By now, almost every person who has a TikTok account has been introduced to Cassandra Bergeron, also known by her handle, @Cassventures. Even if you’re still one of those people who refuse to join the social media platform that has taken the world by storm, you’ve probably seen a clip of Cass on your local or national news. Needless to say, she’s become known as the girl who sat in the back of a rescue plane with over 20 pups on her lap.
Since releasing this video on TikTok, Cass has over 13.7 million views and over 3 million likes on her rescue flight. What originally began as a short adventure rescuing 24 pups from Alabama and bringing them to Florida, turned into one of the most talked about flight animal rescue missions in history.
“I posted it for my friends on my personal TikTok which had about 20 followers and within three days, the video started blowing up,” said Cass. “I had no idea so many people would find it as exciting as I did.”
Cass’ excitement towards animals began from the very beginning, with the feeling of always wanting to be around animals. According to Cass, she’s never really been a people person, but rather has always gravitated towards dogs to help her break out of her shell.
“I can’t even control my emotions when I’m around dogs. I love the energy that dogs bring out of me which I realized at an early age.”
Because of Cass’ love for dogs, she’s always felt the urge to help them. Even with every job she’s had growing up, she found a way for the company she worked for to help dogs. A prime example of this was when she worked at a car dealership, she convinced the owner to turn the showroom into an adoption center.
With this entrepreneurial spirit and passion for saving animals, Cass started her own mini foster care business, pulling dogs off the streets, getting them vetted, taking care of them, and finding the sweet pups a home. She did all of this on top of her regular nine to five job.
“If I couldn’t host an adoption, I would do a toy drive during the holidays for the companies that I worked for. I always organized some sort of effort to help the dogs.”
Besides her love for dogs, Cass also has a strong passion for aviation. When her pilot friend Daniela Sorgente asked if she would like to help with a flight rescue transport, she didn’t hesitate to jump on board and help.
“That moment was a realization where I figured I could combine my two loves for aviation and dogs, and use that to help more dogs than ever before, especially with this huge following I’m getting.”
Since Cass took her first rescue flight and became viral overnight, she has received thousands of inquiries about adoption. Her goal is to connect the shelters and rescues she works with and the thousands of people wanting to help all over the country.
As for the puppies and one large pup that were on the rescue flight from Alabama to Florida, they’ve all been rescued and adopted into their forever loving homes, with one of them becoming a police dog in training.
“He was the biggest dog we had, about six months old. We originally weren’t going to bring him on the flight, but at the last minute, the sheriff’s office in Orlando rescued him. He jumped on the flight to get over there and start training.”
The 45 minutes from Alabama to Florida was a whirlwind of an adventure with those 27 dogs, but it awoke Cass’ eyes to the endless possibilities of rescue. She’s now more determined than ever to finish her pilot training so she can rescue pups all over the country.
“I don’t know why I hadn’t considered this earlier, I didn’t even know puppy transports by plane were a thing. I’ve been doing a lot of research and there’s a big need for it. I would love to open up my own rescue and do this for a living. I feel like this is my life mission.”
With her first flight in the books, Cass looks to continue her two passions of animals and aviation by joining more frequent rescue flights and eventually making her dreams of becoming a rescue pilot a reality. To see more of Cass’ wild rescue adventures, follow her on TikTok @Cassventures.
Learn about other amazing rescuers:
Medical Costs Forcing Owner Surrender
