Twenty-five K-9 Care Packages are on their way to Iraq and Afghanistan! The Dynamic Dog Club of the Villages has teamed up with Operation Shoebox. Our goal is to bring the "comforts of home" to the hard working bomb detection and protection dogs keeping our troops safer in the war zones abroad. Now our K-9 heroes will be supported as well.
Twenty-one Dynamic Dog club members met Saturday 8/29 to sort, pack, and label packages for the two K-9 Units designated by Operation Shoebox President Mary Harper. This unique branch of Operation Shoebox was started by Villages resident and Dynamic Dog Club member Barbara Millhouse as a tribute to her grandson, Bryan Thomas, who was killed September 4, 2008 by an IED explosion. Bryan was an avid dog lover and was looking forward to working with dogs upon his return from military service.
While the military handlers and their working dogs provide invaluable service protecting our troops from terrorist harm, very little beyond the basics of food, shelter and Veterinary care is available to the K-9 teams. The Dynamic Dog Club Operation Shoebox Military Working Dog Support Team went to work to provide a message of support to these American heroes. With the generous donations received from exceptional supporters like Ric & Joan Hutchins of Whole Earth Pet Supply, and Joan Kolins & Cindy Luciano of Paws For A Moment Pet Boutique, as well as the Dynamic Dog Club membership, needed equipment and specials treats together with vital care items were collected. Monetary donations to cover the most expensive postal service fees were raised by a raffle at the club meeting. Your continuing help will be needed as work will begin immediately to supply the next K-9 Unit in need. You can purchase and donate needed supplies and drop them in the donation boxes at these locations:
- Whole Earth Pet Supply - 1556 Bella Cruz Dr. in the Spanish Plaines Shopping Center
- Paws For A Moment Pet Boutique - Palm Ridge Plaza near Southern Trace
- Buffalo Ridge Animal Hospital - 748 Villages Campus Circle
To be a part of this effort, please consider attending our Dynamic Dog Club meetings on the last Wednesday of the month at the Laurel Manor Recreation Center from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. Volunteer letter writers, cloth bag makers, and helpers are always needed on announced assembly days.
