Although his dogs are all different, Jayson Biggins says they have one thing in common. “All rescues,” Jayson smiles after stopping to pet the trio of pups he was walking. “As a kid, I always had a connection with an animal.” As a kid, Jayson also always dreamed of flying like a superhero. “I could picture Superman saying, ‘Up! Up! And away!’” Jayson smiles. “And then free. He’s gone.” But it wasn’t until he was in university and tried paragliding for the first time that Jayson thought he’d found a way to realize that dream. “You feel like a superhero. It feels magical,” Jayson describes the start of a paragliding flight when you run off a cliff and continuing taking steps in the air with falling. “That just captivated me, and I was hooked for years.” For decades, Jayson taught paragliding around the world. During one of those trips, he and his wife rescued their first animal. “A starving pup came out of the bush,” Jayson says. “And we scooped that pup up and brought her back to health.” Jayson has his wife ended up living with nine rescue dogs, before someone suggested he combine his passion for animals with his passion for flying. “It was an idea of service,” Jayson says. “It seemed to fit.” So, when Jayson retired, he earned his pilot’s licence, bought a family member’s 70-year-old plane, and volunteered to pick up wildlife in far-flung places and transport them to animal rescue centres. Because airplanes can fly in a straight line fast, a rescue that might take a day by land and sea can be accomplished in less than an hour by air “That can be a game-changer for animals that are injured orphaned,” Jayson says. Jayson started getting so many calls to help, he launched a charity called Big To The Rescue and began sharing the stories of his passengers on social media, racking up millions of views. The dozens of animals he’s helped rescue include seal pups, bald eagles, and baby bears. “It’s pretty special that I can help little critters,’ Jayson smiles. “When I’m with an animal in the air, I feel like I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing and it feels great,” Because even better than learn to fly like a superhero, is wielding that power to help like one.
