Curious to learn more about how everything began, Bored Panda got in touch with Roman and his family and asked a few questions about the journey behind his inspiring mission.
When asked how the young animal advocate first became involved in helping shelter dogs, his mom shared: “When Roman was just four years old, we were living in San Angelo, Texas, where his father was stationed in the military. One day, he saw a group of dogs in crates outside a PetSmart during an adoption event. We explained that they were looking for homes and that the local shelter had so many dogs that if they didn’t find families, they would ‘go to heaven.’ That moment deeply affected him, and he immediately wanted to help. For his birthday, instead of gifts, he collected donations. Soon after, we began visiting the shelter together and making videos of the dogs to help people see them and hopefully adopt them.”
She also explained how that small act of kindness slowly turned into something much bigger: “About a year later, we moved to Washington State, but Roman still wanted to help the dogs back in Texas. So we began funding transports to bring dogs from Texas to Washington, where adoption demand was higher. Fast forward to today, we’ve been living in Georgia for about 7.5 years. We now have our own transport program and vehicle, and together we’ve helped save more than 5,300 dogs. Roman is now 14 years old and a freshman in high school.”
We were also interested in hearing about one of the most emotional rescues they’ve experienced. Here’s what they told us: “One of the most emotional stories for me was Neo. He came into our home as a foster around Christmas in 2024. Neo had been found about two and a half hours outside of Atlanta with a ratchet strap around his neck. He was severely matted and clearly neglected."
"A friend of someone who had previously adopted through Project Freedom Ride reached out for help, and we took him in. After cleaning him up and helping him recover, something really special happened. Neo and I formed an incredibly strong bond. Whenever I was home, he was right by my side.
Letting him go was one of the hardest goodbyes I’ve experienced in rescue. Thankfully, he was adopted by a wonderful woman in Oklahoma. I’m incredibly grateful that she still keeps in touch with my mom, so we continue to receive updates about how Neo is doing.”
Speaking about the public response over the years, they added: “Honestly, it’s a bit comical. I often say that Roman has more than 100,000 moms. People have watched him grow up through the years, and they have been incredibly supportive through every stage of his life. Animal rescue is not always an easy world to navigate, but we have been extremely fortunate to have such an amazing community supporting us.”
And finally, when asked what message they hope people take away from Roman’s story, their answer was clear: “If you see something that needs to be better, get involved. Don’t just complain about it. Become part of the solution and help fix it.
And if you are thinking about getting a dog, please look at your local shelters and rescues first and choose to adopt. Every year, hundreds of thousands of dogs are euthanized simply because there aren’t enough homes. We have to do better for Man’s Best Friend.”
