‘The Flying Corgis’ bring smiles wherever they go

People love their pets, but a Cape Coral man is taking that love to new heights.

Known as “The Flying Corgis,” these pups have a pretty “pawsome” pastime.

“It’s real neat. When you fly with the dogs, you put mutt muffs on ’em to protect their ears,” said Robert Willaford, a retired Cape Coral firefighter.

“It’s kind of my hobby, it’s what I do, and my dogs better do what I do or they’re gonna be left behind and they don’t want that.”

Willaford and his three-corgi posse go just about everywhere together, and now, Jake, Darla and Judy are becoming quite the celebrities in the Cape.

“People stop me all the time. I take ’em to Lowe’s, Home Depot…”

And like every dog, they each have their own personality.

“Jake doesn’t care about anything, Darla gets jealous of everything and Judy thinks she’s bigger than all of ’em.”

This isn’t the corgis’ first rise to stardom. Willaford demonstrated the trust of his furry aviation crew in a video that went viral last September.

“They’re corgis. They don’t have any idea they have 4-inch legs… they think they’re big dogs.”

Willaford feels like many others do about their pets.

“They’re just my friends, you know. They’re family.”

And they’re making others smile while soaring high above Southwest Florida.

Willaford introduced his dogs to flying years ago, taking regular trips to the Keys.

“The Flying Corgis” have traveled as far as the Bahamas and South Carolina by plane.