Is Rescued by Ruby’s Matt Zarrella Based on a Real Person? Where is He Now?

Directed by Katt Shea, ‘Rescued by Ruby‘ is a biographical drama film on Netflix. It chronicles the inspiring journey of rescue canine Ruby and her handler Corporal Dan O’Neil, who grow to be an integral a part of the Okay-9 unit of the Rhode Island State Police. The duo is guided by Daniel’s senior Matt Zarrella, who heads the Okay-9 unit and is answerable for coaching the canine and the handlers. Actor Scott Wolf’s convincing efficiency as Matt within the film makes the viewers wonder if the character is predicated on an actual individual. If you’re curious to know as properly, you’ve discovered an ally in us. Let’s be taught extra about him collectively!

Is Matt Zarrella a Actual Individual?

Sure, Matt Zarrella is predicated on an actual individual. Matthew AKA Matt Zarrella is a former Rhode Island State Police Trooper who rescued Australian Shepherd and border collie combine, Ruby, from being euthanized on the shelter. After leaving the Marines, he started working in rescue Okay-9 coaching in 1991 and developed Job Drive-2, the primary search and rescue Okay-9 program in Rhode Island.

In his intensive profession spanning greater than three a long time, Matt dealt with six canines educated in varied search areas together with wilderness, catastrophe reside, catastrophe cadaver, human stays detection, water search, trailing, explosives detection, and article search. To ascertain the Okay-9 corps in Rhode Island, he first enrolled in a coaching program together with his Saint-Bernard to be taught all of the related abilities of working with canine.

Moreover, Matt constructed the drive with largely donated and shelter canine and holds deep compassion for rescued canines. In an interview, he shared, “It’s a connection you’ve got with somebody you don’t even know…But you’re each human beings, you each deserve respect, you deserve that chance to be discovered.” It’s this very sentiment that led Matt to rescue an eight-month-old Ruby from the RISPCA shelter in 2011, simply two hours earlier than she was to be put down after being termed “unadoptable.”

Matt had unimaginable religion in Ruby and determined to offer her an opportunity as a Okay-9 officer, by teaming her up with Trooper Daniel O’Neil and serving to to coach her. Their arduous work bore outcomes as she went on to take part in quite a few search and rescue missions and was titled ‘Search and Rescue Hero Canine’ by the American Humane Society in 2018. Aside from Ruby, Matt has educated a number of different canines like Hannibal, a Swiss Alpine who was the primary Okay-9 officer of Rhode Island.

As well as, Matt began the primary Okay-9 Catastrophe Search Staff for Rhode Island’s City Search and Rescue workforce, which has licensed in varied ranges of catastrophe search. Lots of the Okay-9 groups he has educated have made astounding discoveries like a mass grave in Columbia, the stays of a US pilot who was shot down in Vietnam in 1965, in addition to an airplane buried beneath 100 toes of water close to Block Island. These canine have additionally rescued numerous lacking folks and helped apprehend criminals.

The place is Matt Zarrella At present?

Matthew Zarrella retired from the Rhode Island State Police as Sergeant in 2015. He presently resides in Windfall, Rhode Island, and manages his firm American Patriot Okay-9 Coaching, which conducts seminars, courses, and workshops with legislation enforcement businesses to coach search and rescue canine. He’s additionally the co-owner of Professional-Leash LLC, which manufactures premium canine leashes of all sorts.

Moreover, Matt is a Grasp Coach for the Worldwide Police Work Canine Affiliation and a volunteer search supervisor for the State of Rhode Island, who assists with lacking individual searches. His dynamic profession has been explored in Mary Healey Jamiel’s documentary ‘Searchdogs’ and quite a few books about working canine. Matt has devoted his life to rescuing and coaching canines for serving to the neighborhood and has set a superb instance together with his compassion and visionary endeavors.

Learn Extra: Is the Canine in Rescued by Ruby Actual or CGI?