05-21-2023 Harford Magazine - Flipbook - Page 46
3 THINGS
BY ABIGAIL GRUSKIN
Harford Magazine
Bob Citrullo, executive director of the Humane Society of Harford County, holds Alfie, a puppy who was being adopted. PHOTO BY BARBARA HADDOCK TAYLOR
Robert ‘Bob’ Citrullo
executive director of the Humane Society of Harford County
Robert “Bob” Citrullo, 58, has always loved
animals. As the executive director of the Humane Society of Harford County, he oversees
about 150 dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, guinea
pigs, farm animals — and sometimes reptiles —
in the shelter at any given time. Since stepping
into the role last June, Citrullo, who grew up
in Philadelphia, has increased the shelter’s
team from 23 to 30 employees and remains
committed to bulking up the organization’s
community outreach.
“Things are really changing,” said Citrullo,
who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in
nursing from Liberty University in Lynchburg,
Virginia. For six years, he led the Humane Educational Society in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Here are three things you might not know
about Citrullo:
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| Summer 2023 | harfordmagazine.com
He served in the Army for 25 years,
from 1981 to 2006, and it led him to
open a boarding kennel.
“My background in the military was medical.
I was an ER nurse,” he said.
“I had a lot of friends in the Army who
did canine work … so I helped them out with
training, kind of more as a hobby. I thought,
‘Well, you know, when I retire [from the Army]
… I would really enjoy working with animals.’
And so I decided to open up a boarding kennel
in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania in 2000.”
He’s always been drawn to dogs —
and now has four at home.
“I’ve had a dog from the time I was born. My
first dog, her name was Lucky.
“I’ve had shepherds, a lot of German shepherds, most of my life. But then about 10 years
ago, I got into the hound mixes. Now, I have
a little toy rat terrier, who was a special needs
dog — he was a puppy mill-type animal, so he’s
blind and he’s got some bad knees, but we take
care of him.
“And then I have two basset hounds — they
both had problems, medically, when they came
into the shelter. My youngest is a 5-year-old
mastiff bloodhound mix, her name is Anabelle.”
He spends his free time
target shooting.
“I’m an avid target shooter — I’m not a
hunter. When I do have time, I’ll go out to the
range. I’ve done that my whole life. I go over
to West Virginia. It’s a little bit of a hike from
here, but it’s the Peacemaker National Training
Center.”