National K9 Veteran Day

Sponsored By:

Leroy’s Southern Kitchen & Bar

K9 Veterans Day is celebrated on March 13th, which is the date that the US Army K9 Corps was founded in 1942; a day to honor and commemorate the service and sacrifices of American military, police, and rescue dogs, Border Patrol K9s, Customs K9s, Secret Ser-vice K9s, Airport Service K9s and FBI K9s, who daily work to save and protect Americans and our country. It’s a chance for us to celebrate the four-legged heroes that help serve our armed forces and keep our troops safe, as well as re-member all working dogs.

Public Programs (free/donation):

• Punta Gorda Police Department will showcase their canine officers with a special demonstration Gulf Theater Showtime 11:00am

• Southern Chapter of the U.S. WAR DOGS Association K-9 War Dog Advocates will be here to dis-cuss their organization & provide free war dog swag.

• Meet & Greet with war dog Lenna 12:30pm

• Lecture from War Dog Advocate Bill Schroeder 1:00pm: Bill Schroeder served in the United States Army for three years, from 1966 until 1969, patrolling the Korean Demilitarized Zone. U.S. Army scout dog 'Bandit' served 18 months alongside Bill in Korea. Upon returning to the states Bill has become an advocate for K9 veterans and has adopted two of them.

• Featured HBO Documentary: War Dog: A Soldier's Best Friend. Runtime 68min 2017. From exec-utive producer Channing Tatum and director Deborah Scranton ('The War Tapes') comes a deeply personal documentary that highlights the intimate relationship between veterans and their K9 com-panions, both during combat and after.