Love is in the air!
In a final act of kindness, an old dog with epilepsy and a mild heart murmur was chosen to play matchmaker for his mother and fly across the Atlantic on a private flight.
Adri Pendleton, 29, from California, lived in Amsterdam with her Dutch partner of six years and their dogs Nellie and Loki, but when their relationship ended, she was forced to return to the United States. Ta.
But unlike Loki, Nellie, a border collie who had been in Pendleton’s family since she was a teenager, was too big to fly with her on an international flight, so Pendleton was reluctant to put the pup in cargo. There wasn’t.
After thinking about it, Pendleton realized that the only way to bring the 15-year-old dog back to the United States was to find a private charter.
The dog’s mother started gofundme and reached out to her dog Loki has 25,000 followers for help.
“The video went semi-viral,” Pendleton said. people.
Pendleton’s emotional pitch resonated with German pilot Niklas Stoetelau, 26.
“I was so touched that I left a comment saying maybe I could help bring Nellie back to the United States,” Stoetelau told the magazine.
Mr. Stotelau was living in Hamburg at the time and knew that his job would allow him to take Nellie to New Jersey as a guest at a discounted price.
Pendleton was initially nervous, unsure if the kind stranger was really trying to help her or take advantage of her situation.
However, Pendleton and Stotelau messaged each other for almost two months to make travel plans and finally met at the Milan airport around 1 a.m.
Over the next 15 hours, including one layover, pilots and passengers got to know each other better.
“It was about her. She could talk about the most rambling things and felt very comfortable,” Stoetelau said.
It turns out that Nellie is also a fan of the aviator.
“You’d think she’d be a little shy or not really fond of strangers, but we got along really well the whole flight,” he told People.
After breaking up in January in Newark, New Jersey, Pendleton and Stotelau couldn’t stop thinking about each other.
“A few days after the flight, I said, ‘You’re so impressive.’ If you stick around, I’ll invite you to California and take me on a date,” Pendleton said.
Stotelau said she’s glad she took action.
“So it was clear that we were interested in each other.”
By March, Stoetelau had met Pendleton’s family, and the two have been spending time together ever since, despite the distance.
Sadly, Nellie passed away just over a month after arriving in California, so we never got to see the love between Stotelau and Pendleton grow.
Pendleton called him “the ultimate wingman.”
