ByYi-Jin Yu

October 16, 2024

A pilot who flew more than 100 shelter animals out of areas impacted by Hurricanes Milton and Helene has adopted a kitten, making it the first adoption out of the group.

Southwest Airlines Captain Matt Prebish piloted the emergency flight on Oct. 12 and airlifted 145 cats and dogs from animal shelters in Tennessee and Florida. They were flown from Myrtle Beach, Florida to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and are now up for adoption in eight shelters.

Prebish told "Good Morning America" when he heard about the volunteer opportunity, he jumped to help.

"We had probably 60 people supporting in one way or another to help make this flight happen. And it went really well," Prebish said.

Southwest Airlines teamed up with Greater Good Charities and Lucky Dog Animal Rescue for the special journey.

"We do everything we can to make sure that it's a safe flight, it's a comfortable flight, and it operates on time. So that was really the focus," Prebish said of the flight's mission.

After the flight, Prebish said he noticed one particular feline who caught his eye.

"Once we landed in Milwaukee, [I] started to notice the animals a little bit more," the longtime Southwest pilot recalled. "One of them caught my attention and and then [I] ended up taking a cat home."

Avery, who Prebish estimates is about 4 months old, now joins the captain's family at home in Texas, which also includes another cat – Smalls – and two dogs – a Labrador retriever named Tahoe and Wrigley, a golden retriever.

"Avery, she's inquisitive," Prebish said of his first impression of the kitten. "I opened the crate up a little bit to kind of let her see if she would really come out. And immediately, her head popped out and she was just looking around and she's just had this personality that she wants to explore the world and just see everything that the world has to offer."

Prebish said he hopes Avery's adoption story will inspire others to help those impacted by Hurricanes Milton and Helene, which devastated parts of at least six states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

"Southwest takes care of people and animals at the end of the day. There's been a lot of people and animals that are going through some difficult times. And anything that any of us can do to help, whether it be a donation or a donation of time or a donation of skills or adopting an animal, any little bit helps, and we all should do what we can to just contribute in whatever way we can," Prebish said.