ZIONSVILLE, Ind — As a doctor for nearly 50 years, Cary Mariash still spends countless hours every day at hospitals across Indianapolis in the IU Health System.
"It's a very positive experience being able to help people," said Mariash, an endocrinologist.
But his passion for helping others goes well beyond the exam room. It spans much of the country.
"I have this little hobby with airplanes," he chuckled, standing next to his 1964 Beachcraft Bonanaza airplane at the Indianapolis Executive Airport.
And that hobby with airplanes allows him not to help just people in need, but pets as well.
A lot of them.
Mariash is a volunteer pilot for Pilots N Paws, a nonprofit organization that's been transporting animals by air since 2008.
The group rescues animals in danger of being euthanized and matches them with homes across the country using pilots like Dr. Mariash to get them there.
"It's a rewarding experience to be able to do that," said Mariash, who owns two rescue dogs himself.
Over the last 12 years, he estimates he's done 90 rescue flights with up to three or four animals at a time, giving them a new "leash" on life and putting a smile on the faces of everyone involved.
"Not only from the people who are involved in the rescue but even the dogs," he said. "They almost seem to know they're going to be rescued."
After nearly five decades at work, Mariash has been asked if he's closing in on retirement.
"My patients keep asking me that as well," he said with a smile. "The answer is, I don't have any plan yet to retire."
Not in his practice or his plane.
"It keeps me going," he said.
And his four-legged friends are grateful for that.