Bubba the Bloodhound Flies to Mississippi

On Saturday, January 10, Bubba the Bloodhound made his inaugural flight to Mississippi from Venice. Bubba had found his way to us here at Suncoast Humane Society in November 2014 after his owners could no longer afford to keep him. As a purebred Bloodhound, Bubba requires an owner who must be devoted to his specialized care. Marilu Lippert, Animal Care Manager at Suncoast Humane Society, recognized that Bubba needed a very special home that understands how to take care of Bloodhounds, and arranged his transfer to breed-specific rescue group Southeast Bloodhound Rescue in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Alexander Landry, Managing Director of Suncoast Air Center, KVNC, oversaw the initial flight from Venice, while Pilot Jameson Saviano of Pilots N Paws, a 501(c)(3) aviation transportation coordinator, generously donated his time and services to help transport Bubba on the first leg of his journey to Mississippi. After flying into Gainesville, Pilot Peri Dwyer Worrell then picked up Bubba and flew him to Enterprise, Alabama. From there, Virginia Grant with Southeast Bloodhound Rescue picked up the boy and drove him to Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Grant reports that on her drive back to Hattiesburg: “I was speeding and running my mouth about Bubba. Well, I got stopped, and when the cop came to the window, the first thing he did was tell me I was speeding and he had to give me something. While I was looking for my insurance card, he asked about Bubba, and I told him that Bubba was a rescue and we rescued bloodhounds. He said all his dogs were rescues and thanked me for the work we do. The whole time he was trying to give me a ticket, Bubba was kissing him and getting his ears rubbed and just enjoying our stop. He came back to the car with a piece of paper and told me to look at it. I did and started thanking him so much because it was only a warning. Bubba saved me from a bad ticket.”

Bubba the Bloodhound made it safely to Hattiesburg and is currently awaiting a home there that can give him the specialized care that he needs. Suncoast Humane Society partners with qualified rescue groups like Southeast Bloodhound Rescue in order to better help special needs and purebred dogs that can use the help that a specialized rescue group can offer. This allows Suncoast Humane Society to devote its limited resources to more pets in our local community, and to more fully realize its mission to “reduce the number of homeless animals and improve the quality of life.” If you are interested in helping more pets like Bubba the Bloodhound, then please consider donating to Suncoast Humane Society today.