Michael Schneider’s love for animals began long before he ever stepped into a cockpit. At just six years old, he already knew he was meant to help.
“That’s all I ever knew growing up,” he told The Post, remembering how his family often visited the SPCA, a no-kill shelter in Briarcliff Manor, Westchester County. “We’d bring home dogs and cats in need.”
But his compassion stretched far beyond those shelter visits.
“Beyond that, I used to take in animals from the neighborhood. I was the little boy that took in the injured bird with a broken wing and nursed it back to health. I even had a pet sitting business when I was 11 years old.”
Years later, Schneider discovered another passion, flying. A life-changing skydiving trip inspired him to train as a commercial pilot, and it wasn’t long before his two greatest loves, aviation and animals, finally came together…