Success Story - NYPD Sparks Heroic Team Effort to Save Hero - by Joe Pastore, Mayor's Alliance Volunteer - November 2004 - Out of the Cage!, the E-Newsletter of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals

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Success Story

NYPD Sparks Heroic Team Effort to Save Hero

by Joe Pastore, Mayor's Alliance Volunteer

Following his rescue from a Brooklyn street, Hero patiently awaits transport upstate on the next leg of his journey toward a new home.

A beautiful and spirited male Mastiff/Pit/Boxer mix was rescued and brought to AC&C's Brooklyn shelter by NYPD Transit Officers Paul Cella and Martin Langbein on September 21, touching off a mobilized organizational effort to save him. He was given the name "Hero" after these exemplary NYPD Officers, who truly are his heroes.

The story began when Officers Cella and Langbein observed several people chasing a large brown dog down a high-traffic street in Brooklyn. Whether or not the dog's pursuers were attempting to run him off or capture him wasn't clear. Officer Cella caught up with the dog and scooped him up into his arms. Hero immediately began to lick his rescuer's face. After determining that Hero was indeed a stray, the officers loaded him into their police car and headed for AC&C's Brooklyn shelter. Throughout the drive, Hero continued to playfully lick Officer Cella's face and hands.

Hero's friendliness and enthusiastic spirit so touched Officers Cella and Langbein that they began contacting potential rescue groups even before they arrived at the shelter. The Brooklyn shelter's intake staff, medical personnel, and adoption counselors, under the capable direction of Shelter Manager Joyce Clemmons and Assistant Manager Ruth Allen, began the evaluation process and confirmed everything reported by Officers Cella and Langbein as accurate.

Hero smooches Pit Bull rescuer Adrienne Caldwell while Alliance transporter Joe Pastore looks on.

Concurrently, word reached Pit Bull rescuer Adrienne Caldwell of Kew Gardens, Queens, who spoke with the shelter staff. Together they began contacting rescue groups to see if anyone could help with seeking potential adopters for Hero. The highly respected Pit Bull rescue group, Out of the Pits, in upstate New York, agreed to take Hero, sight unseen, highly confident in the professionalism of NYC Police Officers and the staff at NYC Animal Care & Control.

The Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals then stepped forward to fund the expense of transporting Hero to the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society in Menands, NY, for their continued evaluations and transfer to Out of the Pits rescue. They, too, were very pleased with their confirmed evaluations of this beautiful dog, and he has been placed within their adoption process, with very optimistic possibilities already appearing.

The cooperative efforts of NYC animal handling professionals, volunteer rescuers, and rescue organizations, working hand-in-hand with the incomparable NYPD in the saving of this precious life, is an example and a reflection of the new level of hope and promise being brought to NYC's animals by a unified humane community functioning seamlessly to protect these innocent lives. Hero's story is a shining example of the very essence of the name, Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals.

If you or someone you know is interested in adopting Hero, you can visit him on the Out of the Pits web site.

To meet some of the other amazing NYC cats and dogs awaiting new homes, find an Alliance Participating Organization (APO) near you.