GUILFORD TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A puppy found abandoned at a rest stop off I-76 in Guilford Twp. has a new home and a new name.
Saturday, the dog formerly known as “Miles” returned to the Medina County SPCA with its new owner, Matthew Denton, a deputy with the Medina County Sheriff’s Office, and John Kronander, the Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper who rescued him.
The dog was found on Aug. 23 in a crate with no water or food. Body camera video from Kronander showed him and the dog building a quick bond, which led him to take the dog to the Medina County SPCA.
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The dog, believed to be a pit bull/Great Dane mix, is now named “Trooper.”
Denton, who has four children, said landing on a new name was a family affair.
“We have a whiteboard for schooling right beside our dining room table, and we wrote down some names, and there were many hash marks and erasing hash marks and trying to figure out what we wanted,” Denton said. “So, it came down to Trooper and Remington.”
Denton said they agreed on the name just before appearing for the interview at the Medina County SPCA.
“I said, ‘The news might be asking,’” Denton said. “And so, the kids said, ‘We've been calling him Trooper. He's Trooper.’”
Denton learned about the dog’s rescue from Kronander while the pair were on a service call helping a driver with a disabled vehicle. The two men are also friends.
“He had stated to me that he found a dog at the rest area and that he had dropped it off at the SPCA,” Denton said.
Denton asked Kronander to send him a photo of the dog.
“He did, and I said, ‘Man, that's a great-looking dog,'” Denton said. “I ended up calling the SPCA later on that day and asking to see the dog [and] just did some research on it.”
Denton met the dog later and enjoyed its demeanor, went back and discussed it with his family, and a few days later ended up adopting him.
“We had talked about possibly in the future having another dog. I wanted a larger dog. Right now, we have a Boston Terrier that's about 20 pounds or so,” Denton said. “So I said, ‘Hey, I want something maybe a little bit bigger around the house.’ He’s definitely gonna qualify as something bigger. He's got big paws and big structure already.”
Denton said the dog’s rescue and adoption showcase that law enforcement wears many different hats.
“We're not only answering calls for service, you know… collisions,” Denton said. “We're going out there and doing proactive things. And, in the case that Trooper Kronander was doing a security check of the area, which is routinely done-- finds this dog. We're not just out there giving speeding tickets. We're not just out there handling calls for service… we're out there trying to serve the community.”
Denton said work is still happening to try and determine who abandoned “Trooper.”
“Obviously, dropping a dog off, abandoning a dog is a crime in Ohio,” Denton said. “So, we're gonna follow up. OSPs did what they could to try and follow up with it to try and locate who and what individual did this. But I'm happy for the dog. The dog's safe."
Damon Maloney is a Cuyahoga County and We Follow Through anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @DMaloneyTV, on Facebook DamonMaloneyTV or email him at Damon.Maloney@wews.com.
