Healthy Hearts and Paws Project founder Jason Cooke, left, accepts a donation from Cars II owner Ron Germadnik. Also shown are Cars II employees Rose Harris, Diamond Carpec and Norm Stahl.
On the surface, a car dealership and an animal rescue agency don’t seem to have a lot in common. But Cars II and Healthy Hearts and Paws Project have developed a close relationship over the years.
“He helped me with my dog a couple times,” Cars II owner Ron Germadnik said of Healthy Hearts founder Jason Cooke.
Cars II is based in Brookfield and, until a year ago, so was Healthy Hearts.
“They’ve always been kind to us if we needed a jump or had a donated vehicle that we needed to sell to raise funds,” Cooke said.
Healthy Hearts has moved to Warren but many of Cooke’s Brookfield friends haven’t forgotten him. Cars II recently donated $1,000 to Healthy Hearts.
“They need an extra shot,” Germadnik said of the donation. “They got so many dogs they don’t know what to do.”
Healthy Hearts needs more than an extra shot, but Cooke said he appreciates the support he gets.
Healthy Hearts used to be based in Cooke’s home on Collar Price Road.
“We had the opportunity to build a new shelter from the ground up instead of running it out of my house all those years,” he said of the move to Warren. “There certainly was a need for it. We’re already expanding and it’s only been a year.”
The expansion can’t finish soon enough. In a May 7 Facebook post, Cooke said the shelter was “absolutely full” and “completely overwhelmed with stray, unwanted, neglected and abandoned dogs.”
Once in Warren, Cooke became the animal control officer for the city of Warren, expanding the agency’s mission from rescuing dogs, particularly those with heartworm.
“We’re really making a difference in the city and throughout Trumbull County,” Cooke said.
Keep up with Healthy Hearts on Cooke’s Facebook page.
