MONSON – The second annual Monson Police K-9 Fundraiser Family Fun Day will take place on June 25 at Westview Farms Creamery on 111 East Hill Rd. at 12 p.m.

“It will be a fun-filled day for the entire family of all ages to enjoy,” said Event Coordinator Jan Garabedian. “Last year, the fundraiser was a huge success. The generosity from the local businesses and community was awesome. This year, we hope to see everyone back and along with new people for a great turnout.”

The fundraiser is in honor of Monson’s own K-9 Rex, a 3 1/2-year-old German Shepherd from Slovakia who joined the force in 2019. He was acquired primarily through a grant from a nonprofit organization called Massachusetts Vest-A-Dog in Walpole. They help support Massachusetts police dogs with bullet proof vests, essential equipment, training and the dogs themselves. This organization will be at the fundraiser, and they also donated K-9 Rex his vest.

There will also be multiple K-9s from surrounding police agencies, K-9 demonstrations, a 50/50 raffle, raffle prizes, event T-shirts and Back the Blue items for sale. Special guests Interskate 91 and Paw Patrol will be attending the event, as well as live music by the band Sidetracked.

All proceeds will be donated to the Monson Police K-9 Program.
The K-9 program is not part of the Monson Police Department’s annual budget. In order to keep the program going, they rely on donations and fundraisers. Garabedian told Reminder Publishing implementing a K-9 program is costly, and maintaining it is needed for the program to remain active. Because of this, Garabedian started her fundraising mission for the program. The money raised will help defray medical expenses, training, food and equipment for Rex.

Fundraising is a passion of Garabedian. She explained that she comes from a law enforcement family, and was a vet tech for 20 years. Garabedian fundraises for different towns, and started putting together a similar fundraiser eight years ago for the Palmer Police Department when they had a K-9. She did Palmer for six years, did a fundraiser for the Ware Police K-9 and just started hosting Monson’s last year. With this fundraiser being their second, Garabedian said she is hoping the Monson Police are still going to want her services every year because she enjoys doing it.

“It’s really something these dogs need,” Garabedian responded. “There are towns that have budgets for the dogs and there are towns that do not. I reach out to the ones that do not have a budget and they need money.”

She continued, “It makes me feel good that I can help them out. The community really enjoys watching the dogs do demonstrations, see what they actually do and why they’re so important. They’re a real asset to the police department. It would be a shame if there was no funding for them and it couldn’t continue because they save lives.”

For more information or donations, contact Jan Garabedian at 519-0381 or email paws4bluek9@gmail.com. The rain date for this event is Aug. 13.