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Dogs surviving tragedies get homes from Healthy Hearts, Paws Project
By William K. ALCORN
YOUNGSTOWN
The death of Christine Beheler, a mother of four who drowned saving the lives of two young children swimming in Mosquito Lake on July 29, left her family bereft and the family’s dog, Max, without a home.
Then, on Aug. 14, a dog was discovered in a donation bag at The Salvation Army in Warren by Carlton Gillis, who said he saw the bag moving and found a flea-infested dog inside. He posted the event on Facebook.
Enter Jason Cooke and his nonprofit organization, the Healthy Hearts and Paws Project. Cooke stepped in and found homes for both dogs.
“Since Carlton found the dog, I asked him to name her,” said Cooke.
And the dog rescued from the garbage bag became “Daisy.”
Cooke met with Christine’s father and friends July 31 and promised he would help find Max a forever home.
“I had Max fully vetted, and on Aug. 10, a family from New Castle, Pa. – Jennifer and Dennis Shields, and their dogs – decided to foster-to-adopt Max,” he said.
Sunday, Max’s adoption was finalized.
The story of Daisy’s rescue exploded across the media and The Healthy Hearts and Paws Project was inundated with requests to adopt her.
But one request, from a couple in Austintown who recently lost their dog to illness, stood out, said Cooke.
“On Aug. 15, the couple, who wish to remain anonymous, met Daisy and immediately fell in love and decided to foster-to-adopt,” Cooke said. He expects the adoption to be completed soon.
Cooke said one of the reasons he selected the Shields family for Max is that Jennifer’s father, Fred Timm, who lives next door to the Shields, had adopted a dog, “Duke” from his organization in November 2018.
“I felt comfortable they would give Max a good home,” Cooke said.
“Max took to the other dogs instantly. I’m happy everything worked out for him and thankful to the family who adopted Max. I wish them well and nothing but the best,” Cooke said.
“Jack” is another of the Shields’ dogs, but is 14 and his health is failing. Their other dog is “Diesel” – about 6, and they were looking for a playmate for him of about the same age.
Also, when they saw Max’s picture on Facebook, he looked a lot like Jennifer’s father’s dog.
“I just got this feeling, we should get this dog,” Jennifer said.
“Max growled and barked at us taking him home, but he instantly bonded with the other dogs. We got him two weeks ago. He’s been really happy. It took him a week before he would sit on the couch or lay in the bed with us,” she said.
“Sunday was Max’s official adoption day, so on the way home we stopped at McDonald’s and everybody, including Max, had a cheeseburger,’’ she said.
Cooke said he’s glad things are working out for the dogs.
“A lot of people expressed interest in them, but it shouldn’t take a tragedy to get people interested in fostering or adopting an animal. There are thousands of dogs in Northeast Ohio that need fostering or adoption,” he said.