Opinion: The life and work of Seuk Kim, pilot and animal rescuer

Seuk Kim saved lives.

Mr. Kim was 49 years old, and originally from South Korea. He and his wife, Anna Kang, had three children, and lived in Springfield, Va. He worked in marketing and public relations, and loved flying. He began to volunteer to fly rescue dog missions about four years ago, piloting as many as three flights a week, so he could bring dogs for whom there was no room at a shelter, to places that would take them in.

He was at the controls of a small aircraft last Sunday night when it crashed in the snow of the Catskill Mountains. Several rescued dogs were onboard, who Mr. Kim was flying from Maryland to the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley in Howes Cave, N.Y.

“Over the years, Seuk helped to save the lives of hundreds of animals who would have otherwise been euthanized due to overcrowding at animal shelters,” Maggie Pryor, director of the shelter, told us.

I think Mr. Kim might have been happy to have us know that Whiskey, a 4-month-old Labrador mix puppy, survived the crash. He has two broken legs, but is recovering. And Pluto, an 18-month-old Terrier mix, also survived, and may already have been adopted. A small puppy named Lisa, sadly, did not survive.

I did a story once on animal rescue flights. They can be moving and inspiring, but also messy and loud. Dogs and cats don’t know they’re being rescued. The noise and rumble of the airplane can upset them. There can be a lot of laughing, and a lot of howling, and pilots of those flights have a special dedication.

This summer, Mr. Kim flew a golden retriever who became known as Connie the container dog to safety. She had been heard scratching and barking, after over a week inside a shipping container at the Port of Houston. Connie eventually lost her life to a fungal infection, but she lived to give birth to eight puppies.

And just last month, Mr. Kim flew a dog and her five puppies who were scheduled to be euthanized at an overcrowded shelter in Tennessee to a rescue center in Maryland.

Sydney Galley, who also works rescue flights, told The Associated Press that Seuk Kim, “… never needed recognition. He just wanted to help.”

Anna Kang wrote on Facebook that in the crash of his plane, her husband gained his “angel wings.” The animals Mr. Kim flew through the skies could not use words to ask for help. But he heard about them and brought them to warmth and safety.