and land at a Bakersfield airport, which allowed Patches to expertise a easy flight.

Once the puppy was acclimated to the aircraft, O’Connell ready to load her in for the flight.

“I both put them in a crate or I put them within the backseat and put towels down and allow them to roam, relying on how they appear, how they’re once we first meet,” he says, including, “In this case, Patches was somewhat bit timid. So I believed, ‘You know what? What I’ll do is I’ll put her within the crate, make a nest for her, make her snug.'”

Patches snuggled up into the “nest” the pilot made and fell asleep inside the first 10 minutes of the flight. After a “nice flight throughout,” O’Connell landed in Bakersfield with Patches, the place they met her adopter, Annie Beaman.

“I handed Annie Patches on the airport. Patches gave her a giant hug; it was such an unimaginable second. It makes all that worthwhile and definitely worth the flying, and it simply was so enjoyable to see,” O’Connell says.

Patches now lives with Beaman and her household, which incorporates an older Great Pyrenees who is worked up to have somewhat sister. The household contacted O’Connell over Easter to let him know Patches was adjusting properly to her new home.

O’Connell, who will seem in Tyler Perry’s upcoming romantic comedy Joy Ridge, hopes Patches’ glad ending encourages different pilots to volunteer with Pilots N Paws.

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“I wish to stress how straightforward it’s to get began with an organization like Pilots N Paws. If you go to Pilots N Paws’s web site, they have a straightforward sign-up the place you’ll be able to develop into a member, and you then’ll be notified of native transports in your space,” he says.

“If you are a pilot and also you wish to proceed to hone your expertise and acquire hours, this can be a nice approach to not solely try this but additionally give again,” O’Connell provides.