Mighty Texas Dog Walk a Huge Hit
Each member of the team at Loewy Law Firm has causes that are near and dear to our hearts. Because providing aid to those in need is just one of those causes, we would like to share an event with you that took place Saturday morning.
The day before Easter saw thousands of people and their pets flock to South Austin to take part in the 17th annual Mighty Texas Dog Walk. Why? Because the dog walk supports service dogs, their people, and the training it takes to create a fantastic team.
Sheri Soltes runs Service Dogs Inc, an organization that works with dogs large and small in order to provide people with physical disabilities and mobility issues gain independence.
Service Dogs Inc has been in operation for close to 30 years. Every dog that is trained to be a service animal is first pulled from a local animal shelter. Strays who would otherwise languish in kennels or be euthanized are pulled and trained for a new life. According to Soltes, “We take strays and turn them into stars!”
Since the organization has been functioning, more than 800 strays have been saved and trained. The price tag? From pulling a dog from the shelter to the day it is placed with its new owner, the cost adds up to $20,000. That is no small cost, but one that is gladly taken on by the group. The charge for a trained dog from Service Dogs Inc? Zero.
Dogs trained by the organization have given their owners a new lease on life. One such story involves Sheila English, a special education teacher. Her three-year-old dog Noelle has saved English from being struck by a car, helps English walk up and down curbs, and even picks up dropped pencils.
Stories like this one are not unusual, and it is because of stories like this one that people come out in droves to support the organization at events like the Mighty Texas Dog Walk. Through fundraising efforts like the annual walk, the organization can continue to save shelter dogs and give them some of the most important jobs that dogs can have. Ask anyone who has received a dog from the group…these dogs are life changers.