Luka’s curled tail is wagging like a windshield wiper on high as he bounces around the yard on three legs with his canine pal, Callie. It’s hard to imagine a happier dog. It’s even harder to imagine the circumstances of Luka’s life a mere four months ago.
Luka is one of 70 dogs airlifted to the U.S. from a sanctuary in the war-ravaged West Bank of Israel in March by SPCA International. Luka and seven other dogs were put on a plane at JFK and flown to Lunken Airport. There, they were met by Jennifer Salatin of Paws for Miles, a foster-based dog rescue based in Loveland. Seven were transported to foster homes that day. Luka went home to foster with Jennifer herself.
Luka and most of the others who made the journey are Canaans—a Husky-like breed and national dog of Israel. Stepping up to help Luka and the others was right in line with the reason Jennifer founded Paws for Miles in 2017.
It started with Miles—a three-year-old pit bull whose abuse by previous owners is hard to take in ... the results of which caused Miles to lose the use of his back legs. He ended up at a local SPCA where Jennifer worked at the time. She knew Miles wouldn't survive in the shelter, so she took him home.
Over the next few weeks, Jennifer—with financial help from many generous people—began to address Miles’ medical needs. Sadly, his injuries—along with cancer, which was discovered—were too overwhelming. Miles died a few weeks later.
Jennifer’s fundraising efforts to help him, however, had been very successful. So, to honor his memory and help her transition to starting her own animal rescue service, Jennifer founded Paws for Miles—a fitting tribute in both name and effort.
Today, PFM accepts dogs of all breeds, ages, temperaments and physical abilities. Most come from the tristate area, but Jennifer and her team of five volunteers have also taken dogs in crisis situations from other parts of the country, in addition to PFM’s extraordinary efforts this past March to save dogs caught up in war.
To be clear, PFM is not a shelter. Every rescue is placed in a pre-selected foster home where they are cared for and their medical needs met until the dog can be adopted. To date, PFM has found forever homes for more than a 1,000 dogs.
Despite the mental and emotion rewards of saving so many dogs, the work can be daunting, especially the costs. “When dogs have to have surgery, it can be several thousand dollars to get them healthy enough to adopt,” Jennifer says. “We fundraise, but there’s never enough money.”
So, what keeps her going? “It’s when you get that call from an older person or a mom saying how much the dog has changed their lives.” Dogs just like Luka.
There’s more you can do, too. Consider fostering or adopting a dog; contribute directly to this amazing cause by donating or becoming a sponsor. Or peruse PFM’s online list of upcoming events and their gallery of irresistible doggos ready for adoption—talk about going the extra miles.
PawsForMiles.org | 513.290.8817
“Our biggest needs are foster homes and corporate sponsors.”
“We’re also responsible for creating the rest station for dogs and their walkers on W. Loveland Ave.”