MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- A 5k fundraising run is slated to be held April 19th in Wilmington to raise money for the Paws4Vets program, which is slated to help place assistance dogs with wounded service members.
The event, which is scheduled to be held at Hugh MacRae Park at 10 a.m., is being hosted by Paws4people and Paws4Vets programs and in part by the University of North Carolina – Wilmington Parks and Recreation Department.
The event, called the See Spot Run 5k run-or-walk,
Rebecca A. Hammer, a student of the UNCW Parks and Recreation Department.
“The money from this brings back bomb sniffing dogs from Kabul, Afghanistan for wounded warriors and active duty personnel with post traumatic stress disorder or combat related injuries on Camp Lejeune.”
“Basically, they are there to sense when people in need of attention, if they are overly stressed or are about to have complication due to their injuries. These dogs know how to turn on lights, take off shoes and, among other things, detect an oncoming attach from deadly diseases – its crazy the amount of warning these dogs can give and tasks they can perform.”
“People can outright give donations by going straight to the website. There is a link on the left-hand side that allows you to make a monetary donation by credit card.”
Civilians and veterans are benefited by the program, but its very recent that they started working with wounded warriors.
“The only reason I decided to take part in this project was because I am a disabled veteran. This means a lot to me because I know guys that really need these dogs – they need something.”