Celebrate a Hero Dog’s Retirement and Help with Fundraising for a New K-9 Officer

DATE: Thursday, September 23, 2021
TIME: 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm
LOCATION: Cielo Events Center at Castle Pines, Colorado

Gold Sponsors Veterinary Specialists of the Rockies invite you to register to join us for the 10th Annual Howling Good Time Gala. It promises to be the good dog, go-to, party of the year – in celebration of the hero dogs who put their lives on the line every day for our local Colorado communities.

This year is a particularly important year for the Friends of Douglas County K-9. As you can imagine, there was no gala in 2020. Expenses have continued, and the community organization needs our help to support the K-9 Unit of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DSCO).

Plus, we’ll be congratulating Atlas, this year’s retiring K-9 Officer. You won’t want to miss this celebration, which will also raise money for the acquisition of new K-9 Officers. It really is a “howling good time!”

History of the Friends of Douglas County K-9

In 2011, when two of the four dogs on the K-9 Unit in Douglas County were about to retire, their long-time veterinarians wanted to do more for the K-9 Officers who had given so much to the local community. Knowing that the DSCO did not have the budget at the time to replace their retiring police dogs led to the founding of the public charity, the Friends of Douglas County K-9, or K-9 Friends, as the organization likes to call it.

K-9 Officers and their human police deputy partners provide a safer local community, saving lives, assisting with arrests in Douglas and surrounding counties, and protecting people.

When Hero Dogs Retire

While the DSCO fund vehicles and its deputies’ salaries, your community donations fund nearly all of the DCSO K-9 Unit’s costs. Plus, when a DCSO K-9 retires, the deputy who has worked with the dog always purchases him or her from the DSCO for $1. After this, that deputy becomes the dog’s owner and is completely responsible for their veterinary care and keeping their retired furry partner comfortable into their twilight years. Retired hero dogs often need extensive and costly veterinary care.

So, what can do we do to help? Party it up at the gala with us. Register now to get your tickets.

K-9 Friends to the Rescue

Since 2011, K-9 Friends and your donations have helped the DCSO K-9 Unit acquire nine new K-9 officers. They also helped with the purchase of their first-ever therapy and service dog. K-9 Friends has also helped the DSCO to acquire Kevlar vests that are custom-fit to the K-9 officers and has enabled extensive training and specialized equipment, empowering the K-9 Unit to become one of the best in the country.

K-9 Friends also tirelessly works to provide retired hero dogs with exceptional veterinary care, relieving the need for their deputy owner to pay the high costs.

Because of your and other community donations, the DCSO K-9 Unit has six teams of deputies and K-9s, but the organization always has more to do for these remarkable dogs.

During our gala celebration and throughout the year we raise the funds needed to help our sheriff deputies and their dogs to help us and our community.

Veterinary Specialists of the Rockies: Gold Sponsors of the 10th Annual Howling Good Time

Join Gold Sponsors Veterinary Specialists of the Rockies on Thursday, September 23, or the 10th Annual Howling Good Time Gala at Cielo at Castle Pines.

What’s Included at the Gala

Your purchase of a ticket to this year’s Howling Good Time Gala includes these fun evening events, and much more:

• A cash bar
• A sit-down dinner
• Fun entertainment
• A live auction
• A silent auction
• Special guests, including
  • Tony Spurlock, Douglas County Sheriff
  • Dr. David Swieckowski, K-9 Friends Chairman
  • Don Martin, Auctioneer

…plus, the chance to meet your DCSO K-9 Unit Officers and spend a little time with the amazing hero dogs.

Proceeds from the gala and all other donations go to the DSCO K-9 Unit.

Even if you are unable to attend, please consider visiting the gala site to make a donation, learn more, buy your tickets, and then come celebrate Atlas’s retirement and raise funds for the next hero dog.

Thank you for supporting this important community cause.