Twenty rescued dogs arrive at Morristown Airport
MORRISTOWN – Heading to their new homes in style, 20 dogs from southern states flew to their future in a chartered jet plane. Arriving at Morristown Municipal Airport Sunday afternoon, the canine travelers, a mix of young dogs and puppies, came from high-kill shelters in Georgia and South Carolina, said Rich Errico of Home For Good Dog Rescue (HFG) of Summit.
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Every other week, Errico, of New Providence, treks down south in the HFG van to bring back dogs to foster families and then to permanent homes. Errico admits the 12½-hour ride is long and taxing on both human and dog.
But, a few times a year, some lucky pups make the trip in record time — just 1½ hours — thanks to a local animal lover who owns an airline service. Dirk van der Sterre, owner-manager of FTC-FBO, a private airport terminal at Morristown Municipal Airport, brings the rescued dogs back with him when he travels a southern route.
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"I go down to the Florida area a lot," he said. "I thought, why not? We can do this. We have done 10 transports and brought up 120 dogs in a little under two years. It's my way of giving back."
"It's a great opportunity for us," Errico said. "And so much better for the dogs. The van ride can be stressful for them. On the plane, they hardly know they have traveled anywhere. It's much less stressful. Dirk arranges these every couple of months. He is gracious enough to help us out. "
During the last trip, van der Sterre himself fell in love with one of the puppies — a female black Labrador named Bree. He already had a 1½-year-old black Lab named Jasmine at home.
"That's his absolute favorite," teased his wife Jill van der Sterre. "It's his favorite cheese and kind of dog."
"She was sitting on my wife's lap during the last trip," van der Sterre confessed. "Then I held her. That was it. It was over."
Goin' to the dogs
Kailey, 12, and Marianne Bondarowicz of Scotch Plains were on hand to help with more than 30 volunteers to welcome the dogs and hug them as they were brought off the plane. The Bondarowicz family has been fostering dogs for almost two years.
"The dog we get today will be our 30th dog," said Marianne Bondarowicz. "Our last one was just adopted yesterday. We tend to have one at a time — sometimes we get two puppies from the same litter. It's always a surprise. We never know what we are going to get."
As Bondarowicz comforted Portia, a shepherd mix puppy, daughter Kailey held Pearl, a puppy from the same "P" litter. The dogs that they will foster from this transport will be sure to entertain the Bondarowicz dog, 1½-year-old Wally.
"We usually get a very playful dog. Wally is very playful," said Kailey, a rising seventh-grader at Terrill Middle School. "They know our dog's temperament, so we can be matched with just about any dog. We try to make the dog a part of our family until it's time for him to find his permanent family."
"We take care of the puppy or dog as if it was our own," Bondarowicz said. "We do a little training and teach some commands. We expose the dogs to things like soccer games and socialize them. It depends on the dog. We do whatever we can do to make the dog used to being in a home and more adoptable."
According to Errico, the nonprofit organization is committed to rescuing dogs from high-kill shelters in South Carolina and Georgia.
"There is a lot of overbreeding there," he said. "They have an endless supply of dogs down there, and we have an endless supply of demand up here. It's simple supply and demand — just good economics."
Always an avid dog lover, Errico, along with Toni Lopez of Summit, founded HFG in 2010. They started small with just eight volunteers in a living room. It soon grew, and today, more than 150 volunteer and more than 2,800 dogs have been rescued. They also have a storefront office on Springfield Avenue in Berkeley Heights.
HFG plans to celebrate the soon-to-be-reached milestone of 3,000 rescued dogs with the fourth annual Bark-A-Que event Sept. 6 at the Village Green in Summit. The event celebrates the HFG rescue dogs, fosters and those who have adopted one of their dogs.
The Bark-A-Que is open to the public and will have entertainment, vendors, raffles and contests. In addition, HFG will be holding adoptions and for everyone who adopts a dog, Nutro will give them a free bag of food, said Angela Murray, HFG director, communications and marketing.
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Fostering dogs
Once transported to the Garden State, each dog is bathed, vaccinated, microchipped and spayed/neutered, as needed. Ready to be adopted, the dogs' photographs are also put up on the organization's website.
According to Murray, one thing that makes HFG truly unique is the living arrangements the dogs get once they arrive. The dogs go to foster families with food, medication if needed and any other necessary supplies.
"No dogs will stay in kennels until they are adopted," Murray said. "We are 100 percent foster-based. The dogs will stay with passionate and dedicated fosters until they find their forever home."
Bittersweet but worth every minute
Usually, the dogs are adopted quickly. Sometimes in just a day or two. Most go by the time the next Saturday adoption event is over. Both Kailey and her mom agreed that giving up the pups is always bittersweet, but fulfilling.
"The first few times we were in tears," Bondarowicz said. "All four of us were in tears. But, then we saw the happy faces on the families who were getting the dogs. That made it worth it."
"I know they are going to a good home," Kailey said. "And I'll probably get a new puppy to foster next week. That's the best part — that we get to play with the puppies and that we are helping do something good and making a difference in the world. I know these dogs are getting rescued."
For more information about HFG, visit
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Staff Writer Cheryl Makin: 732-565-7256; cmakin@mycentraljersey.com
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