Rescue gives veterans, police free pets as thanks
PFA, which stands for Pets For Appreciation, provides a welcome boost for military veterans, activeduty soldiers and police officers: They experience the joy of receiving and gain the companionship of a free rescue dog or puppy.
“Pets for Appreciation is our way of giving back to our servicemen and women and police officers,” said Lisa Duffy, who started the Cross Your Paws Rescue three years ago from her home in North Huntingdon. “Thank you for your service! We greatly appreciate you.”
Two veterans and a Pennsylvania state trooper have adopted free pets through the new program so far.
“We originally called it Pets for Vets, but an out-of-state rescue told us they had trademarked the name. That’s OK,” Duffy said.
“When we changed the name, we added eligibility for police officers.”
Cross Your Paws fosters and finds homes for about 500 dogs and puppies each year. Many of them come from Kentucky, where free or low-cost spay and neuter programs are not available.
While the coronavirus pandemic has made fundraising difficult for nonprofits, Cross Your Paws has received steady support from its “regulars,” Duffy said. More than $4,000 was raised by Jim and Christine Action, who decorate their home and yard for Christmas each year. The donations they collected included $1,000 from Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest
of the ABC show “Live With Kelly and Ryan,” and $2,000 from Mark Podrosky, general manager of Rohrich Toyota in Dormont.
The 501(c)3 is now getting ready to kick off a new program, Altered Animal, and Cross Your Paws has set aside $20,000 for spay and
neuter surgeries for pet owners who can’t afford them.
While many people have adopted pets during the pandemic, Cross Your Paws has not run out of adoptable pets. The latest batch of Kentucky dogs arrived earlier this week. Volunteers who had agreed, sight unseen, to take them into their own homes were waiting for the 20 dogs and seven puppies removed from a hoarding situation.
“The dogs and puppies were really stinky,” Duffy said.
Two seemed very scared, but most of the dogs and puppies reacted to the kindness of strangers with wagging tails and kisses. About half of the volunteers plan to adopt the dogs, and the others are fosters.
Michael Duffy, Lisa’s husband, usually drives the donated van to Kentucky two or three times per month. This time the long round trip was made by volunteer Mark Britton, of Latrobe.
“He loves to travel and loves to save lives,” Mrs. Duffy said.
A video on the Cross Your Paws Facebook page shows the arrival of the dogs and puppies. Britton noted that this transport was complicated by high rivers and creeks that left debris on the roads, but floodwaters had receded when he was driving.
Go to the Facebook page, crossyourpaws.com or call 724-515-2071 for more information or to make a donation, put in an adoption application, or apply for the PFA or AA programs.