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The Mighty Texas Dog Walk Fundraiser Generates About $80,000

April 18, 2007, 12:0AM MT

By Jennifer S Hayes

Thousands of two and four-legged participants show up for Austin event.

Thousands of two and four-legged participants show up for Austin event.

By Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends Network

Despite severe thunderstorms and hail the previous night, and wind gusts in excess of 30 mph that morning, the Mighty Texas Dog Walk drew huge crowds. Overall, there were nearly 3,000 walkers, unfortunately not enough to beat the current world record of 5,672 dogs, but certainly more than enough to overtake the Sunset Valley walking path.

Looking around, there were dogs of every size and breed represented, with an equally diverse group of people who brought them. However, all were there to enjoy a 3-mile stroll, while also helping to financially support the Texas Hearing and Service Dogs organization, with donations totaling approximately $80,000. In fact, there were quite a few Hearing and Service Dog recipients, who participated along with their trained canine alumni.

Many of the dogs participating in the walk had been adopted from local shelters and there were even a few animal rescue groups who attended the walk. One such organization, Lucky Mutts attends every year, and people look forward to seeing their costumed canines. This year the gang was dressed up with an old West sheriff and prisoner theme, to help educate the public about the bias of breed specific legislation. They cast Roddy and Cassidy as falsely accused inmates, solely due to being Rottweilers.

However, despite the family-oriented fun, the main purpose of the event was to generate much needed funds necessary to pay for the training of Hearing and Service Dogs. It costs approximately $18,000 to fund the instruction involved to produce an animal suited to be a Hearing or Service Dog, and that does not cover the costs picked up by the training dogs’ foster families. Mary Carolyn Carmichael attended the walk with her current dog-in-training, Colt. Her profession is in the legal arena, and she says she “adores dogs, cares about the disabled, so this marries all my interests.” In fact, she and Colt will attend a due process hearing on May 5th, the first ever with a dog in attendance.

Sheri Soltes, the founder of Texas Hearing and Service Dogs, is largely responsible for the passage of laws allowing Hearing and Service Dogs in training to have access to public areas. This is extremely important, as the dogs need to be comfortable, confident and focused on their partner in a variety of public places. Mary Carolyn discovered that Colt was afraid of the buzzing noise made by the refrigeration units in grocery stores. With the agreement of a local HEB, she began feeding him his meals there to desensitize him and remove his fear. Luckily, Austin is a very dog-friendly town, which welcomes them both inside retail establishments and restaurants. Actually, Colt’s favorite place to visit is church. The pair enjoy their many excursions together and Mary Carolyn particularly takes pleasure in educating the public about the uses of Hearing and Service Dogs and even teaches children the correct way to approach dogs.

All of the dogs that Texas Hearing and Service Dogs utilizes in its program are rescues themselves. That is a point not lost on Mary Carolyn, who says the organization is “saving a dog, taking him, and making him a star.” Dogs are then paired with a person in need, and when fully trained, are given to the recipient at no charge. In all, it is a very worthwhile endeavor and just one more reason, among many, for the thousands of attendees to participate in the Mighty Texas Dog Walk.

Texas Service and Hearing Dogs has another fundraising event scheduled; Polo for Puppies, to be held on Saturday, May 19th in Manor, TX. For additional details about this benefit, please visit the THSD website.

Click here to view an additional news story and video of the Mighty Texas Dog Walk.

For more information about Texas Hearing and Service Dogs and the annual Mighty Texas Dog Walk:
Texas Hearing and Service Dogs
4803 Rutherglen
Austin, TX 78749
Phone: (512) 891-9090
www.servicedogs.org

Photo credit: all photos taken by Jennifer Hayes
Lead Photo: Cari Bernstein with her dog Enzo, both participants in the walk.
Photo #2: Photo of just a few of the many thousands of walkers.
Photo #3: Hunter Adkins, with Dusty, the service dog that she received from Texas Hearing and Service Dogs.
Photo #4: “Hopalong” Cassidy, dressed in prisoner clothing to highlight the unjustness of breed specific legislation. Cassidy was rescued and adopted from LaP Dog Rescue out of Waller, TX, but has now joined the Lucky Mutts gang. She had been abandoned as a puppy and needed to have one of her legs amputated. Despite her disability, she has become certified as a Canine Good Citizen and is also now a Therapy Dog, who regularly visits an assisted-living home.
Photo #5: Mary Carolyn Carmichael with her service dog-in-training, Colt.
Photo #6: Pat Whiteside, with her dog Kahlua, warms up with some coffee before the walk.
Photo #7: Donna Harwood, Volunteer Associate for the Austin Humane Society, with Salvador, an 8-year old Chihuahua mix who was available for adoption.
Photo #8: More of the crowds participating in the dog walk.

A special thanks to Mary Carolyn Carmichael and Sheri Soltes, of Texas Hearing and Service Dogs, for their assistance with this story.

Comments

Posted April 23, 2007, 8:6AM by CCarmichael

Go mom and colt!!

Posted April 23, 2007, 5:58PM by ruthy92

Do these people breed dogs as service dogs?

If so that is NOT necessary as there are all kinds of puppies and dogs that can be service-ability tested that are in shelters and rescues

For example, many organizations that train dogs for the deaf select dogs from shelters

I know that these organizations are all run in different ways, and some do unnecessarily breed

Posted April 23, 2007, 8:8PM by jhayes

No, the Texas Hearing and Service Dogs organization does not breed dogs. As stated in the article, all the dogs they obtain for the program are from shelters or rescues. So not only do they provide the fully trained dog to the recipient free of charge, but they also potentially save that dog's life.

Posted April 18, 2007, 12:13PM by jennifer

Jennifer - what a great story and fabulous photos! Thanks so much! I really enjoyed reading about the diversity of the animals and the people, and the wonderful amount of money that was raised!

Posted April 18, 2007, 3:43PM by jkrause

Wow, everything IS BIGGER in Texas! Aside from being a fellow Austinite, I am VERY proud!

Posted April 19, 2007, 4:21AM by Felis_sapien

As always, excellent reporting and pictures, jhayes. You're doing a wonderful job for the Texas community.