Charity gives Sudbury pit bull a new leash on life in New Brunswick

Morning North5:14Pitbull in Sudbury gets a second chance thanks to Pilots N Paws Canada

It could have been the end of the line for Kya the pitbull. That breed of dogs is banned in Ontario. Thanks to the organization Pilots N Paws Canada, Kya was flown to a province where pitbulls are allowed. We heard more from Deanna Bliuvas.

A two-year-old pit bull named Kya fromSudbury was spared euthanasia after a charity called Pilots NPaws Canada was called to help last month.

The manager of the Rainbow District Animal Shelter, Richard Paquette, saidheseized the dog because of some biting incidents.

Paquette, whoruns Animal Control Services for the city,saidthe biteswere minor and provoked. After doing some testing, Paquettedecided the animal had a good temperament.

Unfortunately, her fate was grim. The Dog Owner's Liability Act of Ontario of 2005 prohibits the ownership ofpit bulls on the basis they are dangerous.

Paquette said one of his volunteers took the lead and located a shelter that was willing to take Kya, but it was in Oromocto, New Brunswick. That's when Paquette learned of Pilots NPaws Canada.

Volunteer pilots

From Ottawa,Deanna Bliuvas co-ordinatesvolunteer pilots with animals needing transportation, some of them pit bulls from Ontario that are destined to beput down. The pilots volunteer their time and pay for their own fuel, so costs are minimal.

Bliuvas reached Toronto pilot Ross Magnaldowho could takeKya from Sudbury to her new East Coast home. Foul weather delayed the rescue mission but late last month, Magnaldo made the tripwith Kya in a crate behind his seat.

"Apparently she gave everybody kisses," said Bluivas."The pilot got kisses, the people that met her in Fredericton got kisses."

Magnaldo said Kya was the second animal hevolunteered to transport with the charity. He said combining his love of flying with rescuing animals is rewarding.

"To be able to put some animal into some better environment, the warmth that comes out of it, the gratitude, having done something like that" he said, makes his day.

As for Richard Paquette, he saidit's the first time he's worked with Pilots N Paws Canada but it won't be the last.

And it was a happy endingfor Kya. Instead of facing lethal injection in Ontario, the Oromocto SPCA said shewas adopted out just about a week after arriving at the shelter.