Join us for an inspiring episode featuring Vanessa Petrosky, the passionate founder of Remi’s Pet Recovery, as she shares her incredible journey of rescuing lost pets in Northeast Ohio. Known as a local celebrity, Vanessa discusses the challenges and triumphs of her work, including her latest case involving a mischievous border collie named Cooper.
Tune in as we delve into the complexities of recovering lost pets, the importance of community involvement, and the unique strategies Vanessa employs to ensure their safe return. From setting humane traps to the emotional reunions with their owners, you’ll hear firsthand accounts of the heartwarming successes and the hard realities of animal rescue.
Vanessa also shares invaluable advice for pet owners on what to do (and what not to do) if their furry friend goes missing. Learn about the crucial role of communication with local authorities, the significance of microchipping, and the best methods to lure lost pets back home.
Remi’s Pet Recovery currently has tickets on sale for their 7th Annual Fundraiser available! The event is May 3rd, 2025 – get your tickets HERE.
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How To Recover Lost Pets With Remi’s Pet Recovery – Vanessa Petrosky
Welcome to the show. I’m Dr. Alice Novotny Jeromin, a board-certified veterinary dermatologist.
I’m Janet Novotny King. I’m the doctor’s sister. I am not medically anything. I’m a pet lover and owner. We’re here to give you some great science-based information to make you the best pet lover and owner that you can be.
Vanessa’s Background And Founding Remi’s Pet Recovery
Janet, we have a local celebrity with us, and the type of celebrity we like. Vanessa Petrosky is the Founder of Remi’s Pet Recovery, which is a nonprofit. It’s Northeast Ohio’s leading search and recovery for stray or abandoned dogs. They were voted best of Cleveland. Their mission is to rescue lost dogs and strays and return them to their owner.
When that happens, it’s a freakout.
It is. I’m telling you. She knows her stuff. We’re going to find out tips on what to do if, God forbid, our pet should get lost. I want to tell you a little bit about her. Vanessa started volunteering at the City Kennel and then became a long-standing foster for the then Friends of the Cleveland Kennel. She’s always preferred the difficult, challenging cases, but she made her mark when she fostered and rehabilitated Mira, which was one of the staples of the 2011 dog-fighting ring that was broken up in Cleveland, Ohio. She got her experience in assisting with trapping feral dogs. That marked her for life.
That’s when she established Remi’s Pet Recovery in 2017. Again, it’s nonprofit. It reunites lost dogs with their owners. You can imagine how frantic you would be. You mentioned Remi’s Pet Recovery in Northeast Ohio. You’ll get a grin from somebody because they know the hard work that she and her staff do. Welcome, Vanessa. We have a million questions and a million thank you for everything you do. Annie thanks you as well. She’s staying put. She’d better not get lost.
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Welcome, Vanessa. We are so glad. I told Janet that you are a local celebrity. That’s a compliment.
Thank you.
I saw on Facebook that your latest is Cooper. He is a Border Collie. He seems like a tough number.
Challenges And Strategies For Apprehending Skittish Lost Dogs
It’s very difficult. Cooper’s challenging because people continue to chase him, follow him, call him, and try to apprehend him. What happens to Cooper when everybody converges on him? What do you think is going to happen? Cooper’s going to run. Cooper’s going everywhere. It’s challenging for me to get Cooper to stay in a certain area to get a trap out. We were out Sunday in the blizzard, and then we came back out on Monday. The communication’s been challenging as well with Cooper, but we set up a trap. He didn’t come back. However, the yard that I’ve set up in, he has frequented three times. It’s within a week.
He went to their yard, and then he didn’t come back. Five days later, he showed up again. She put up food in the backyard, but there’s a lot of snow. It’s hard for him to get a good meal. He did come one night, so we immediately got there. We set up trail cams and stuff. We didn’t see him at all. With that being said, when we set up, and then a sighting came in, he was a mile down the road farther.
He’s going within a mile radius, but he’s not staying put. He’s going here and there. He’s going everywhere. I have a call in to the North Royalton Police Department trying to touch base with a supervisor or somebody. When they get calls in, I’m begging them not to send an officer and if they could just call us and keep it quiet. I don’t want officers approaching him. I know they mean well, but when they approach him and get out of their car, that’s when he runs.
I love on your Facebook page when you give advice. Please give us the standard advice. When you guys are out trying to do your thing, what should people do and not do?
Correct Procedures For Pet Owners When A Dog Goes Missing
If I lost my dog, what do I do and what do I not do?
You have to realize Remi’s works with dogs that are extremely skittish. When dogs are lost, the first thing that happens is their behavior changes. It’s not the same dog that’s sitting in your lap now. The dog is now lost. The dog’s behaviors change. That’s the hardest part for me to get to owners to understand that their dogs are not thinking like they’re expecting them to think. I’ve had many orders where they don’t believe it like, “No, he’ll come to me.” He doesn’t. Cooper saw his owner, and he ran from his owner.
When dogs get lost, the first thing that changes is their behavior. Share on XIt’s almost like the dog is in survival mode.
That’s right. You’ve got to remember we domesticated them. How did they survive years ago before we domesticated them? Dogs are more savvy and smart than we give them credit for. I get, “It’s freezing. They’re going to die.” It’s cold, but he’s not going to die. There are some dogs but very rarely. He’s finding ways to keep warm. He’ll find cars to get under. He’ll find holes to go in. They find places to survive. We had a dog years ago that went into a culvert under a golf course. We didn’t see him for four days. All of a sudden, he came out, and he was fine.
Look at little Sonic, 10 pounds. He ran around in negative 20 below wind chills. Where was he at? He survived. Dogs will survive. They find ways. It’s hard for me to convey that to get people to trust the process. I know what it takes to get these dogs back. I’m confident in Remi’s. I’m confident in our ability. Especially when people don’t understand what Remi’s does. I can’t tell you how many phone calls I get or texts like, “My dog’s lost. Can you help me? I don’t know what you do, but can you find my dog?” I get emails like, “I was told to call you.” It’s frustrating.
I spend a lot of time on my days off, spending an hour on phone calls, trying to tell people what we do. I try to direct them to the website so they can learn more about the process and Remi’s, and then see if we’re a good fit. I know we’re not going to be a good fit for everybody out there. I can be pretty abrasive. It’s because I’m passionate.
It comes through sometimes when you’re texting or when you’re talking. My passion comes through. I don’t mean to be, but I am excited. I know what it takes. Trust me. I’ll get your dog back. I’ll do everything possible and beyond, but trust me. You called me for a reason. People are tagging Remi’s for a reason.
You know what you do. Can I ask you? I remember one day. We live in Hinckley. My dogs were out and they’re fenced-in yard. I had these two muddy dogs that had been running all night at my gate. Do you find that dogs will go to other dogs as opposed to dogs going to people?
They can. Especially if there’s a bonded pair or they lived with this other dog for a long time. I had a case. She took the dog down on a leash and started walking around the neighborhood just with the dog. I always tell them, “Do not call out your dog’s name when it’s lost.” When they’re missing, calling them by their name is only a trigger that typically creates a dog to continue to run further.
Quietly, she took her dog and walked around. Sure enough, the other dog came out. Immediately, when you see the dog, I tell people, “Sit down. Never stand over a dog. It’s eye level.” Sit down. I always tell people, “Don’t look at the dog. No eye contact.” Sit down, look away, and start talking to your dog or talking out loud. Give that dog a couple of seconds to recognize your voice and to click in.
If you watch the video that I returned Pumpkin, that was a Coonhound that was in Parma Heights. If you watch that video, when Pumpkin gets out of the car, the owner goes right up to him. He’s still stiff, no tail wagging. He’s just looking at this woman who’s his owner, reuniting. As soon as she gets up, we have not about maybe 10 or 15 seconds gone by. She starts walking towards the house. All of a sudden, Pumpkin’s body language changes. He recognizes his owner. He jumps up on her. The light bulb goes off. We have the reunion. It wasn’t instant like people think. He needed time to recognize his owner and smell. He ran into the house. He was home.
I live in Cleveland. I’ve lost my dog and I call Remi’s. Do I pay you? How does this all work? You’re a nonprofit.
We are a nonprofit. With that being said, though, if I’m traveling outside of 25 miles, we do require a travel donation. It’s got to be sustainable and feasible. It’s fair. Not only that, it’s more than just going and setting up a trap. We have to monitor that trap. We have to bait that trap. We bait them in the morning, early, depending on the weather conditions, which aren’t cooperating. We have to go back at night and either shut the trap due to raccoons and wildlife, or sometimes, I keep them open because dogs are more active at night.
Why is that? Free from well-intended humans trying to all apprehend them. It’s quiet. They feel safer. They’re going to be out at night. I like to keep my trap open at night. That’s when we do most of the captures at night. There’s a lot that goes into it if you’re traveling. I have my volunteer, Stacy. She’s back and forth, sometimes two or three times a day. We did Maple Heights. We do ask for the donation. People are pretty perceptive to that and happy to donate.
When is the fundraiser?
The fundraiser is May 3rd, at the same location it was in 2024.
We’re going to be driving home that week. I’m from Florida.
You told me that.
That’s all right. We’ll still donate. Janet, it’s a fun fundraiser.
Tell me about the fundraiser.
The fundraiser is yearly. It’s at the La Villa Banquet and Conference Center on Brookpark Road. We have something new. We have a DJ, so we’ll have music. I’m excited about that. We have wonderful, amazing raffle baskets. We have a bourbon cart with some amazing high-end bourbons that were popular in 2024. My girlfriend runs a nonprofit, and she won it. I went to her fundraiser with the intention and joke that I’m coming to get my bourbon cart back. That’ll be there. It’s all you can eat. We are working hard on that. We are collecting items now for that. We do that. That’s our yearly.
I know when I help out at Golden Treasures Rescue, some people will adopt these rescues and open the car door thinking, “You’re home.” The dog takes off because it doesn’t know these noise. How do you get permission to go into these private yards? People don’t want you running through their yards, setting traps. I bet that’s tough.
The Importance Of Community Involvement And Permission For Trapping
I’ve been told a handful of times not to set a trap. I always get permission. Ninety percent of the people are so wonderful and helpful. The communities always want to help. With Pumpkin, who was the Coonhound, I asked to set a trap and was told no. I have to respect that. It’s their property, so I move on. I couldn’t set a trap until I got permission. Once we got permission, then we set a trap. There’s the community involvement and the homeowners who call in sightings.
With Cooper, I have many people setting out food stations with cameras in hopes that we can get him to return so we can move the trap and get this dog home safe. It does entail the community involvement in helping Remi’s as well. Without their sightings and without them allowing me to be on their property, this recovery process wouldn’t be happening. I have to go on their property not only once, but sometimes two or three times a day. Not only that, I’m on their property at all hours of the night. If I catch that dog at 2:00 in the morning, I have to go on their property.
Are there other organizations like this across the country? I’m sure there are. I’m just not familiar.
There are across the country. Not in Northeast Ohio. We’re the only one in Northeast Ohio. I know down South, there’s Lost Pet Recovery. Ramona, with JJ’s, is in Summit County down farther. She’s a very good friend of mine. We always help each other. If I have a difficult case I need help with, I’ll call her, or I’ll call Dawn. We all try to help each other and support each other.
Do some of these dogs outsmart you?
Some breeds are more difficult than others. When I started working on Remi years ago, and I named this Remi, she was an elusive hound mix as well. It took me three months to get her. I worked on that dog for three months.
How awful.
That was during the summer, morning, noon, and night.
I saw on your website things to do, which is fantastic, like do the posters. What are some other things that pet owners can do the minute they lose their pet? I know Alice always told me, “Tell the mailman,” because the mailman’s driving around. They know you’re leaving.
Contact your animal control agent, animal wardens, and the police. It’s a non-emergency. Alert them because they’re going to get the calls first. When you see a dog missing, you’re going to call the police. You’re going to call your animal control. You call them. If the dog doesn’t come right back to you and it’s staying out, then you want to get flyers up as soon as possible.
If your dog goes missing, contact the police and animal control immediately. If your dog doesn't return quickly, start posting flyers as soon as possible. Share on XWith flyers, I never put the dog’s name, only “LOST” with the photo. Again, calling a dog’s name when they’re lost is a trigger. Typically, dogs are going to keep running. I recommend getting flyers up. Typically, if you don’t start sightings, I never recommend posting sightings on social media. Why? What do you think would happen if we got sightings of Cooper and I post it on social media?
Everyone’s going to run there.
There you go.
They’ll put the food out.
Everybody’s going to run there to find the dog.
Everybody knows more than me. Everybody knows more than everybody. They’re going to be the heroes and go get the dog. That’s not going to happen. We all know that. I don’t ever post sightings. That’s the first thing I recommend. Write down your sightings, journal them, and create a map. I always go to Google Maps or Google Earth. We start pinning that. We pin the sightings. If we have 48 hours and we have the sightings here, then I’ll go put a food station to trap up.
I have to tell Vanessa. I’m chuckling because what she is saying is one of the reasons why I retired. Here’s my example compared to yours. “We need to get an X-ray of your dog’s leg.” “Can I go with him?”
Do you mean in the machine?
There are lead shields when we go to the X-ray. If you come down with thyroid cancer in ten years, guess who’s going to get blamed for it? Everybody knows more than the authority on what we’re doing.
Except for the time I had to get an MRI. My whole body was shaking. I said to the technician, “Can my husband come in?” He had to strip all his metal off. He held my foot. I’m in that chamber. I said, “Call NASA. Tell them I’m out.”
I get it, Vanessa. It’s very frustrating. Let you do your job. You’re good at it. You know what you’re doing. Thank you, but just sit there, have a cup of coffee, and let me take over.
Is it helpful, though, as a pet owner, to put it on next door or Facebook, the local pages, not the dog’s name?
That’s how we get our sightings. I haven’t had any sightings of Cooper at all, so I’ve had nothing. In all my phone calls, I’m hitting a dead end. It’s frustrating. It’s important to put it on social media, but limit what you’re putting on. That’s why I like to post it on Remi’s page because I can control the thread. If I want to post it, I can delete it. That’s why I try to tell owners, “You need the sightings, but then delete them and keep a journal, or keep it on the map, so we can see where the dog is.”
Generally, do they go 25 miles from home, or is there a radius normally?
It depends. We have car accident dogs, dogs that have experienced trauma. They tend to stay very close to the trauma. We know that. I cringe when I see these car accidents, and then it’s all over social media, the exact location. That’s the worst thing to do. Get it off social media. Alert the proper people. We’ll get there. These dogs typically stay close.
Dogs that are newly adopted come into their new homes and get out before they even get to the house. Those dogs do tend to stay very close to the area of last known as well. The last couple I’ve trapped, and there was one in Medina that comes to my mind, got it home, and didn’t even get in the house. The dog stayed within a mile and just circled and circled close to the home.
Of where it got out of the car, you mean?
Of where it got out of the car.
Are a lot of pet owners using the GPS thing? I use Whistle on our dog.
I don’t see that many of them. I don’t see many GPS tracking collars. Remi has one. Some people might have them, but more like just getting the pets microchipped. People get confused between a GPS tracking collar and a microchip. With Pumpkin, I got that dog, and we scanned him and had a microchip. The microchip information was not up to date. However, it was still able to get us reunited with his current owner.
I love the Whistle thing. The only thing that makes me a little nuts is that all of a sudden, I’ll get a text. “How is Libby feeling?” She hasn’t told me because she can’t talk.
Here is Annie, who’s right here. Here’s her Whistle. The only thing is you have to charge him up, but it gives you a warning. I’m plugging it back in here.
It lasts a long time, though.
Also, with newly adopted dogs. When you’re bringing a dog home, whether you get it, you can watch their behavior. I highly recommend a martingale collar.
What’s that?
Is that the pulley kind?
Advice For Preventing Dogs From Escaping Upon Adoption
I had one. I recommend the martingale and a slip lead. That’s going to keep your pet safe. Also, the dog does not need to get groomed. The dog does not need to go to the park. It doesn’t need to go to the store. Keep these dogs home. Give them at least 30 days to decompress. Let them adjust to their house and then start taking them out slowly.
When you take them out, there are the martingale and the slip lead, but watch their body language. Dogs with tails talk. That’s telling you something. Dogs that are licking their lips, smacking, and stuff are nervous. When you bring these dogs home, they don’t want to go anywhere. They want to decompress and get used to their new home and their environment. That’s important when you’re bringing these dogs home.
It’s too much stimulation at once. I agree. We have a China rescue, a Golden, from Golden Treasures. I’ll tell you the mistake I made, Vanessa. I’m a walker at Hinckley Lake. I was so excited because I was finally getting a young dog because I usually adopt an old one. I took her for a walk. It was horrible. She wouldn’t move. To this day, I regret doing that. She’s lying right here, but she doesn’t enjoy walking. She likes her home, sitting on the bed. That’s her thing. I agree with you. When you first get them, and I don’t care where they’re from, you need to keep that area small, so they’re not overstimulated.
Another thing is when you take them out in your backyard. Most people have a fenced-in backyard. They’ll let them loose. No, keep them on a long lead. Keep them on a leash. Watch their behavior. Let them get used to your backyard. After maybe a few days, drop the leash, but keep that long leash on. I had one dog I brought home to my house.
Even with a fenced yard, don't let your dog roam free right away. Keep them on a long leash, watch their behavior, and let them adjust gradually. Share on XI brought him into the backyard and had him on a long leash. All that dog did was look for a way out. He kept going to the fence, looking up, and trying to jump when I had him on the leash. A lot of these dogs that are coming, we don’t know where they’re coming from. The first thing they’re going to do is try to jump your fence and get out.
They want to get away from the humans who did bad things to them.
I found with Libby, because she’s a rescue, it was about two and a half months. You could finally see that she was like, “I’m staying. This is my home,” because she had been fostered by Aaron, who was fabulous. You did see all of a sudden, there wasn’t this nervousness. She chilled.
I have two rescues from Golden Treasures. They are martingale collars. Martingale collars are the brass. They’re double leashed. They are microchipped and have the GPS. I will have people saying to me Wow. I’ll say, “It’s because they’re rescues.”
I’m not a fan of the harnesses.
Tell me why.
It’s because they get out of them. Many dogs get out of them. If they’re walking, get spooked by something, and bend down, they’re out of those harnesses. I’ve tracked a lot of dogs.
I hear you. I agree.
They can pull right out of them because it’s happened to me.
People don’t get it. They think you’re overdoing it. You can never overdo it.
It’s just the martingale and the slip lead.
Yes, as far as tethering them.
How did you get started? How did Remi’s happen?
I was on the board with Friends of the Cleveland Kennel. I did a lot of work at the City Kennel. I was there one day. They were working on trapping feral dogs. I went with some of the girls and they had set traps. It broke my heart because these dogs were on abandoned property. They were inbred and had no human contact. They needed to be trapped. It was difficult getting them. That’s how I got started. When I was going home, there was a little stray dog that was on the side of 40 in Tiedeman. I saw him sitting on the ramp. I turned around my car and went back.
By the time I got back, he was running up. It was by the Key Bank. He was running back into a big building that was being built. He ran in there. That started it. I focused on that dog. I’m like, “I got to get this dog safe.” Back then, I didn’t have equipment. I took a dog cage, turned it upside down, and made a drop trap.
I had a stick that I nudged out. I put a string and attached it to the stick. We made this contraption. I started working in a restaurant parking lot. They allowed me to be there. I think it took me about two weeks. Eventually, I trapped that little dog. We named him Nugget. That started this whole journey. That was back in 2015 or 2016.
I want to make sure our audience knows when you say trap, it’s a humane trap.
Techniques And Equipment Used For Humane Animal Trapping
My traps are all humane traps. I have all kinds of equipment. I have 3 feet, 4 feet, and 5 feet. We bought a brand new 5-foot and a 6-foot trap. The 6-foot trap is amazing. We have two new state-of-the-art laser kennels. The laser kennels I use for dogs that don’t go into the traditional traps. I can usually tell first quickly if the dogs are going to go into a trap or not.
We’ll put up the laser kennel. It’s an open-door concept. They go in. Once they break the beam, the laser, it traps them. We have them drilled down into the ground and then the laser kennel. We use a big tarp on the front of it to cover it like a net. We bungee the net so they can’t get out. We trapped a lot of big dogs in that, too.
Vanessa, I want to go back to when you saw that dog on the side of the road running. What advice do you give, say Janet or me, if we’re driving on the freeway and we see a dog? What do we do?
This is the worst thing. You cannot chase these dogs. Do not chase. I understand people don’t want the dog to get on the highway. You can get out of the car. Maybe stand there. Put your arms wide out. Depending on how close you are, try to back the dog up. Chasing the dog and running after the dog is only going to create the dog to continue to run and possibly run into the car, run into getting hit by a car, or run somewhere dangerous. The hardest thing to tell people is that when you see a dog, do not chase it.
The hardest advice to give is also the most important: when you see a lost dog, don't chase it. Chasing only makes it run farther—and into greater danger. Share on XShould you try to offer it if you have pet food in the car?
Yes. Sometimes, you can open the car door and see if the dog will jump in the car with you. If it’s in a lot of traffic, sometimes, our adrenaline gets going. We just want to help. Again, we get out of the car and maybe try to get the dog off the side of the road. If you have treats, you throw the treats away from the street, trying to get the dog to back up away from the traffic. That can be a dangerous scenario. I’ve had that happen before. Unfortunately, the dog was hit and killed by a car. Sometimes, we can only do so much.
Are the police departments pretty amenable to working with you?
I’m always calling them when I’m in their city. I try to be respectful. I always let them know, especially at night, “I’m going to be here.” Communication is the key. I know they mean well to help, but a lot of times, police officers are very scary to these dogs. Number one, they approach them wrong. They approach them. They have uniforms on and equipment on. They have guns and they look scary. If they corner the dog, not what happens?
Never approach a dog and try to corner it. That could be a bad scenario. They’re not going to take the time to sit down and not look at the dog. There are all kinds of things we do when we approach a dog like that. I try to say their job, “You work with the humans. Let me and the others work with the dog.” I try to let them know, “Don’t approach this dog like the one with North Royalton. I’ve left two messages.”
I’m trying to reach them. I want to communicate, “Have your officers to not approach this dog. Approaching him and getting out of the cruiser is going to make him run farther, possibly run into the street, get hit, and run farther away. We’re trying to keep him here so we can get the traps there and get him safe.” I’m hitting a snag with that with the communication, but I’m pretty feisty. I’m either going to go up there in person or keep calling.
Don’t make me come up there.
Is there a bait that works best?
We use a number of things. We make our own chicken. We were buying KFC, but it got way too expensive. It’s ridiculous.
Do you mean the stinky, smelly fried chicken?
Smelly chicken. We’ve used beef and cheddar before, roast beef, anything high tripe, canned tripe. When you opened a can of that it makes you want to almost vomit. I made Stacy open that one time, or Debbie, and I thought they were going to die. We use chicken to bait all of our traps. Sometimes, if I know the dog is right there close by watching. I’ve had dogs watch us set up. I’ll throw a cheeseburger right there. I never put bowls in my traps. I cover the trap plate straight back to the left corner where all my food goes.
When do you sleep? You work full-time, too. I’m serious, Janet.
I work at a vet clinic. They’re so supportive of what I do, the doctors and the management. They love what we do. They know it’s important. We’re not supposed to have our phones on at work, but I do break that rule all the time. I have a little pouch. My manager knows my phone is in that pouch, which sits right by me.
If I have a trap set, I get a little vibration. I know it’s a trap. I’ll peek at it and make sure I’ll run in. I’ll usually run into my manager’s office and say, “I got to check the trap.” She’s right there looking. They’re very supportive. My coworkers, not so much so. I get it. I’m breaking the rules. At the same time, if I got a dog in a trap, I need to get the dog out of the trap. It’s cold. Most people are supportive of what we do.
You’re saving a life.
Here’s the thing. I didn’t sleep well because I kept waiting for it. I get a special notification when the traps are out. I’m always checking my phone. I can’t sleep because of the adrenaline and my stress. I don’t sleep well.
It’s like waiting for Santa. “I know Santa’s coming.”
I’m going to bed. Where’s this dog at? Why can’t you just make your way to the trap?
Maybe you’ve done this. It’d be great if some of the local police departments could have you come in and do a little PSA for the officers to say, “Don’t do this.”
Somebody has mentioned that to me before. It would be amazing, but I don’t know how well that would go over with little old me walking in there.
A lot of my clients who were officers are real dog people. They’re doing the right thing.
I get that. Education is much needed for officers on how to approach these types of dogs. Cooper was spotted at the soccer fields. It was 1:00 in the morning. I know the officers got out of their cars. They were all trying to chase him. That was a nightmare. It didn’t work. My wish would have been that they would have called me. We could have gotten there with the trap, not bothered the dog, and let the dog continue to sleep where he was. We would have set up, set a trap, and then backed away.
Hopefully, the food smell would have lured him to the trap, but that didn’t happen. That’s where I’m trying to communicate now, but I’m not getting return phone calls. It’s a little frustrating for me. I know the police officers have way more important things to do. I get that. I also left a message. “I’m trying to get this dog off the street safely. He could be a nuisance. He’s getting in the garbage. I’m trying to get him off the street.” I’m trying to get that message. As I said, I might have to just drive right up there.
Do you ever get other dogs in the trap that you’re not looking for?
I did. This happened to us. We set up a trap for a dog in Warrensville Heights. We had the trap up, and I started getting notifications. As a matter of fact, I was at work.
Is the trap like a Ring doorbell?
It is. I ran into the bathroom at work. I’m looking. I’m like, “This is not the dog. We had a different dog.” I called Stacy. She’s like, “I’m on my way.” We get there and she sends me a picture. I go, “That dog was on social media.” I Google it. Sure enough. I think it was Roscoe. I can’t remember the name. The dog jumped out of his owner’s truck a week prior to this, way out in Northfield, Ohio. The dog jumped out of the back of a pickup truck. The dog had been missing for almost ten days, made its way down to Warrensville, and ended up in my trap.
That was some good KFC going in there.
I called the owner. I said, “I believe I have your dog.” The owner was in a nursing home. It was the caregiver who was taking care of the dog. I sent her a picture. She goes, “That’s our dog.” She came, met Stacy, and got the dog. The dog was able to go see his owner at the nursing home. That was a help that we didn’t expect.
Dealing With Difficult Cases And Past Experiences With Fighting Rings
Tell me about the dog that you fostered from the dog-fighting ring. How did that turn out?
That was Mira. Mira was part of the 2011 dog-fighting ring, the Cleveland 27. I fostered Mira for eight months. That dog was terrible. It was bad. She had lived in a cage. When she came to me, her body was deformed. Everything was deformed. It grew to the size of the cage. It was the most joyous time I had, watching her grow, watching her potty for the first time out in the grass, and watching her grow into a dog, love people, and get love back was pretty amazing.
Did she pass away?
She got adopted. She was in the American Dog Magazine. We had a nice article. Neil and Amanda adopted her. She had the best home. I got to visit her. I got to dog sit then she got sick one time. I got a phone call at work. They said they didn’t think she was going to last very long. They allowed me to go to the hospital where she was. I walked in. I hadn’t seen her probably in about a year. I sat down and started talking. She crawled over the table that was between her parents and me. She recognized me. She attacked me with kisses. It was the most wonderful feeling that she remembered me.
I love that.
I got to see her and say my goodbyes. I think she passed the next day.
You look like a supermodel in that picture.
This is the picture that Dick Goddard used every year in his calendar.
I love that.
We ended up going to Columbus and fighting for Goddard’s law. I would travel with them and Mr. Goddard. He used this picture. This picture was taken by Martha Widdowson. She took this professional picture. It will hang on my wall forever.
Vanessa, that goes to show you they can have a horrible life at the beginning, but all they want is love.
Dogs forgive. Humans don’t. That’s why our bond with dogs is so much better. Dogs forgive us. They don’t hold grudges. They don’t talk about us behind our backs. They’re the most loyal companions we can ever have. That’s what makes them so special.
Dogs forgive. Humans don't. That's why our bond with dogs is so special. Share on XFamily Background And Personal Drive To Rescue Animals
Did you ever foresee that you would be doing this? Think about it. I know you’re an animal lover, but when you were a teenager, who knew that you would be rescuing dogs?
I remember my mom was a dispatcher. For a third shift, she worked for the police department. She, too, was a dispatcher. She came home a few times over the years when I was still living at home. She would bring strays home. I remember one in particular. She came home, and I was sleeping. She goes, “Vanessa, hide this dog from your father.” She puts this big German Shepherd.
Where are you going to hide it?
She puts it in bed with me. She’s like, “Don’t let him out of the room. Hold him in here. Don’t let your father see him. Let me work on him for a while.” I’ll never forget that. My love for animals stems from my upbringing, my mom, dad, and family.
Was that in Cleveland? Were you raised in Cleveland?
Ashtabula, Ohio.
We were raised in Euclid.
My daughter is a dispatcher for the state patrol. It runs in the family. She gets a lot of calls, too. They have their resources down there. She tells me some of the stories, too. It’s my whole family. My son, Kyle, lives in Brook Park. He called me. I was on my way. He goes, “Mom, there was a stray German Shepherd here in Brook Park.” It was 6:00 in the morning. I had posted on Facebook. Somebody had posted. We’re like, “The dog just went down my house.” Next thing you know, Kyle’s coming. He goes, “Mom, I got the dog. It’s in my garage. What do I do?”
It’s genetic.
Back to the bait, I would think that being in Cleveland, it would be kielbasa. Some kind of sausage.
Anything that smells that’s high value, you can use that. The sausages are good, too. I know whenever we’re going to the trap, we usually heat up whatever we use. It’s hot, so we can get that smell out.
We have a neighbor dog, Hunter, who was a Springer Spaniel. Hunter lived until sixteen. We all adored Hunter. The whole neighborhood has a text. It would come out, “Hunter’s on the loose.” It got to the point where I always have treats in my car. He knew my car. All I would do is get out and open the back door. He’d be like, “Right hand.” There were the milk bones. I’d take him home and go in the door that I knew was unlocked. It was almost like he broke out just to get a treat, but he was a sweetheart.
Janet, if you’re ever stuck in a snowstorm, you got those dog treats there you can eat.
I know. I always have a power bar too, or whatever they are, in the car.
You girls will be shocked if you saw my car, if I ever got pulled over and searched. I got a machete back there. I got to have that. Somebody saw that and was like, “What are you doing?” I said, “Girls, I need this. When I’m putting a trap in my trail cams, I need to cut down the branches. I need to cut the leaves down.” We’ve got everything in the back of my car.
They probably think you’re a serial killer with all the equipment you have.
I’ve got it all back there. I’ve got bolt cutters and gloves.
Vanessa, I think I know the answer to this question, but we ask all of our guests. What is your pet or human peeve? I think I know it.
Either one.
What gets you? I saw two people go through stop signs. I swear to God. They roll right through.
Dogs not on a leash, that bothers me.
I would think that’s a big one.
Extendable leashes, too.
When they let the dogs out to go potty. I can’t tell you how many calls and messages I get from half of these dogs that are lost. “I let him out, and he always comes back.” Guess what? It’s a dog. There are rabbits. There’s a deer. There are all kinds of critters. “He always comes back, but this time, he didn’t come back.” That would be my pet peeve. They don’t keep them on a leash. They let them out and think they’re going to come back. When they get hit by a car, they wonder why they got hit by a car.
It wasn’t their fault. I also like the 23-year-old buff guy with the dog not on a leash, who thinks he can control it. You’re walking your dog on a leash, and that dog comes tearing at your dog.
I’ll say, “Get your dog.” They’re like, “What?” That makes me nuts. Can you control your dog, please?
Another one, you’re driving in the car. You see the windows rolled all the way down. The dogs are coming out of the window. Don’t you think they’re going to jump out? That’s dangerous. Get your window rolled up.
The pick-up truck, too.
It’s also bad for the corneas. You taught me that. Vanessa, you are so passionate about your work. I think we know the answer to this one. What drives you to do this amazing, helpful, godforsaken, middle-of-the-night, creating traps? What motivates you?
What motivates me is when I see the results. When we see these dogs being reunited with their owners that otherwise would have no other resources but Remi’s, when I get the stray dog that’s out there trying to survive in this weather, and they have nobody but Remi’s. When I made that possible, when my team makes that possible, that’s what continues to drive us. We have made such a difference in Northeast Ohio and beyond. What we do is so unique.
What drives me is the outcome—reuniting lost dogs with their families and rescuing strays with nowhere else to turn. Every successful recovery reminds our team why we do this work. Share on XIt’s unlike anybody else. It’s so needed. That’s the scary thing. What we do is so needed. Someday, my goal is to do this full-time, or I could devote every day to help more animals, because I can’t help everybody. I’m getting messages everywhere. I can’t be in five places because I’m still working on Cooper. To grow my team, that’s what drives us. The reunions, the catches, the recoveries, the happiness, and the joy, that’s what drives me.
People don’t see the behind-the-scenes. They don’t see Stacy getting out of bed at 4:00 AM, freezing, going to get that dog, and then getting the cage out of the bushes it was in. My husband lugging it, getting it into the van, and going home. He had to be up for work. They don’t see that part of what we do. They don’t see the tears, the phone calls, and the nasty people sometimes. “I can’t help you.” They bash me on social media because “Remi’s said she couldn’t get out of here. I don’t know why.”
When you get that dog in the trap, that dog is afraid. It’s not like you can just open that trap and pet them. They’re afraid.
We’ve had a couple that were bad that probably wanted to eat us. That’s when I call animal control. They come out, and they help. We got one in the laser kennel that we couldn’t even get near. The Hinckley police came out and got him. They were wonderful to work with. They came out, got him with a catch pole, and took him to the shelter. Pretty much, we know. I’ll never put my team in danger. You can tell.
If people want to donate, how do they go about helping your cause?
We have a link on our website. You can go to RemisPetRecovery.org. The link should be right there on our website. You can use PayPal as well, RemisPetRecovery@Gmail.com. There are a number of ways. They can also send checks in if they wish. A lot of the older generation doesn’t like technology. Checks can be mailed. We have a PO Box. I think it’s 42014. They can send a check to our PO Box.
When can they buy tickets for the fundraiser?
Future Goals For The Non-Profit And Fundraising Information
We haven’t posted them yet. We’re having the board meeting on March 2nd. Tickets aren’t on sale yet. We plan on having them at the end of March 2025. We’ll post the link. You can follow Remi’s on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. All the information for the flyer will be on that page, but it is March 3rd. If anybody wants to donate any products, any gift cards or any gift baskets, they can reach out. We’re always looking for gift baskets, even gift cards. Gift cards are a huge thing. People love that.
I came with Sandy, who runs Golden Treasures. She won the $500 Amazon gift card. Our table hit.
We’re always looking for things like that. You can reach out to our website or reach us. There are so many ways to get in touch with us. My phone number’s all over social media.
Too bad for you.
I have people calling me at all hours of the night, which is a mistake. That happened one time. Somebody got mad because I didn’t answer my phone at 3:00 AM. I’m like, “Ma’am, I have no time to sleep. I have to get up at 4:00 for work.” We ask that you don’t call after 9:00 PM and wait until 6:00 AM to call.
Only the dogs in the kennels can call.
Be respectful. Janet, we’ve got to wrap it up.
I know. Vanessa, thank you for the amazing work you do for all those pet owners and those pets.
It’s so emotional. When you started talking about your little one with the picture, I got teary, too. That’s why you do what you do. I love that about you.
I appreciate you guys having me on. I’m so excited. Thank you very much. Follow our work. Hope to see you at the fundraiser.
If not, I’m sure to donate.
Thank you.
This is Dr. Alice Novotny Jeromin from Cleveland, Ohio.
This is Janet Novotny King from Cleveland, Ohio. We’re the Novotny sisters, born and raised Ohioans. Thanks for joining us. Vanessa, I appreciate the great work you do. To our audience, go to their website because it’s all the things I learned that I would have done that I shouldn’t do. It’s all good information. Vanessa knows what she’s talking about. Listen to Vanessa and Remi’s Pet Rescue. Thanks for tuning in.
Important Links
- Vanessa Petrosky on LinkedIn
- Remi’s Pet Recovery
- Remi’s Pet Recovery on Instagram
- Remi’s Pet Recovery on TikTok
- Remi’s Pet Recovery 7th Annual Fundraiser
- Country Critter Journal
About Vanessa Petrosky
Vanessa got her start in animal advocacy back in 2010 when she started volunteering at the City Kennel and became a long-standing foster for then Friends of the Cleveland Kennel. She always stepped up for the difficult/ challenging cases and made her mark while fostering/rehabilitating “Miera’ the staple of the 2011 Dog Fighting Ring in Cleveland, Ohio. Vanessa got her first experience when she assisted in trapping a group of feral dogs that left a huge impact on her heart; thus, her journey began. With the support from her peers, Vanessa formed her own non-profit 501 (c) (3) in June 2017 now known as Remi’s Pet Recovery. Vanessa dedicates her life to helping reunite lost dogs with their owners and humanely recovers abandon/stray dogs. Vanessa is extremely selfless, passionate, and fiercely dedicated to making a difference in the lives of homeless animals and the families who seek her help.
Vanessa is proud to have been a stay-at-home mom producing four well-educated, productive members of society. She has worked in the veterinary field for the last 12 years.
She resides in Brook Park with her two rescues, Bella, a chihuahua, and Argus, a Great Dane whom she trapped in March 2020. Any free time, you can find Vanessa with granddaughter, 2.5 yr old Kadence, who has been on a few missions with Vanessa already!