INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — It was called Yappy Hour 4.0, but there wasn’t a yip or a yap out of any of the well-behaved pooches accompanying their human companions at the Blue Ribbon Charitable Foundation fundraiser, held Sunday afternoon at Indian River Estates.
Money raised at the event was dedicated to the Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, which now has to replace a third four-legged partner. One resulted from a planned retirement, and the other two were due to unexpected medical conditions.
“I know it’s tough, because we just lost two, and now we need a third, but you just can’t predict these things,” said K-9 handler Ron Adamson.
The event was organized by Martin Lavender, owner of Blue Ribbon Boarding and Grooming, and George Bryan, executive director of Indian River Estates East, to coincide with the official christening of a new dog park at the Estates.
“I’ve known Martin since Boy Scouts, when we’re about 12 years old,” said Bryan, adding that Lavender had helped with design ideas for the dog park.
Lavender has always been on the side of the underdog. A few years ago he hosted a series of events and raised enough to outfit each of the area’s K-9 dogs with bullet-proof vests. That fundraising effort morphed into others – raising funds to supply pet oxygen mask sets for all the Fire & Rescue Units, and next for replacement K-9 dogs.
Through a new Pet Medical Assistance Program, his Blue Ribbon Charitable Foundation also assists individuals who cannot afford to pay for the veterinary care of their pets.
“We work with the vets and the people who need it, and square up directly with the vets,” explained Lavender. “We’re doing the Cracker Christmas again this December 8 and all the money will go to that program.”
Pet friendly vendors donated raffle items and the proceeds from the sale of their goods, including Debbie Kanehl’s beaded bracelets, and dog trainer Amy Robinson’s Drool School Family Dog Training CD’s.
Veterinarians from Florida Vet League and Divine Animal Hospital offered information on their services, and a new business, Market Fresh Pet Foods gave lucky dogs samples of their Pupcicle frozen treats.
An occasional light breeze helped provide a respite from the bright sun, but the dogs also took full advantage of doggie bowls of cool water scattered about – one even treating a larger bowl as a miniature pool.
Humans were kept entertained by music from George Vannoy’s band Sophisticated Sounds, and chowed down on food donated by Indian River Estates. They were also treated to a demonstration by a few members of the K-9 unit, including Ron Adamson, Kevin Keitz, Christian Mathisen and Brian Reimsnyder.
Highly alert and more than eager to display their extraordinary skills, German Shepherds Marco, Deny and Nacho, and Belgian Malinois Kobi and Taz, wowed the crowd with demonstrations of the remarkable teamwork between the highly-trained dogs and their handlers. The two energetic new dogs Marco and Kobi, both now about 16-months old, came from Rumania and Czechoslovakia.
As K-9 Unit leader Sgt. Pat White explained, dogs are trained to think of their work as a game. But it’s a dangerous job and the men will do everything possible to protect their canine partners, and vice versa.
The patrol dogs are trained to search for, track and help apprehend criminals and to detect drugs and bombs. The crowd was also introduced to Dixie, a female search and rescue bloodhound trained to track individuals such as children and Alzheimer patients.
“If it wasn’t for these dogs, we would lose more officers,” said White. “There’s a lot of emotional attachment; these are our partners.”