Romans’ Rescue

What started as a one dog rescue in 2008 for Tawnya and Daniel Roman has now turned into a non-profit organization. Romans’ Rescue takes in dogs to train them or nurse them back to health in order to help them find a new permanent home.

The Roman’s first dog was a four-year-old Saint Bernard named Riley. The couple found the dog in an Internet advertisement after she had been dropped off at the groomer and never picked back up.

Riley quickly fit right in at the Roman household and became part of the family. Unfortunately, the lovable dog was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2012 after losing weight and acting strangely.

The fighter hung on until January of 2013 when she passed away, leaving an empty space in the home.

Not even two days later, the family took in a Chocolate Lab and vowed to help other dogs in Riley’s honor at places such as humane societies and rescue facilities.

Another Saint Bernard rescue later, Tawyna knew that she wanted to be a safe house for rescue dogs because over one millions dogs a year are put down simply because there is not enough space for them in shelters.

By starting as a foster home for the Beaver County Humane Society, the Romans were able to take in their first independent rescue in October of 2014.

Misty, a year and a half old Great Pyrenees, turned up at Tawnya and Daniel’s when her family could no longer take care of her. With a little love and care, Misty was vaccinated and fed a high calorie diet before being placed in a home of a couple who loves and adores her.

Sadly, dogs like Misty are ones Romans’ Rescue sees on a regular basis.

The types of animals that come in are either brought by an owner who cannot care for them, trainable neighborhood strays, trainable dogs from animal shelters, dogs that require extensive medical care or ones that owners decide are too old to keep.

“Every dog is different and has different needs,” Tawnya said.

The end goal for each dog, however, is the same in a new home surrounded by a caring, positive environment. Families considering adoption must meet the following requirements:

• Adopter must prove he can financially take care of the dog.
• All current pets must be up to date on all vaccines.
• All current dogs/cats must be spayed or neutered.
• A home check is mandatory to assess living conditions.
• We must be granted permission to review your current pet’s records. We will obtain the records directly from the veterinarian.
• Adopter must not have a record of charges for animal cruelty.

Tawyna, the President of the Utility and Energy Division at the Eric Ryan Corporation, and Daniel, a conductor for Norfolk Southern, have made their mission a family affair.

The Roman children, Stephanie, 10, and Logan, 13, are huge helps when it comes to the pups. Both children take the dogs out daily as one of their chores as well as Stephanie has attended dog handling classes. Helping out with the dogs has also in return helped Logan, who is autistic, to better express his feelings.

Romans’ Rescue does have to be selective when taking in dogs because they cannot have overly aggressive animals around the children or other hounds.

Despite the Romans good deeds for dogs, what they’re doing is unfortunately not cheap. The average cost to take in a new dog and provide boarding, food, training and proper veterinary care is a minimum of $500.

Donations are always warmly welcomed to help Romans’ Rescue care offset some of the costs. You can contact at 724-814-1472 or visit www.romansrescue.org if you’re interested in finding out more.

As for Tawyna and Daniel, they will continue to run Romans’ Rescue for the dogs who have never given up on them.

“Dogs are loyal and give unconditional love back,” said Tawnya. “It doesn’t matter if you had a good day or a bad day, dogs are always there.”