Heavy/Hallmark Actor Aaron O'Connell flies rescue pups to their new homes in his private plane
Most Hallmark Channel actors have a special gift for melting fans’ hearts, but “Made For Each Other” star Aaron O’Connell just took that to a new level.
The rom-com regular and private pilot had fans swooning when he posted details on April 12, 2024, of a recent flight he made to deliver a rescue pup named Patches to her forever home. Turns out it’s one of many such trips the actor has made, as he flies the friendly skies to deliver rescue dogs to their new families.
Aaron O’Connell Wanted to Use His Pilot Skills to Help Pets in Need
O’Connell earned his private pilot’s license in 2012, according to People, and bought a Cirrus SR22T (Turbo) plane. He’s now working toward earning a “commercial rating,” which would allow him to be paid to fly, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
To get more practice and rack up flight miles, he hoped to find a way to use his pilot skills to give back. While Googling options, he told People, he discovered the nonprofit organization Pilots N Paws, which pairs up volunteer pilots with animal rescues and shelters who need help transporting pets long distance, for free.
“I thought, ‘If I can do some of these trips, I feel like it’d be not only rewarding and I’d be helping out, but I’d also be able to fly and fulfill my passion and dream of mine,'” O’Connell told the magazine.
The actor, whose other Hallmark movies include “My Christmas Love” and “12 Gifts of Christmas,” began working with the charity in 2015 and has delivered multiple rescue pets to new families or medical facilities, including Patches on March 28, per People.
He told the outlet, “I started doing these flights, and I found out that I loved it more than I thought I would because you’re not only rescuing these animals, or taking them to life-saving surgeries, or adding new members to families, but you’re meeting great people that want to be part of a great mission.”
Here’s How Patches Wound Up on Aaron O’Connell’s Plane With First Class Treatment
In addition to O’Connell, multiple organizations made it possible for little Patches to find her forever home. It all started when a Southern California couple, Bill and Yolanda, reached out to Grandma Betty’s Animal Rescue. They had recently rescued a Great Pyrenees named Snowball, the organization shared on Instagram, who was due to be euthanized the day they found her at a local shelter and adopted her.
To Bill and Yolanda’s surprise, four weeks after rescuing Snowball, she turned out to be pregnant and gave birth to seven puppies on New Year’s Day 2024. Though they were able to find homes with friends and family for several of the puppies, the couple still had three left that needed homes — including little Patches.
After Grandma Betty’s Animal Rescue posted about the three pups in need of homes, a woman named Annie Beaman in Bakersfield, expressed interest in adopting Patches, per People. Located about two and a half hours away, she needed Patches to be delivered to her, which is when O’Connell swooped in via Pilots n Paws.
“I saw Patches was willing to be rescued and adopted into a new family, but there was no way to get her there,” he told People. “So that’s where I came in. I jumped at that opportunity.”
O’Connell, who first flew to pick up Patches and then flew her to Bakersfield, told the magazine he’s always very careful about helping each rescue pup get acclimated to his plane and comfortable for the flight.
“I either put them in a crate or I put them in the backseat and put towels down and let them roam, depending on how they seem, how they are when we first meet,” he told People. “In this situation, Patches was a little bit timid. So I thought, ‘You know what? What I’ll do is I’ll put her in the crate, make a nest for her, make her comfortable.'”
He said Patches fell asleep within 10 minutes of take-off and Beaman met them at the airport when they landed.
“Patches gave her a big hug,” he told People. “It was such an incredible moment. It makes all that worthwhile and worth the flying, and it just was so fun to see.”