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- Category: Past Issues
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Vet and Helper
Alexis Courneen, a Coast Guard veteran, with her service dog Sooner. Courtesy photo.
Dog walk
raises $2500 plus
PUTNAM --- The third annual Putnam Lions NEADS "Canines for Combat Veterans" Dog Walk garnered about $2,550 according to co-chair Stuart Neal. Linda Garcia is the other co-chair.
More than $7,200 was raised in the first two years. More donations are expected in the next week or two, probably putting the total for this year over $3,000.
"We hope to continue supporting NEADS in the future," Neal said.
Neal added that the Lions partnered with Putnam's Family Fun Day "so it gives people a lot more things to do, especially with kids.
The National Education for Assistance Dog Services in Princeton provides service dogs for disabled veterans at little or no cost. In October of 2006, NEADS graduated its first class of Canines for Combat Veterans to aid in the rehabilitation of injured soldiers. The dogs are trained to serve the needs of veterans ranging from wheelchair and prosthetic aid to overcoming hearing and balance conditions caused by roadside bombs. Many of the hearing dogs are rescued from shelters, some are fostered and others are trained by inmates in the Prison PUP Partnership.