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Flying dog moves on to new life after copter crash
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Craig Smith and Molly SUBMITTED PHOTOI
In a small padded carrier at the Scottsdale airpark hangar last week, a white terrier named Molly sat patiently.
She was used to her owner, helicopter pilot Craig Smith, scooping her up and taking her along when he flew. But the urgency of a high speed police chase caused him to leave Molly behind.
It would be the last time the dog would ever see her owner.
“Craig and Molly were inseparable,” said Smith’s brother, Brian Smith. “He brought her everywhere. I know she was a regular part of the morning show, but when they’d do breaking stories, he didn’t always have the time to get her collar and get her set up.”
While covering the chase, Smith’s helicopter collided with another news chopper. Smith and the other three journalists aboard the two helicopters were killed.
Now Molly, who became a television personality flying on Smith’s lap during the morning news, will go on to live with Craig’s mother in South Lyon Detroit, where she’ll be well taken care of and get to play in the winter snow.
She’ll even get the chance to fly once again.
“I worked with Craig in Detroit and he used to take Molly in that helicopter,” said Brian Smith, who is a camera operator for a news station in Michigan. “When I go back, I thought that would be kind of cool to take her flying again.”
Last Friday’s collision left the Valley in mourning for the four journalists and thousands showed up at the stations and crash site to express their grief.
Many were also asking what would happen to Molly.
Calls poured into the ABC15 newsroom with questions about what would happen to the dog, says Jim Hart, ABC15’s promotion manager.
Shelli Tepe, a Queen Creek resident, was one of thousands who saw the tragedy on television and worried about what would happen to the dog.
“I’m a dog lover and I felt for her,” she said. “I just thought how heart breaking that would be for an animal to lose its owner.”
Molly has had difficulty adjusting, Brian Smith said.
“Initially, when we first got her, she was really, really having a hard time,” he said. “She threw up a bunch of times and was mopey. You could tell she wasn’t herself.”
At the funeral Molly sat quietly on his mom’s lap, until a video was played that showed Craig.
“During the service she has her head down and was sleeping a little bit,” he said. “As soon as they played Craig’s audio from the helicopter, Molly’s ear shot up and she jumped up. She could hear Craig’s voice and she knew.”
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