Ellsworth organization helps abused and abandoned dogs

Ellsworth organization helps abused and abandoned dogs

ELLSWORTH — Like many people, Carla Johnson adopted a dog because of the compatibility, affection and companionship most provide.

But unlike many folks, she drove a considerable distance to take home a pet she knew she wanted before meeting it.

“It was all in his picture. I saw the picture and said, ‘That’s my boy,’” noted Johnson, who drove in July 2006 from her home in Leesburg, Va., to the North Jackson home of the foster family taking care of the chocolate Labrador retriever she named Bruno.

Johnson’s and Bruno’s paths likely would never have crossed had it not been for www.petfinder.com, one of the oldest and largest databases of adoptable animals on the Internet. More than 200,000 homeless pets are listed, and more than 11,000 adoption groups and animal welfare leagues in the U.S., Canada and other countries post their pets on the Web site.

One such group, which also took care of Bruno before his adoption, is Northeast Ohio Labrador Retriever Rescue, run from the Ellsworth home of Carla and Dominic Carella.

For the complete story, see Sunday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.