I’ve been reading posts, and you will probably get mad at me, but I think you pilots need to consider flying for a 501c3 non-profit, where you can write off all your costs. It’s at http://www.pilotsnpaws.org and they help rescue animals out of kill shelters or get them on legs to foster or forever homes.
I’ve been talking to some of the pilots there because I have a Collie, not a mix either, puppy who has clefts in his hard and soft palate. He’s 12 weeks old. Washington State University in Pullman has given us a $1000 grant toward his surgery and I have raised over $1200 to add to it. I also took out a mortgage on my home and land in SW Colorado to cover extra costs. He has to get there before he gets aspiration pneumonia, since the palate is the only barrier between the mouth and the nostrils, even on humans. I know CO State is closer but they don’t feel confident enough to do the surgery. WSU is very sure of themselves.
In my case, and it seems in the case of other animals in need, I can go out of CEZ in Cortez, Canyonlands in Moab, Ut, Price, Utah all the way northward toward SLC and Boise. I would drive it and that eats up a huge amount of time, as I believe a plane flies faster and more directly than does a highway. (My father used to sell Pipers in San Jose, CA. when I was a squirt. Now I’m just a somewhat pretty redheaded woman on a mission). I think there is also a FBO in Durango, CO.
Anyway, it seems to me that hobby pilots might want to be able to take deductions instead of paying rental fees or your fuel and tie down fees for planes you own. You are needed. Feel free to contact me if you have some ideas or are interested. Or just go to the PNP website. I would charter somebody if I knew who to contact. Thanks, Leslie & McGee the puppy. 