Healthy Hearts and Paws Project in Warren looks to bring on humane agent
The Healthy Hearts and Paws Project, located at 909 Martin Luther King Boulevard SW in Warren, hosted an open house on Saturday, showcasing the shelter and providing people interested in becoming a volunteer humane agent time to speak to someone familiar with the process.
Jason Cooke, the owner of Healthy Hearts and Paws Project and Humane Agent for Trumbull County, spoke to 21 News on the search for another volunteer humane agent for the shelter.
"I put just a small post out asking, you know, 'Does anybody want to become a volunteer humane agent like me?'," said Cooke.
He says that the response to that post was "overwhelming" and that today's event brought about 30 interested individuals.
The process to become a humane agent, Cooke says, involves an interview, a background check and an application process. For those who pass that portion, on-the-job training will start.
If the humane agent in training passes that process, after 80 hours, they can take their Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) training with the State of Ohio.
Cooke says he is looking for motivated individuals who care about animals.
"It's not for everyone, number one. Obviously, you have to have a passion for animals, but you have to have good people skills, and you have to be able to compartmentalize and be able to not take home what you see during the day because it can be pretty upsetting," said Cooke.
For anyone still interested in potentially becoming a humane agent, Cooke says that although they won't be doing another open house, folks can message the Healthy Hearts and Paws Project.
