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Boardman police officer starts dog rescue organization
YOUNGSTOWN
When Paul Poulos returned from his last tour in Iraq in 2008, he struggled to adjust to civilian life.
“It was damaging,” the Boardman police officer and Army veteran said of his time in combat, which included six months of daily fighting in the city of Ramadi.
One thing that helped him make that transition, he says, is the bond he built with a canine friend.
“After he passed, and everything I went through in the military ... I realized I didn’t rescue him – he rescued me,” Poulos said of Gavin, the Doberman he and his wife added to their family of rescue animals shortly after Poulos came home.
Gavin died at age 4.
“That is the point in time – losing Gavin – when it was never again, or all in,” Poulos said. He chose the “all in” option, and today is president of Paw Platoon, a dog-rescue group that incorporated in May.
“We thought it would be cool, out of respect for our veteran brothers, and also as a way to set ourselves apart,” Poulos said of the group’s military theme, complete with the tag line: “Rescue the dog — it takes an army.”
Today, Paw Platoon is a network of a dozen or so individuals and families who foster dogs in need of rescue. It works closely with the Mahoning County Dog Warden’s Office, which operates a dog pound, and Animal Charity Humane Society.
“We bring in, on average, over 1,400 dogs per year. Our facility is big enough to comfortably and safely house 50 dogs,” said Rick Tunison, kennel manager at the county pound.
“So we rely a lot on these rescue [groups] to come in and pull these dogs, and consequently we have fewer dogs that we have to euthanize. ... These rescues are able to relieve a large burden for us,” he said.
Tunison says that for those looking for a pet, the pound or a rescue group is a great place from which to adopt.
“A lot of these dogs – it’s a second chance for them. And most of them know that,” he said. “These types of dogs make the best dogs. ... They’re very loyal.”
In attendance at a recent Paw Platoon event were several such dogs: Rose, a 7-month-old boxer mix who was surrendered by her owner; Spirit, a puppy found chained to the rafters in a Youngstown garage with about 3 feet to move around; Charlotte, who was saved from euthanization and then survived canine parvovirus after weeks of painstaking care from her foster mom, Colleen Smith, of Boardman; and several others, many of which are in need of a permanent home.
“It’s important because someone has to be there for dogs who are abandoned and abused,” said Poulos, who has five rescue dogs of his own at home.
There’s no shortage of those cases, either. “We’re new and we’re small, and I’d say I get between five to 10 calls a day of requests to take dogs. And it hurts to say no,” Poulos said.
It’s nonstop work for people who already have full-time jobs. “Then you see a dog go to a home ... and it makes it all worth it. Because you’ve literally saved a soul,” he said.
For foster and adoption applications, as well as more information about Paw Platoon and its upcoming events, visit the “Paw Platoon - Dog Rescue” Facebook page.