PITTSFIELD — When Lindsey and Luke Marion ventured down to Puerto Rico, they only planned to bring three puppies home with them. Three was already a handful.
The Marions, co-owners of Otto's Kitchen & Comfort, were on a mission: Through a program called Flight Angels, they were set to fly home from San Juan to Hartford, Conn., with three stray pups in tow. The program pairs dogs and cats on the island with “flight angels” who can help them get to a shelter in the mainland United States.
The task for “flight angels” is no small order — Lindsey Marion said she and her family arrived at the airport at 4:30 a.m. to take the three puppies from the person who had been fostering them. That was the first time they met the pooches they'd be bringing back to New England.
Then, they filled out customs paperwork for the dogs, walked them through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints in their socks and cleaned the inside of the pet carriers armed with a set of puppy pads, wipes and gloves. That was an arduous process for one of the pups, named Panda.
Next was a four-hour flight with the pups — Panda, Candy and Tony — nestled between their feet. Their daughters, Nola and Zoey, also had dogs in tow. Nola took the time to pet Candy while they were waiting for the flight to take off.
All in all, it was relatively smooth flying back to Connecticut, the Marions said. It was Lindsey's second time participating in the program.
“I might opt for the upgrade for the extended leg room next time,” was the sole note for Luke Marion.
Everything went according to plan — except for the unexpected fourth pup they found along the way.
Rico joins the family
The Marions didn't head down to Puerto Rico to get the dogs and turn right around — they vacationed there, along with members of the staff at Otto's. While staying at an Airbnb, a chance encounter led to another of the island's prolific strays finding a forever home.
“We're all just ready to go down to one of the pools at the place we're staying,” Lindsey Marion said. “And out of the bushes comes this little wiggly puppy just wiggling like crazy and kind of crying this sad little cry.”
Next thing she knew, she was sitting in the grass with the “noodly, wiry-haired” dog on her lap, licking her face. Despite some initial protest by Luke Marion (pointing out that they already have two dogs and “a bunch of cats”), “Rico” had just joined the family whether they knew it or not.
The next day of the vacation was far from a day at the beach. Lindsey Marion said she and her family spent most of the time in a veterinarian's office getting Rico necessary medical care; her kids were “selfless” in sacrificing a day of the vacation for it, she said. Nola, nearly 5, was the main advocate for Rico's adoption.
The locals living near the Airbnb, who take care of the strays in the immediate area, were happy to see the family was taking the dog with them. Lindsey Marion said many of the local shop owners and residents leave out food or water for stray dogs and cats.
As such, when Lindsey Marion asked for help from her friends to raise $400 to get Rico home with them on the flight and far exceeded her goal, she used an extra $280 she raised to buy bags of food for the local residents to distribute among the strays.
While it was no small feat bringing home four dogs from San Juan, Lindsey Marion said the problem is much larger in scope. She's in the early stages of potentially developing a 501(c)(3) organization to set up a “trap, neuter, release” program on the island to help manage the stray population, or start raising money to help fund “Flight Angels” rides.
For now, the family is just happy to have a new addition.
