Approximately 60 community members and 46 of their four-legged friends gathered in Kissena Park on Saturday, October 14, to raise money for the Pets for Vets program.
The dog-walk-a-thon raised $3,500 to benefit the National Education ffor Assistance Dogs Service (NEADS) and its Canines for Combat Veterans program, which specially trains dogs to assist disabled veterans.
“It's a great program,” said George Fregeau, the co-founder of Canines for Combat Veterans. “We've been working on this for three years now. Hopefully in the near future we're going to have a combat veteran paired with the dog.”
Event organizer Michele Fitzsimmons had wanted to do something of this nature to combine her love of dogs with doing something to benefit veterans, insofar as she has two friends serving in Iraq.
“I think it was a huge success,” she said of the fundraiser. “I just felt like it was really a great community event.”
After receiving a flyer from a another dog owner about the event, Flushing resident Marina Kleva decided to bring her 2-year-old lab mix Buddy down to participate.
“I thought it was a very good cause and I thought it would be a fun day,” Kleva said.
Councilmember John Liu said that it was important to honor veterans and provide them with support.
“It's what the veterans have done that has kept our country and the ideals of freedom and democracy alive and well,” Liu said.
Due to the success of the event, Fitzsimmons said that she plans to have another Pets for Vets dog-walk-a-thon in Flushing next spring. She also said that, after talking to some friends in Brooklyn, she wants to hold one in the fall in Prospect Park.
Contributions can still be made to the fundraiser by visiting www.petsforveterans.org and clicking “donate now.”
For more information about NEADS, visit www.neads.org.
Dog walk raises money for Pets for Vets program
By Jessica Lyons
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