World first on Sky 1: Dog attempts to fly plane in final episode Dogs Might Fly

This Sunday 3rd April at 7pm Sky 1 will screen a world first as the final three dogs attempt to fly a plane at 3,000 ft

Dogs Might Fly, the Sky 1 series that has everybody talking, reaches its climax on Sunday, as three rescue dogs, Shadow, Reggie and Alfie finish flight school and attempt to take sole charge of a plane and tackle a figure of eight manoeuvre at 3,000ft.

Shadow, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier-Collie cross, who features in the clip released today, was scouted from 120,000 unwanted and abandoned dogs rescued annually by centres around the UK and had been 22 hours away from being put down by a pound, before he was picked up by the rescue centre where he later caught the eye of producers and was thrown into the spotlight alongside 12 other canine hopefuls. 

Animal expert Charlotte Wilde, who joined Shadow in the plane during his attempt said: “We set out to show that dogs have extraordinary abilities and flight was the ultimate test. Each year 5,000 dogs just like Shadow are put down, but through this show we wanted to demonstrate just what remarkable and intelligent animals they are.”  

Following ten weeks’ intensive training under the direction of Driving Dogs trainer Mark Vette, the original 12 dogs were whittled down to three top dogs, Reggie an 18-month-old German Shepherd-Labrador cross, Alfie a Collie-Lurcher cross, and underdog Shadow, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier-Collie cross, all of who went through intensive flight training.  

Dogs Might Fly enlisted a team of experts and scientists – ranging from a clinical animal behavourist who acts as an expert witness in dog-related court cases to the animal trainers involved in films such as Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. 

The assembled team set out to explore the distinct personalities and incredible levels of intelligence dogs possess, studying communication, empathy, memory and reasoning to ask the ultimate question – could a dog fly a plane?

To watch Shadow, Reggie and Alfie take to the cockpit in the final episode of Sky 1’s Dogs Might Fly tune in on Sunday 3rd April at 7pm.

The Clip is available on YouTube here

If you wish to embed the clip please find the code here <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M8gzhkSShf4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

•All of the dogs featured in Dogs Might Fly were successfully rehomed

•According to a survey by charity Dogs Trust, around 120,000 dogs end up in UK rescue centres each year. Another 5,000 are put down by local authorities 

•Dogs Might Fly is produced by award-winning natural history specialist Oxford Scientific Films and GroupM Entertainment

For further information, please refer to Dogs Might Fly media pack 

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Clip and images available under embargo – 00:01am on Thursday 31st March 2016

Will Wood, will.wood@multitudemedia.co.uk,  +44 (0) 207 2994241

Amy Melson, amy.melson@multitudemedia.co.uk, +44 (0) 207 2994241

Emily Brazee, emily.brazee@multitudemedia.co.uk, +44 (0) 207 2994241