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WALK THE DOGS
Volunteers step up to help pound hounds
This is Be Kind to Animals Week.
YOUNGSTOWN — Paulina McCallum, founder of Canine Crusaders, spends a few hours a week walking dogs at Mahoning County Dog Pound.
Her act of kindness gives pound hounds some time out of their metal cages. The dogs can sniff, roll in the grass, romp with another dog and just be themselves. It’s not a time to worry about leash etiquette. For some who don’t get adopted, it may be their final treat.
The Youngstown woman is not alone in her effort. Other Canine Crusaders and independent volunteers also walk dogs during kennel hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays at the pound, 589 Industrial Road.
This week is Be Kind to Animals Week and a time to think about helping animals.
Dog lovers and volunteers Amanda Zizzo of Austintown and Rich Latshaw of New Castle, Pa., were walking dogs Tuesday afternoon. “It helps socialize them and gets them out of cages,” said Zizzo, who comes twice a week to the pound. Latshaw said getting the dogs with people was important.
McCallum said Mike Fox, county dog warden, has been agreeable to volunteers coming in. “More volunteers are needed,” McCallum said.
How does McCallum face the eyes longing for attention? “It’s depressing, and it hurts me to see them here,” she admitted. “I prayed that God would give me the strength.”
But she puts aside those feelings, and follows the lead of the dogs — living in the moment when they’re outside walking. “If I can give them a treat and make some time more bearable,” that is the rewarding part, she said. “A handful of people are walking the dogs. We could use more volunteers.”
Walking the dogs also is “a way to spread the news about the dogs available and talk to people about adopting them,” she said, noting that people have stopped her as she’s walking to ask about the dog. She’s always eager to tell them the animal is from the pound and available for adoption.
“These aren’t bad dogs,” she said. “They’re highly adoptable. Some are already spayed or neutered; a few are housebroken.”
Most pound dogs are mixed breed; but the pound also gets in purebreds like boxers, fox terriers (one just got adopted) and Labrador retrievers.
“I’ll never forget Otto, a harlequin Great Dane,” she said. Canine Crusaders rescued Otto and sent him to Black Dog Second Chance Rescue, which found him a new home. Black Dog deals with mostly big, black dogs, which often encounter adoption obstacles.
She said that for some dogs, rescue comes too late. Someone sees a pound dog’s photo, but doesn’t act quickly enough and finds out the dog has been euthanized, she said. The pound holds dogs for 72 hours, puppies usually longer. Because of limited space and dogs always coming in, animals can’t be held indefinitely so they are put down.
Canine Crusaders has another effort to help dogs get adopted. Benefactors donate sponsorship money to help cover the adoption fees of animals. The pound deals in cash only — $50 for deworming, first shots and license. The pound has a spay/neuter program to help curtail the number of unwanted animals. At the veterinarian’s office, where the dog has been spayed or neutered and gotten a rabies shot, the adopter pays between $60 and $80.
McCallum said Canine Crusaders has a screening process. “We want the dog to be indoors and have a good home,” she said, and noted the dog should be part of the family. “They’re a pack animal and don’t do well tied up alone and outside.”
McCallum said she and her husband, Neal, always have been dog lovers. They have two dogs, Bumble and Tora, and have fostered animals. “The people at the pound knew my husband as ‘the 4:20 guy’ because that’s the time of day he went to the pound to give treats,” she said. “When he tore his Achilles tendon and was on crutches, he couldn’t go.”
That’s when she stepped up and filled in. “Faith gave me the strength to walk in,” she said. “I knew what I needed to do.
If McCallum and Canine Crusaders had the facilities and resources, just like many other rescue groups, she would save them all. “I cry over the ones I can’t save and am happy about the ones saved.”
McCallum said the pound posts animals for adoption. The Canine Crusaders’ Web site is www.canine-crusaders.petfinder.com and is updated daily. For information and dogs for adoption, call Canine Crusaders at (330) 747-1110. The group needs people to provide foster homes.
linonis@vindy.com