PuppyUp members form new organization
By KRISTIE LINDEN
klinden@yourmvi.com
After last fall’s successful PuppyUp Monessen Walk, the local branch of the national foundation started to think about breaking away to form its own group.
For three years, PuppyUp Monessen held an annual walk that raised money for cancer research in dogs and educated dog owners about the warning signs of the disease in their pets.
Randy Marino, who was director of the Monessen PuppyUp Walk, lost his puppy to cancer at a young age, and the experience fueled his interest in the group.
PuppyUp raised a good bit of money over the years and had a respectable turnout for its events, Marino said, but eventually the volunteers were thinking beyond the cancer-focused purpose of the organization.
“There was no doubt that cancer in dogs is a huge, huge issue, but our group just wanted to go in another direction,” Marino said. “We wanted to keep working; the core group of 20 people have been together for three years now.”
Knowing that COVID-19 would have canceled their annual walk anyway provided the group with the downtime it needed to start fresh, so Mon Valley Paws was born.
The new organization received its nonprofit status in June and is able to raise money to begin its mission.
During the time that it hasn’t been able to hold events, the committee has been writing its bylaws, creating a new logo, making a Facebook page and website and completing other tasks to get the nonprofit off the ground.
Mon Valley Paws will not hold a public event until 2021, but it plans to start with its annual dog walk in the fall in addition to a Biscuit Bingo and a Trunk or Treat for pets.
Marino said the group wants to plan a food truck and vendor event in addition to other fun activities to bring humans and their pets together.
Instead of focusing all the donations raised on one charitable cause, Mon Valley Paws intends to allocate the funds three ways.
Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs will receive 50% of the money Mon Valley Paws raises. The organization is based in Florida, but plans to open a chapter in the Pittsburgh area soon, Marino said.
It trains medical service dogs to mitigate the challenges associated with several disabilities, including post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, seizure disorders, glucose imbalance and mobility issues.
“They know our mission and they seem excited to work with us,” Marino said. “In the Mon Valley, we have a high concentration of veterans and we thought we could drum up more support (for this charity).”
Another 25% of the money raised will go toward the Mon Valley Paws Shelter and Rescue Grant. Once established, there will be five $500 grants that will be distributed to local shelters.
“There are so many of them and they’re always in need,” Marino said. “What we hoped to do, with the first five that get selected, is to bring pets to our activities to get them adopted. I’d like to see some of the shelters place pets in homes for adoption.”
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