Upper Midwest Pilots: BOLO For Louie

"Does Aero-News offer Lost & Found service?" a friend of ours asks. 

She volunteers with the Yankee Air Museum -- you know, the bunch that lost a hangar full of priceless aircraft and artifacts (and the hangar was itself a priceless artifact, a relic of Ford's B-24 production at Willow Grove Airport), a while back, and that still bounced back to tell the story of the Greatest Generation's airwar to the public the way it ought to be told -- with the rumbling of large piston engines overhead.

Now other friends of the YAM have suffered another loss: "Louie," a Golden Retriever. He came up missing in the area of the airport (in southeastern Michigan).

They're searching locally, near the airport (YIP, appropriately enough) and near Louie's Belleville, Michigan, home, but Louie's a typically friendly Golden who is comfortable around cars and planes and he could easily have stowed away on an airport vehicle, or, worse, curled up on a cargo plane to catch forty winks... waking up Lord knows where.

We don't think he's been deliberately taken away by persons of ill intent -- we'd like to think that the sort of low-down polecat that would commit a brazen dognapping doesn't hang around airports.

Louie is about two years old with "platinum blond fur." Louie's family is anxious and is offering a generous reward ($1,000) for his safe return.

You can reach them at (734) 697-9495. You can also report any Louie sightings to us and we'll pass them on.

If you found an unticketed passenger padding around your Navajo or Caravan you probably want to offload him before springtime comes and he sheds his winter coat -- your mechanic will never forgive you.

If you didn't, just mention this story to the folks you meet in your travels. Somebody knows what happened to Louie. Somebody's probably taken care of him and wondering where the heck he came from. So pass the story on -- print it out and put it on your bulletin board.

And, please, please, please, people --

If you take your dogs to the hangar, keep 'em inside, or (even though it's generally bad form to chain a dog) keep 'em tethered. People get hurt by propellers, even though people can understand what a propeller is... how do you explain an invisible hazard to a dog?

We have no FMI link on the dog story; instead, check out the Yankee Air Museum.

But please, leave your dog safe at home!

FMI: www.yankeeairmuseum.org