Dozens of special, furry friends arrived by flight in New Jersey Thursday aboard the Wings of Rescue.

Ric Browde is the president of Wings of Rescue, a nonprofit group dedicated to getting animals out of dangerous situations and into forever homes.

“I did 154 flights last year,” Browde says. “The pilots and I just end up playing with a few puppies in the air and having fun. It’s just kind of a love-fest.

The 84 dogs came from animal shelters in Mississippi and Arkansas, where overcrowding became a major issue after flooding. The dogs are being taken in by St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in New Jersey.

“They live in areas far more rural than here and they don't have great access to affordable spay and neuter, so they end up in a situation where the shelters are filled with many more animals than there are homes available for them,” says Nora Park with St. Hubert’s

The 84 canines will be evaluated and taken care of. Some will stay at St. Hubert’s and others will be sent to animal shelters as close to New Jersey as Delaware and as far away as Toronto.

“They're going to be on somebody's couch within the week,” says Browde. “That's just so gratifying because these pets had no chance back in the south."

Wings of Rescue has helped fly more than 31,000 pets in the past four years. This was their first flight in 2019.