The Bunny Runner
Once Best Friends secured placement for the Reno rabbits, the next step was to get them to their new homes. Many of those rabbits enjoyed their transport in the comfort of a four-passenger single-engine Mooney aircraft navigated by Best Friends own Juliette Watt.
A seasoned pilot of 11 years, Juliette has made 10 bunny runs to Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. Over the next month, she will make four more trips with several stops to deliver several rabbits to their new homes.
Juliette schedules several stops anytime she’s in the air. She flies in three-hour increments so she can check on her furry passengers’ water and bedding. Her little plane accommodates 21 bunnies comfortably. Their crates come equipped with nibbles and frozen water bottles. She also has covers on hand to shade the rabbits to shield them when flying in harsh sunlight.
“The most important thing is to keep them comfortable,” said Juliette. “And that means keeping them hydrated and out of extreme temperatures.
“I did a transport of 10 bunnies to a small airport just outside of Albuquerque. The day I arrived, the airport was hosting a C-130 military transport plane exhibition. It was 112 degrees outside and there was a large C-130 parked where I needed to be to unload the bunnies straight into air conditioning. As I was taxiing, I informed the tower I had bunnies on board, and could they please move that plane. They did!”
With all their creature comforts in place --- with the exception of the absence of in-flight movies --- the rabbits fly well. And they barely notice the occasional turbulence when going over mountainous terrain.
“On one trip, we had to fly above mountains at 13,000 feet to get into the airport,” said Juliette. “But the rabbits were quite resilient. And the most important thing is that flying them to their new homes is much quicker than long drives cooped up in a van or truck.”
The coming four trips out of Reno may be the last bunny flights for awhile. But that doesn’t mean she won’t be on call to transfer dogs, cats, birds, rats --- even Komodo Dragons.
So who makes for the most difficult travelers?
“Ah,” she said. “That would be telling…”
We’re guessing she means the humans!
Written by Amy Abern