Big dogs prowling the nightlife environs of Hughes Hangar are seldom of the four-legged variety but during this fundraiser for K9s4COPs, the pooches were the hit of the show hosted by founder Kristi Schiller and Mayor Annise Parker.
Several seriously-trained police dogs were on hand at the "Unleashed" fundraiser to receive top honors in their categories including the Over All Top Dog of the Year award which went to K9 Tommy and Deputy Jason Bullock of the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Roseann Rogers served as emcee, introducing the honored canines and their two-legged partners.
In keeping with the canine theme, each of the auction packages included one-of-a-kind leashes and dog collars designed by local artists including Van McFarland, Kelley Devine and Taft McWhorter. The auction and the cause clearly struck a note as the casual evening raked in $460,000 for the program that provides specially-trained dogs to area law enforcement agencies.
Contributing to the fundraising were Bobby Kerr, the Mustang Million horse whisperer, who presented a check for 10 percent of his winnings ($17,900) and the Houston K-9 Academy, owned by Jaz and Jason Stanze, which presented a check for $7,500 to be used for purchase of one of the highly-trained dogs.
Those contributing to the cause included Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, Jo Lynn Falgout, Joan and Dino Chouest, Allie Chouest, Otto Candies, Pam and Tracey Mahoney, Erin and Preston Hall, Susan and Mike Plank, Joanne and Welcome Wilson, JoAnn and Mike Cone and K9s4COPs executive director Liz Lara Carreno.
Susan Plank, left, and Jenna Jackson at the K9s4COPS fundraiser at Hughes Hangar.
