Partner Profile: Pets with Wings

Every year, the Humane Society of St. Thomas (HSSTT) takes in hundreds of dogs and cats from the community. Many of these animals have only known life on the streets - surviving scarcity, neglect, and uncertainty. Like many homeless animals on small islands, the odds of finding a forever home on St. Thomas are heavily stacked against them. The reality is simple: the island has far more animals in need than available adopters.

To beat these odds the HSSTT partners with Pets with Wings, a volunteer-run organization founded to give the island’s neediest animals a second chance. What started in 2012 as an internal HSSTT program by founders Leslie Hurd and Rhea Vasconcellos, has since blossomed into an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Over the years, it has moved hundreds of animals off the island and into loving homes with the help of over 90 stateside pet rescues. 

A Simple Idea Made Real

The organization began with a simple idea: match mainland-bound travelers with rescue cats and dogs heading to the States. These animals are placed with rescues on the U.S. mainland in communities where the demand for adoptable pets is high. 

The Cyril E. King airport on St. Thomas literally has millions of passengers flying to the continental United States each year, so Leslie and Rhea found a way to take advantage of these flights and help the animals of St. Thomas. Cats, puppies, and smaller dogs are able to travel with pet escorts in the cabin, getting them quickly and easily off of the island and into stateside rescues and homes. 

Here is how the pet escort program works:

• Total Coordination: Pets with Wings handles everything. They partner with the HSSTT to manage veterinary checkups, vaccinations, and obtain official health certificates.
• Zero Extra Cost to Travelers: Pets with Wings covers the airline’s pet fees and secures the flight manifest spot. Volunteer travelers are never responsible for any of the animal’s flight costs. However, if the traveler chooses to cover the flight fee (~$150.00) for the traveling pet, Pets with Wings would never say no!
• Stress-Free Escorting: Travelers simply act as the animal’s escorts through the airport. Upon landing at their destination, they are met at the airport by representatives from mainland rescue organizations or the animal's new adoptive family.

29 Dogs. 29 Second Chances. One Unforgettable Freedom Flight.

As Pets with Wings grew, so did its ambitions.They needed to get more, and bigger dogs off of the island. On September 14, 2026, Pets with Wings brought together 29 dogs from the HSSTT and local community groups for a trip that will change their lives forever - their 10th Freedom Flight. Through these large-scale Freedom Flights, Pets with Wings can get larger dogs off-island and into mainland rescues. Giving these large groups a fresh start is a major financial undertaking; a single transport of 15 to 30 dogs costs approximately $18,000.

The Freedom Flights require incredible logistics and meticulous coordination between local volunteers, stateside rescue networks, and transport companies. 

The process is massive:

1. Selection & Sponsorship: Pets with Wings selects 15 to 30 animals based on health and temperament, spending hours calling mainland rescues to secure a shelter spot or foster home for each one.
2. Flight Day Logistics: HSSTT volunteers prep the dogs and assign them each a travel crate. Local drivers and community members with trucks transport the dogs in crates to the St. Thomas airport.
3. The Journey: The dogs are put onto an air-conditioned cargo plane, flying to Puerto Rico and then Miami.
4. The Final Stretch: In Miami, mainland rescue partners arrive with ground transportation to carry the dogs off to their final destinations.

Pets with Wings also serves as an urgent-response unit for critical medical cases. Recently, the organization sent out a request on social media to find a flight escort for a puppy from the HSSTT in desperate need of specialized veterinary treatment. Thanks to offers for donations and a quick reply from a volunteer, the puppy was successfully flown to the mainland and received medical care from rescue partner Stray Rescue of St. Louis.

The Ultimate Goal

By reducing the population of animals at the shelter, Pets with Wings relieves local strain at the shelter, allowing the HSSTT to give even more animals the help they need. This life-saving work is only possible because of dedicated supporters: volunteers, foster families, donors, and local businesses that assist with transportation and logistics.

Join the Effort

You can help rewrite the story for St. Thomas's homeless pets and help them find their happily ever after.

• Donate: Your donations help get pets to the rescues on the mainland.
• Escort: If you are traveling to the U.S. mainland, sign up to be a flight escort at no extra cost to you.
• Adopt: If you live on the mainland and want to adopt from the HSSTT, Pets with Wings can help coordinate getting your new fur baby safely home.

To learn more, get involved, or donate:

📞 Call: 340-643-0796

✉️ Email: petswwings@gmail.com