John Travolta Shares Photo Of Himself And Family Dog Peanut Inside Plane

We’ve seen beagles become flying aces in their red dog houses, but it’s not often we see a flying puppy in the cockpit of a plane! John Travolta and his family welcomed the adorable canine companion, Peanut, in recent years, and he’s been having as much fun with the dog as his young son Benjamin, even taking Peanut into the air with him in Travolta’s own plane.

Peanut, originally named Mac n Cheese, started as a rescue pup, abandoned with her siblings in a box outside an animal shelter. Her story gained national spotlight during the 94th Academy Awards in 2022 when she found her forever home with Travolta and his kids, Ben and Ella. Now, she’s soaring to new heights like never before!

John Travolta shares a snap of him and puppy Peanut in the cockpit of his plane

On Thursday, Travolta took to Instagram to share a photo of himself in the cockpit of his plane with Peanut sitting happily on his lap.

He captioned the image, shared to his Stories, “Peanut searched the plane and found me in the cockpit and seemed very pleased to be there.”

When not adopting rescue animals, Travolta loves collecting various planes and jets. He has a Boeing 727, Bombardier Challenger 601, Dassault Falcon 900, Eclipse 500, and three Gulfstream jets, according to Simply Flying. He was 16 when he took his first flying lesson and bought his very first plane at the age of 20. Now, Peanut is privy to that collection too.

Flying into their hearts

It started on March 27. As a tribute to the late Betty White, as famous for her animal advocacy as she was for her acting career, Jamie Lee Curtis brought tiny Peanut onto the stage to promote animal rescue and adoption.

“They were dumped in a box outside the Avenal Shelter,” Chad Atkins, co-founder and executive director of animal rescue Paw Works, shared with PEOPLE. Travolta was touched by Peanut’s story and his kids were enchanted by the dog who had come so far in so short a time already. Not long after seeing Peanut on that stage in Curtis’s arms, Travolta ended up adopting her.

Travolta refers to Peanut as “Ben’s dog,” but it’s clear Peanut’s won over Travolta just as much as the kids. He shares photos of the tiny pooch cuddling him or helping herself to some of his food, to his immense delight and amusement.