Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Meet Dr. Brian Rambarran, a urologist practicing for Western New York Urology in Cambria. He went viral last week for a video highlighting his most recent trip to South Carolina, where he transported several dogs back to Western New York on his airplane to give to a local canine rescue, saving them from horrific fates at a kill shelter.
And although the national media saw the work Dr. Rambarran just last week, he tells WBEN this type of volunteering is something he's been doing for over a decade now.
"About 12 years ago, I pursued my pilot's license, and after I finished my training, I was just looking for some useful ways to use my license, other than just to fly around. And I came across a website called Pilots and Paws," explained Dr. Rambarran.
"They link pilots to rescues and shelters to get dogs out of typically, high kill shelters and move them to areas where they can go to get fostered, get established and get adopted by a family, to have a second chance in life. I decided to sign up, did my first flight about 12 years ago, I've been doing it ever since."
The doctor says he's completed over 100 trips across the country, with regular trips at least every six weeks.
Most recently, Dr. Rambarran has established a connection with two non-profit dog groups, Noah's Arks Rescue in Asheville, South Carolina, where he picks up the dogs and Nickel City Canine Rescue in Williamsville, New York, where he drops the dogs off for adoption.
"We started our first trip between Nickel City and Noah's Ark, maybe about nine months ago. They established a connection, and then they found me as a pilot and basically, I was willing to go back and forth. So every month or so, they'll set up a trip where, once they amass a number of dogs to go, we will set up a time to do it, usually on a weekend and I'll fly down to Asheville to pick up the dogs. This time it happened to be 11 [dogs], the previous time it was about 20 dogs."
Typically, Dr. Rambarran brings his 10 and 12-year-old daughters along for the plane trips.
"They like to come and help volunteer," said the doctor. "I'm trying to teach them to that even though you can have a busy life, you can always carve out a little bit of time to help others, whether it's animals or people."