Annapolis – October 31, 2026 -- Race for Life Rescue, a nonprofit that flies at-risk dogs and cats out of overcrowded shelters and disaster zones, completed its 200th mission on Oct. 14, carrying 112 animals from Louisiana to the Northeast. The milestone comes four years after its first flight. The group has since flown more than 12,000 animals and worked with shelters in more than 30 states.
Through Dec. 31, founder Jim DeFrancesco is matching every donation to the organization.
The first flight carried hurricane relief supplies
On Oct. 2, 2022, the group flew its first mission, taking relief supplies from Nashville, Tennessee, to Naples, Florida, after Hurricane Ian. The plane came back with nearly 40 displaced cats bound for adoption.
The team has since averaged about one mission a week. So far in 2026, it has flown 49 missions and 3,267 animals. Each flight is planned with shelter partners and tracked on the organization's flight map.
A 1999 commuter plane now carries more than 100 crated animals
The aircraft is a 1999 Beechcraft 1900D, originally a 19-passenger commuter plane. It has been converted to hold more than 100 crated animals in a climate-controlled cabin.
It can cover about 1,000 nautical miles in under five hours. The same trip can take 20 to 25 hours by road.
- The organization is registered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an animal carrier.
- Sending shelters screen every animal before boarding.
- A partner representative flies on every mission.
DeFrancesco, who is also the chief pilot, described the purpose of the flights in a short statement: "For those animals, it was a flight to a new life."
Shelters pay nothing for the flights
Race for Life Rescue covers the cost with support from donors, foundations and partners. BISSELL Pet Foundation and the ASPCA are among the partners that help connect overcrowded shelters with places that have room.