“It’s built with a statewide focus to go anywhere we can to help animals in need,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin has taken in all kinds of cases in his first year, from cats, horses, a dog that was shot by a Dayton police officer and most recently a dog used to train attack dogs.
“She is a very small pit bull, bred for her size, basically so the larger fighter dogs could learn how to fight, tear apart a dog,” Baldwin said.
Two months ago Baldwin was called to Cleveland to pick up a dog who has become known as #Bellethebaitdog.
Belle has gotten a lot of social media attention for the severe abuse she suffered as a bait dog.
Belle’s teeth were filed down so she could not fight back and when she was found had her jaw completely torn apart.
“She was all skin and bones, too, just emaciated,” he said. “The wounds were all across her face. Every divot here and piece of skin missing is a scar from an attack. They are all over her head.”
Baldwin kept Belle in his work office, away from the other dogs for the first month he had her.
He said that allowed her to get accustomed to the smell and sounds of other dogs and realized she was not in a threatening situation. Then he would let her start interacting with them.
Baldwin has anywhere from eight to 11 dogs at his home that he has adopted or is rehabilitating at any time.
“She has really made amazing progress,” he said. “I didn’t think it would be this soon before I could watch her play with other dogs in the yard. As someone who rehabs dogs on a regular basis, it is even surprising to me.”
He said Belle is well on her way to recovering and is up for adoption, along with eight other dogs, through the Animal Cruelty Task Force's website, ACTOH.org.
The organization runs completely through donations and currently has only one other volunteer employee.
Baldwin explained it was created off the assumption HB 57 would pass the Ohio legislature this year, which would allow humane agents to work in counties they do not live in.
Baldwin is on the board for Logan County’s Humane Society, but is not legally allowed to be their agent and prosecute cases, because he does not live there.
He said more than 60 percent of rural counties currently do not have a humane agent.
He hopes to focus on helping to get HB 57 passed through the legislature in 2015 so he could serve as the humane agent of Logan and possibly Champaign counties.
In the meantime, he runs educational classes for humane societies around the state about animal cruelty rehabilitation.
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