Pilots and Paws: An Unlikely Pairing

Photo Courtesy of Drew Brill

Flying and cross country: two activities that seemingly have nothing in common.  

But sophomore Drew Brill thrives in these settings, whether it is racing to the finish line or soaring through the clouds in his red and silver Cirrus SR22.  

Brill, a business administration major and cross-country runner at Belmont University, has turned his love of flying and dogs into a passion project he is proud of. With the help of Props For A Purpose, he flies to rescue dogs and support communities he wouldn't have been able to impact before.  

While most teenagers are excited to get their driver’s license at 16, Brill focused on the pilot’s classes his parents gave him.  With his pilot's license in hand and two years of flights under his belt, Brill began flying up and down the East Coast, serving as an in-air taxi service taking dogs from their foster homes to their fur-ever homes.  

“The rescue part has a soft spot in my heart, just seeing all the dogs needing homes and things like that. I can make a difference I think, and I want to fly as many dogs as possible. I’ve rescued about 25 at this point,” said Brill. 

It all began with one pooch – Nala, a golden retriever. 

He flew to Dallas to pick her up, then flew her new home in Tampa Bay.  

“That dog ended up being amazing,” said Brill. “I’m so glad, because if that dog wasn’t good, I don’t know where I’d be right now.” 

Brill worked on his own for about a year before he teamed up with sophomore Jacob Bealle, who founded Props For A Purpose, an organization that supports causes including animal rescues, disaster relief and medical response.  

“Drew and I first connected during freshman year at Belmont through Instagram. We stumbled upon each other’s posts about flying, which sparked a friendship rooted in our shared passion,” said Bealle. “What began as a disaster relief initiative has since expanded into medical response and animal rescue.” 

Now, Brill serves as the non-profit's chief of animal rescue.  

“I was just flying these missions and now I’m kind of coordinating them too,” said Brill.  

Every day in the sky looks different for Brill.  

Some days, he takes off from his home airport in Pennsylvania. Others he leaves from the Music City Executive Airport in Gallatin, Tennessee. At the other end of the flight is a dog in need of delivery. He picks up Dachshunds, labs, boxers and beagles - even a mutt or two - and delivers them to their new forever home before he returns to his home.  

Some flights are short trips up and down, others are cross-country adventures. 

“The longest one probably is when I flew from Pennsylvania down to North Carolina, picked up a dog and then flew from North Carolina to Maine. That whole trip was about eight and a half hours,” said Brill, who flies most trips solo. 

Sometimes the dogs behave, other times, they need a few extra treats. 

“I’ve done about 15 missions total, which can span from one dog to three at once. I would say most of them are pretty quiet, but I have had a few who have been a little bit of a struggle. Most of them, surprisingly, just sleep,” he said.  

Photo Courtesy of Drew Brill

Since working with Props For A Purpose, Brill never knows when his service is needed, but he juggles being a Division I athlete, a full-time student and animal rescue pilot.  

“Obviously academics and athletics are before flying, most of the time,” he said. “It’s hard to balance it and some weeks I don’t fly at all.” 

But when he can, he prefers to be in the cockpit.  

“I’ve had a lot of long nights and early mornings because that’s basically the only time I can go fly because we have practice five days a week, and I have class five days a week,” said Brill.  

For Brill, dogs enrich his life. He has three - Cooper, Daisy and Frankie. 

And everyday, they provide inspiration for him to provide that same unconditional love for others, getting up before the sun does. 

One morning he woke up before 4 a.m., gave his own dogs a pet, then got into his plane to fly to South Carolina. 

“I flew over, got there by 8 a.m., and then I flew that dog to Baltimore,” he said. “Obviously, I’m only one person and I can only do so many.” 

But for Brill, canine companionship is worth it. 

“There’s a lot more dogs that need it, but I try my best.” 

To try to save more dogs, Brill is on a mission of his own: Find more pilots. 

“There’s a lot of pilots out there who just go fly for fun, and it’s like well, if I am going to fly somewhere, why can’t I just take a dog with me?” Brill said. “Now I’m pulling up a flat map and there’s probably a thousand dogs on there. In Tennessee alone, there’s probably 50 trips.” 

Each trip is the chance to unite one dog and one person. 

“When you need somebody, they are always there,” he said. They’re just like best friends and most of the time they do nothing wrong, they’re just great.” 

Some would say they are paw-fect. 

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This article was written by Bree Fabbie