Daily Inspiration: Meet Petra Janney

Today we’d like to introduce you to Petra Janney.

Petra, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up surrounded by nature in Maine, which gave me a very deep appreciation of the environment and all the creatures in it. In Los Angeles, I found a new home where I can combine my love of nature with my curiosity about technology, culture and the future we’re collectively building.

I’ve been volunteering in animal shelters since I was a kid, but I didn’t really hit my stride until I met Dean Heistad, a fellow animal lover and pilot. He and his wife Katy had rescued their Great Dane in an airplane, and this giant dog was so eager to fly that they named her Amelia, after the great aviator. Dean had a dream of using his passion for aviation to rescue more animals at risk of euthanasia in overcrowded shelters. I wasn’t even a pilot yet, but I had always wanted to learn, and I know a good idea when I hear one. Just a few weeks later, our nonprofit was born: we named it Amelia Air after the Heistads’ beloved family dog.

While Dean and Katy were flying our first rescue missions in 2019, I was behind the scenes getting our charity off the ground – while also literally getting myself off the ground! As luck would have it, I met Dean while he was helping fix up the plane that I learned to fly in. The chance to save animals was an excellent motivator, so I passed my checkride to become a pilot a few months later, and I’ve been flying rescue missions ever since.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Today only 7% of pilots are women, so it’s easy to feel lonely when you’re learning to fly. As a student pilot, I joined the 99s, which is the International Organization of Women Pilots – they have several chapters right here in Los Angeles, and the mentorship of these amazing women gave me the confidence I needed to finish flight training in around three months. Amelia Earhart was actually the first President of the 99s way back in 1931, and the Great Dane who inspired our nonprofit was named after her!

The pandemic has been another major challenge. Amelia Air was only in operation for less than six months before COVID-19 hit, so almost all of our 2-year history has been spent navigating safety concerns and health guidance as we work to carry out our rescue missions. When many people went back to work or on vacation in the summer of 2021 after lockdowns were lifted, there was a nationwide shortage of animal fosters and adopters that really complicated our efforts to get animals out of shelters.

In general, I think one big struggle has been seeing firsthand how many lovable pets are languishing in shelters that simply do not have the resources to find them all homes. There are still around 1 million animals that are euthanized in shelters in the US each year, though this is down from 2.6 million in 2011 thanks to the hard work of many dedicated organizations and people. Seeing the tough conditions at many of these places reminds me how important our mission is and how much work still needs to be done.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am Co-Founder of Amelia Air, a nonprofit dedicated to flying pets off death row and into new families. Frequently we work with incredible rescue groups who have the capacity to find animals the perfect home. Many times, rural shelters simply do not have enough resources or adopters for all the animals in their care, while there are tons of people who want to rescue in more populated areas. So Dean, myself, and all the other volunteer pilots at Amelia Air provide that missing link to get pets out of cages and into homes where they’ll be loved forever. Dean manages our east coast team while I am working to scale our impact on the west coast from my adopted home in Los Angeles.

One of the missions I am most proud of is our September 2021 collaboration with Priceless Pet Rescue and American Airlines to save 45 Beagles from euthanasia at a testing facility in Texas. These dogs spent their whole lives in cages, with a tattooed number instead of a name, never seeing the sun or feeling grass, and had never experienced positive interactions with people. Priceless Pet Rescue placed them all with loving foster families to help them adjust to being part of a home. After two days, one of these Beagles was kissing kids on a front lawn – and about a month later, all but 5 of the 45 dogs have been adopted into their forever homes!

Many people do not know that tens of thousands of dogs are still used in American laboratory experiments to test the safety of drugs, chemicals, medical devices and more. [source 1] The Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency still require these tests in many cases, even though animals are poor stand-ins for humans: over 90% of drugs that pass animal tests fail when tested on people. [source 2]

Sources:
1. https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/dogs-used-experiments-faq
2. https://www.hsi.org/news-media/limitations-of-animal-tests/

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Flying at-risk pets to safety is the most rewarding part of my life. We breed animals to be our companions, and then we lock them up or euthanize them because they have no family to call their own. To me, each animal is unique, important and deserving of our respect. It’s a dream come true to watch our incredible network of volunteers, rescue organizations and pilots come together to make the difference between life and death for shelter pets.

Contact Info:

• Website: ameliaair.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ameliaairrescue/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/ameliaair
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ameliaairrescue
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0F3kXtSVU7ZQesUuV-5_3w

Image Credits:
Images 1-3, 5-10: Courtesy of Amelia Air Image 4.Rescued Beagle: Courtesy of Priceless Pet Rescue