May 17, 2022 When Pigs Fly

The Liberty Gazette

May 17, 2022

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: She stood by the dusty dirt road, her tail wagging at every car that went by. I noticed her as I took the back way to the soaring club in Waller. I figured she belonged to a rancher nearby. After I made my flights at the club, I retraced my route to see if she was still there.

As I approached the place where I’d seen her, a floppy-eared head popped up from the grass. I slowed, and this pup trotted over to my car, tail still wagging, as if expecting me. When I stepped out, she dropped and rolled around at my feet. She had some Pit in her, but I couldn’t figure out what else. 

A couple in a truck stopped. “Do you know her?” I asked. “No, never seen that dog before. She might belong at that house a half-mile up the road.” I opened my door, and she climbed in with her short legs and made herself at home in my front passenger seat. I knocked on doors. Each person said she wasn’t theirs. It was Saturday afternoon, and no animal shelters were answering, so temporarily, she came home with me.

We’d lost our beautiful Hilda (Linda’s canine soulmate), a 100-pound German Shepherd, just six weeks prior. Twelve days later, we lost our sweet Abby, a flat-coat Retriever. We had decided no more pets – “when pigs fly,” as they say. We needed to find this dog’s owner.

We had a local vet check her and discovered she was microchipped. From that information we contacted the tracking company who attempted to contact the owner. No response. We prodded. Finally, they made contact. The owner said she would call us. No calls. 

We talked with the Houston SPCA who adopted her out to this owner just two months prior. To dump her where I found her, that owner had to drive over 30 miles through three towns and across two highways. Why? The SPCA has a no-questions-asked return policy. Our only answer is she tested positive for heartworms and hookworms. We started treatment. 

The SPCA had originally taken her in after someone found her with a bullet in her leg. They had named her Iggy, and she answered to it. She was barely eight months old when I found her, and now, she’s 48 pounds of muscular Corgi-Pit. 

We’ve tried to find her a forever home but figured as long as she’s with us, we might as well see if she likes to fly. Our other dogs didn’t like flying, and Hilda, though she loved car rides, was too large and frail to lift into the plane.

IggyPiggy, as we now call her, donned a harness and settled in the back seat. With the prop spinning, we left the canopy open until take-off for maximum mutt enjoyment. She curiously peered out the windows. The wind made it bumpy that day, so we made it a short flight. Here’s hoping IggyPiggy will fly again.

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