PARTNERSHIPS AND FRIENDSHIPS
“What started out as an outreach program, turned into an amazing friendship,” says Anthony Barnett, Founder and Director of Game Dog Guardian. As GDG started to volunteer with the Collegiate Veterans Association at KU, we found that by working together we accomplished so much more together. The symbiotic support system in our community is astounding; particularly as we move into 2013.
In June, 2012, we invited a handful of our veteran friends to set up a “kissing booth” at the Pinups for Pitbulls fundraiser. They raised over $150 at the booth, and do you know what they did? Turned around and donated it right back to Pinups for Pitbulls.
At that same event, we were honored to receive a flag, flown by the 127th Fighter Wing, 107th Fighter Squadron in Afgahnistan’s Operating Enduring Freedom, and was fown in 38 missions. “As a Crew Chief in the Air Force, I woke up every morning and made sure that flag was on the plane and double checked it after they returned from each mission,” said Kyle Brown of the U.S. Air Force, who is a recent graduate of the University of Kansas and former President of the KU Collegiate Veterans Association.
We were shocked and honored by a gift that shows the continuing selflessness of these veterans of our all-volunteer armed forces.
As a decade of war winds down, we will continue to help the veterans in our community when they come back home and encourage you to do the same. – We Got Your Six.
JOG OUT YOUR SUPPORT FOR VETERANS!
Join the KU Veterans Alumni Chapter and the Collegiate Veterans Association for their annual Veterans Day Run in Lawrence. Every year since 2011, Game Dog Guardian has sponsored the Veterans Day 5K which benefits the University of Kansas Wounded Warrior Scholarship Fund.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT:
Kicking off Veterans Week 2012, we want to honor one of our hardest working foster homes, Aaron Razak.
In a little over a year, Aaron has fostered seven dogs for Game Dog Guardian and did a remarkable job for each and every one.
His most recent foster dog, Arnold, took quite a bit of time and patience…
Arnold came to us with mange, ringworm, intestinal parasites, and a bacterial infection. Aaron, who is soon starting medical school to be a physical therapist, took on the challenge of caring for Arnold with amazing grace.
GDG met Aaron as a part of our outreach program with Leonidas and Liam, GDG’s therapy dogs. Aaron was a senior at the University of Kansas studying Exercise Science, a teaching assistant in the Biology department, as well as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, and worked as Military Police here and overseas, on several deployments. Not only that, but Aaron was a part of the Collegiate Veterans Association at KU when GDG reached out to see what we could do to help the veterans in our community.
What started as community outreach grew into valued frienships and Aaron became interested in how he could help GDG. Particularly, he was interested in GDG’s rescue dog program and offered to help foster one of our longest tenured dogs.
Aaron is one of the many selfless and contributing members of society who happens to also be a veteran of the armed foces. We are honored to not only have him as a part of our team, but also to have him in our community.
Please join us in thanking Aaron for his service to our country, and for all that he’s done to bring the happiness of the human-canine bond to all the adoptive families of his foster dogs.