Reggie the rescue dog is taught how to fly a plane

THOSE of you looking forward to flying off on holiday this summer will be grateful that a dog won’t be in the pilot’s seat.

But before you dismiss the idea, it’s not as ridiculous as it sounds, as animal behaviourist Mark Vette showed during a demonstration to children at St Mary’s School in Henley last week.

The New Zealander was accompanied by Reggie, a two-year-old rescue dog who features in a new TV series called Dogs Might Fly.

The programme explores dogs’ extraordinary abilities, showing that they have distinct personalities and high levels of intelligence.

Mark joins a team of experts and scientists to explore communication, empathy, memory and reasoning with the dogs.



The 60-year-old from Auckland has been in Britain on and off since June, when filming for the series began.

Reggie, a Labrador-German shepherd cross, was one of the 12 dogs chosen for the show and came from a rescue centre near Manchester. Mark spent just 10 weeks training the dogs before they were introduced to the flight school at White Waltham airfield, near  Maidenhead.

He said: “They came from tough times some of them so it was a rehab job initially.

“Reggie was a stray and had a few issues and they were a bit concerned about getting him placed.

“Once we took him, his future was pretty much assured. I loved him as soon as I first saw him — he’s a lovely dog.”

Mark, who has 40 years’ experience working with animals, said the idea for the show came from a series in 2012 when he taught a dog to drive a car.

He said: “We built a rig and taught them to drive, so we’re doing the same thing but it’s more sophisticated.

“We’re using tones and lights. What you’re doing is having to demonstrate and reinforce appropriate actions and then it’s linked together.

“People are pretty blown away that we’re even talking about it. I think the most amused or confused were the Civil Aviation Authority when we said ‘do you mind if we get a licence for a dog to fly a plane?’ They laughed us out of the office!”

Mark believes Reggie is capable of flying a plane but viewers will have to wait to find out if he succeeds.

He adds: “Welfare is at the core of what we do. We’re trying to say that rescue dogs are smart dogs, so get one from a rescue organisation rather than a puppy farm.”

Mark has been staying with Rick and Nicola Scannell in Northend after the couple advertised the flat above their garage for rent and were contacted by the production company.

The couple’s children Oscar, seven, and Isobel, five, are pupils at St Mary’s, so they arranged for Mark to visit the school.

It’s unlikley that the family’s dog Narla could learn to fly like Reggie. As regular Henley Standard readers may remember, in January the 77lb Bernese mountain dog got stuck in a cat flap!

• Dogs Might Fly is being broadcast on Sky 1 on Sunday evenings until April 3.