After landing at Livermore Airport in a Cessna owned by Ken Wayne, a rescued Golden Retriever named Gemma is one step closer to her new home in Sonoma County, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. For more than 30 years, Ken Wayne was a familiar face of Bay Area television news. While the longtime anchorman — who retired this spring — is off the air now, he plans to spend a good chunk of his free time up in the air — saving abused and abandoned animals one small planeload at a time.
Ken Wayne loads Gemma aboard his animal rescue transport Flying Tails at Santa Monica Airport and a trip to her new home in Sonoma County, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. On a clear, warm day last week, Wayne and co-pilot Lou Rivas flew from the Livermore Airport to the Santa Monica Airport to pick up an injured chihuahua that had been rescued in Harbin, China, by an American-led group, Slaughterhouse Survivors.
“He’s really wonderful because it’s really hard to get flights for these animals and often there are no other options. He truly is saving lives,’’ Gunn said of Wayne.