Wisconsin’s 8th annual K-9 Veterans Day observance and celebration will be held Sunday, March 13, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the American Legion Banquet Center, 201 S. Water Street, E., Fort Atkinson, according to information released by the Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson, Inc., the organization which annually organizes the event.
The event speaker this year is John Meeks, veteran K-9 handler, bronze star recipient, and executive director of Chapter 3 of the U.S. War Dogs Association, according to the release.
Receiving special recognition will be Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department K-9 “Riggs,” who was shot in the line of duty, and his handler Deputy Terry Tiffts, the release stated.
Additionally, Whitewater’s retiring K-9 “Tilla” and handler Officer Justin Stuppy will be honored.
All veteran and current K-9 handlers in attendance will be recognized, and fallen working dogs will be honored. Light refreshments will be provided, the release continued.
The event is free and open to the public.
According to the release, at 12:30 p.m., there will be a brief wreath-laying ceremony in McCoy Park at the site of the K-9 Veterans Memorial to honor K-9 “Seato” and his handler Marine Lance Corporal Terry Beck who were killed in action in December 1967.
Immediately after the wreath-laying, participants will move to the ceremony at the American Legion.
The Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson began sponsoring the event following the successful 2015 campaign to have March 13 proclaimed K-9 Veterans Day by the Wisconsin Legislature. The proclamation designated March 13 as a day to remember and honor military working dogs, police dogs, customs dogs, search and rescue dogs, border patrol dogs, arson dogs and secret service dogs that help to protect and serve our nation, the release noted.
The Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson, Inc. is a non-profit organization of volunteers offering training classes, education, and community service.
To learn more about the K-9 Veterans Day event, visit www.kcfadogs.org or contact the project coordinator, Mabel Schumacher, at schu848@charter.net.
Adhering last year to COVID-19 precautions, the event was held virtually. Click on the above arrow to see the virtual event. This year, the event is returning to its traditional in-person format.
Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson Treasurer and K-9 Veterans Day event coordinator Mabel Schumacher, from left, Richard Miles, American Legion Post 166 sergeant-at-arms and chaplain of the Edwin Frohmader Post 1879 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Auxiliary, and Gary Wolfram, program speaker and high school friend of fallen Marine and K-9 handler Terry Beck, who was killed in Vietnam along with his dog, “Seato,” by sniper fire in 1967, stand at the podium in the American Legion Banquet Center. The three were on hand to observe K-9 Veterans Day last year, which was held virtually. This year, an in-person observance and celebration will be held on March 13. File photo/Kim McDarison.
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