Education Club saves puppies on spring break trip

When the Seton Hill University (SHU) Education Club left for Kentucky to participate in the Christian Appalachian Project’s �WorkFest,� they had no idea they would be taking three extra friends home with them.
WorkFest, an event created to help low-income families repair their houses, created an opportunity for students to get to know some of the local families.
One of the families had accidentally acquired eight new puppies, only seven weeks old.


By Valerie Masciarelli,
Editor-in-Chief
When the Seton Hill University (SHU) Education Club left for Kentucky to participate in the Christian Appalachian Project’s �WorkFest,� they had no idea they would be taking three extra friends home with them.
WorkFest, an event created to help low-income families repair their houses, created an opportunity for students to get to know some of the local families.
One of the families had accidentally acquired eight new puppies, only seven weeks old.
The club was shocked to hear that the puppies were going to be destroyed if the family was unable to find proper homes.
�I think it’s a cultural thing,� said Joann Migyanka, assistant professor of education and adviser of the Education Club.
Migyanka explained that Kentucky has fewer animal shelters, giving the family few opportunities to save the animals. Taking the puppies into their own home was not an option.
�To invest a lot of money to take them to the vet and even just to feed them…he could barely feed himself,� Migyanka said.
Only three of the puppies were saved by the Education Club since the students agreed that they would only take puppies that they were certain would be adopted upon arrival back to Pa.
Education Club president Tiffany Brattina, a senior, is now the proud owner to one of the puppies.
�I love my new puppy. He’s very sweet, and get gets along with my new dog beautifully,� said Brattina.
Kristen Zappalla, a senior, adopted the other two puppies and named them Bayley and Elizabeth.
�Just like their namesake, Elizabeth Ann Seton, they�ve inspired and empowered me,� said Zappalla.
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