When dogs fly
Sitting in Friday traffic on the way to his family's home at the Jersey Shore, Ed Foley kept looking up at the airplanes towing banners overhead.
"I'd see these banner planes flying around, and I'm like, man, instead of sitting in traffic driving here on a Friday night, I should just fly," Foley said. He took a discovery flight at a local flight school and was hooked.
Foley had been posting about cars and airplanes when a friend suggested he share more of his daily life. He decided to post about once a week. Then a video of his newly delivered Telsa Cybertruck went viral on Instagram, pushing his following from 4,000 to 17,000. Flying with Marshall helped grow his social media accounts even more. One video reached about 16 million views, and after Benny joined the family, Foley said his following grew by roughly another 100,000. His Instagram @edfoleyz now has about 243,000 followers.
That growing audience is also helping Foley spotlight adoptable dogs. Through what he calls "Shelter Skip Days," he works with the Brandywine Valley SPCA to take a dog out of the shelter for a day flying, shopping, and walks in the park–usually ending with a pup cup. He hopes the outings help people connect with the dogs and help them find permanent homes.
Still, he doesn't see himself as an influencer. Outside social media, Foley runs Tellemica, a business telecom company with roughly 30 employees. Most of his social media work happens early in the morning before the rest of his family wakes up. Foley avoids topics like politics, religion, and money on his channels. Instead, he focuses on the things he enjoys most: flying, cars and dogs. "It's just fun, positive stuff," he said.
Foley had wanted to fly with a dog before Marshall came along. He remembered seeing a video of a helicopter pilot fist-bumping a dog in flight. "I remember the video very vividly," he said. The clip inspired him to try flying with his own dog. By the time he started flying, his English bulldog Roxy was already older, and Foley decided an airplane would not be the best environment for her. When Marshall joined the family, he wanted to see how the young golden retriever would handle flying.
For Marshall's first flight, Foley stayed close to the airport. He flew in the traffic pattern so he could land quickly if the puppy became uncomfortable. "I took off, and I did a loop in the pattern," he said. "If there was a problem, I could just land." Instead, Marshall fell asleep. From there, Foley slowly increased the length of both dogs' flights, first venturing farther from the airport and later adding a stop for fuel before returning home. "Now, I mean, we could do an hour and a half flight and it's like a blink of an eye to both of them," he said.
Foley's setup changed as Marshall grew. On the puppy's first flight, he was not wearing the harness Foley uses today. Foley then added and secured a harness in the back of the airplane. This helped keep Marshall away from the controls in the flight deck.
Foley believes starting young helped Marshall get used to flying. "When they're so young, it's like, 'Oh, cool, I'm just going to hang out with Dad,'" he said. He said he would be more careful introducing an older, larger dog to flying, especially one that had never experienced the noise and movement of a small airplane.
Benny arrived about six months after Marshall. After an unexpected litter, the breeder contacted Foley's family about another puppy. Foley was in the middle of getting a tattoo when his wife called, and his teenage son, who had been asking for a dog of his own, helped make the decision. Marshall and Benny are full brothers, but Foley said their personalities are very different. "Marshall is way more chill," he said. "He is kind of lazy, very like, whatever, and Benny is the total opposite. He's all energy, let's go, wants to play all the time."
As his videos reached more pilots, questions about flying with dogs followed. One of the biggest concerns was hearing protection. Foley remembered his own ears ringing during some of his early training flights and wondered how the cockpit noise might affect a dog. Marshall and Benny now wear hearing protection made for dogs, but getting the right fit is important. If it's too loose, it can slide back and no longer seal properly around the ears. As Marshall grew, he moved into a larger size, and Benny took his old set.
Altitude was another concern. Foley said he doesn't take Marshall and Benny above 8,000 feet in a nonpressurized airplane because of his concerns about hypoxia. "I don't ever fly above 8,000 feet with them," he said. He has made videos on the subject because other pilots ask about it often.
Asked which breed is best suited to flying, Foley did not hesitate. "The answer is obviously golden retriever," he joked. He has owned several dog breeds over the years but said a dog's personality is just as important as its breed. A dog needs to stay calm around the noise, movement, and tight space inside an airplane so it doesn't become a distraction in the cockpit.
Foley hopes to take the dogs on more aviation trips in the future. He said he is considering the Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo and has also talked to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh organizers about having Marshall or Benny attend a future event. According to Foley, organizers were exploring whether an exception could be made to the event's animal policy. Foley understands the interest. "No one really wants to see me," he joked. "Everyone wants to see the dog."
