b"In the beginning, Polk County Bully Project partnered with others wouldnt consider doing on a shelter dog, much lessSPCAFlorida, whowantedthemtohelpmoveBully aPitBull.Mostofthetime,whatscomingintoPolkbreedsfromPolkCountyAnimalControltoNorthern County Animal Control are medical dogs, and thats whatstates. Within their first two weeks of the partnership, Polk the Bully Project is pulling. Kriss Hall is our kennel leadCountyBullyProjecthadtheirfirstdog,Cooper.They and office manager, said Medina. Rescue is her life, andtook to social media and held fundraising events to help she keeps this place running.cover the cost of Cooper's flight North.The relationship between Polk County Bully ProjectWe ended up having to use some of our own money, and Polk County Animal Control is all about trust. Theysaid Lorio. Since then, theyve become much more adept atfundraisingandmoreresourcefulwiththeirtransportefforts. As with most rescue groups, social media is theirmost effective tool for getting the word out. During springbreak,theyfoundsomeonewhowasdrivingupfromNaples on their way back to Canada. Connections weremade,arrangementssecured,andPokey thetripoddoghitched a ride to his Northern forever home.Hoping for more autonomy to efficiently and effective-ly move more dogs, Medina and Lorio soon reached out toPolk County Animal Control for a partnership. They welcomed us with open arms, said Lorio. Wehelped them realize that the dogs they were holding ontoand/or euthanizing were adoptable dogs.Now, Polk County Bully Project works exclusively withPolk County Animal Control and pulls dogs deemed res-cue-only, including the Pit mixes, the heart worm positivePit mixes, and the pregnant Pit mixes. They have partneredwith Best Friends Animal Society, whose goal is to helpPolk County Animal Control become a no-kill shelter by2025 through the national Save Them All campaign.Onceassessmentsofthepulleddogsarecompleted,and any needed medical care is taken care of, they are trans-ported to rescue groups up north.Wepartnerwithrescuegroupsthathavebeenapproved by Best Friends Animal Society, said Medina.She is particularly drawn to the underdog; the ones wholook like theyve never been given a chance. Lorio is a self- Freedom Ride: Sunny sports a Straight Outta Shelter bandana.professed die-hard Pittie lover. T HERE WAS NEVER GOING TO BE A SHELTER will hold dogs for us, once we commit to them. They willWhen we started, we were all foster-based, said Lorio. give us time to either make room or find a temporary fos-Opportunitycameknocking,though,andwhenspace ter home or arrange for medical care, said Medina. opened inside a commercial building, Medina and Lorio The partners in rescue are married with children andreasoned more dogs could be pulled from the shelter if they pets of their own. Between family responsibilities and run-had a holding area. At first, it was just a couple of rooms ning the Project every single day, their schedules are full.inside a building, which they quickly outgrew within a year. And yet, with all of their successes, including kids on theToday,PolkCountyBullyProjectisinafree-standing honor roll, they often feel like failures.building, complete with signage out front, and a chandelier My home is a mess, said Lorio. My husband couldin the lobby. They have a small staff and a team of dedicat- use a home cooked meal every now and then. She laughsed volunteers who tend to the dogs, run the office, coordi- at the time her husband, Joe, walked into the kitchen andnate adoptions and transports, and help raise needed funds popped a freshly-baked muffin in his mouth.to cover overhead, medical care and other expenses. When he asked what kind of muffins they were, I toldTheres nothing these two and their team wont do to them they were dog treats for the shelter. His response was,help save a dog, including arranging for surgery that most why would I think you would ever cook something for us?www.TheNewBarker.com THE NEW BARKER 43"