Our mission is to promote animal welfare through education and by providing care and temporary placement for heartworm positive and emergency medical-needs dogs to give each dog a second chance at a positive outcome.
The Healthy Heart and Paws Project
The Healthy Hearts and Paws Project (HHPP) is a 501(c)(3) organization located in Brookfield, OH, that was formed on April 25th, 2019, to save the lives of heartworm positive and medical-needs dogs, but its roots actually go back nearly one year prior – July 26th, 2018, to be exact.
It was on this date during a Mahoning County commissioner’s meeting, that HHPP founder Jason Cooke and other members of the community voiced their concerns over the euthanasia of heartworm positive dogs at the Mahoning County Dog Warden. Weeks of discussions with the commissioners and dog warden would follow, culminating in a joint effort in which Jason would foster the heartworm positive dogs at the pound and get them through their treatments — using a two-shot protocol and his den with five crates as their “recovery” area.
What We Do
The notion that heartworm positive dogs could recover in essentially a kennel area was met with much criticism, as the accepted norm was that they be kept in a calm, quiet environment in order to have any chance of surviving. But Jason knew that doing nothing would not save their lives, so he had to at least try. And so it was that by late August, 2018, five heartworm positive dogs in crates were set up side by side in a den – with only the cardboard box their crate came in as a divider – to begin the long road of treatment and recovery. Sadly, one of those dogs, Petey, had such advanced heartworm disease that he had to be euthanized. The other four dogs survived, were adopted, and heartworm free six months later.
Over the next six months, heartworm positive dog after heartworm positive dog was pulled from shelters throughout Ohio; all of them going through the same treatment protocol and recovering in crates, kennels and rooms throughout Jason’s home. By March 2019, the volume of dogs was such that a non-profit organization needed to be formed to help offset the enormous medical costs and allow for more dogs to be saved. And on April 25th, 2019, The Healthy Hearts and Paws Project was born.
Not much has changed since that fateful day in July of 2018 — the dogs still go through the same treatment and recover mostly in Jason’s home, and the organization is still 100% volunteer-based. As of March 15th, 2021, a total of 345 heartworm positive dogs from all over the country have gone through the front door at 384 Collar Price Rd., with another 240 expected to be treated by the end of the year.
The Healthy Hearts and Paws Project has come a long way in a very short period of time, and with the continued support of our volunteers, fosters and donors, it will go even farther.
