43
Canine Crusaders walk the dogs
By DENISE DICK
denise_dick@vindy.com
Youngstown
Members of a non-profit organization ensure inmates at the Mahoning County Dog Pound get out of their cages for some fresh air.
Photo
Cathy Blessing of Austintown, left, and Cindy Nasser of Boardman, volunteers with Canine Crusaders, walk dogs at the Mahoning County Dog Pound. Canine Crusaders doesn’t have its own facility to house dogs although it would like to one day, if it can raise the funds.
Photo
Gloria Joy Polisso of Boardman is a volunteer with Canine Crusaders, and she’s holding one of the pups at the Mahoning County Dog Pound. These volunteers visit the pound during kennel hours to walk the dogs, and work with other rescue groups to try to save the dogs there.
Volunteers with Canine Crusaders, based in the city, visit the pound during kennel hours, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and sometimes on weekends, to walk the dogs.
“We work with other rescue groups to try to save the dogs at the pound,” said Paulina McCallum, the group’s founder.
They try to coordinate with rescue groups that then find homes for the dogs as well as with families looking for a pet.
Canine Crusaders doesn’t have its own facility to house dogs, although it would like to one day if it can raise the funds.
Because the pound has limited space, dogs that aren’t adopted after 72 hours must be euthanized.
The volunteer visits to the pound started when McCallum and her husband lost their dog. Her husband, Neal, visited the pound daily, looking for their lost pet. The couple never found the dog, despite extensive efforts that continued for three years, but Neal started walking the pound dogs and bringing them treats.
When her husband tore his Achilles tendon and couldn’t visit, McCallum stepped in.
And Canine Crusaders was formed.
The group is always looking for more volunteers to help as well as people to foster dogs.
Anyone who is at least 18 can volunteer to walk the dogs. The pound asks for identification to verify age.
They rely on donations for funding.
A cavatelli/spaghetti dinner and Chinese auction is set for 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Croatian Club, 3200 Vestal Road. Dinner will be served from 5 to 7:30 p.m. with prize drawings beginning at 8 p.m.
Dine-in and carryout are available and there will be karaoke, prizes, a 50-50 raffle and a bake sale.
They are asking for a $7 donation, and tickets are available at the door or by calling (330) 398-9468 or e-mailing CrusaderEvent@aol.com. Even people who don’t want to eat still can attend and participate in the auction and other activities, McCallum said.
Besides monetary donations, the organization needs things such as dog treats, canned dog food, paper towels, collars, leashes and old blankets and sweat shirts for the animals. Those may be dropped off at the pound, Industrial Road, during business hours.
The Canine Crusaders’ Web site is www.canine-crusaders.petfinder.com.
Though many people have a negative association with dogs at the pound, McCallum, who has three dogs at home, sees a lot of potentially good pets. One of her own dogs was a pound pup.
“There are absolutely wonderful dogs here,” she said. “It’s bad owners mostly and pet overpopulation.”
That’s why it’s so important to have pets spayed or neutered, she said.