3 Cheers: How A Philadelphia Woman Helps Raise Money For Breast Cancer Research While Helping K9 Units
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A local woman started a campaign to do two things at once: help police dogs and raise money for breast cancer research. The K9 pups are posing for photos, ready for their close-up, rocking a new accessory, all for a great cause.
"It's a great leash. It's quality," said SEPTA Transit Police K9 Officer Ted Hrycyszyn.
Hrycyszyn is just one of the local officers with a new pink leash for his K9, Dodi.
"It means a lot," he said. "People on the street look at it, and they're like, 'You got a pink leash!' You know, big bad cop with a dog that has a pink leash."
The photoshoot is a thank you to Carol Skaziak and her nonprofit, the Throw Away Dogs Project.
"I just had this passion for helping dogs that are misunderstood," Skaziak said.
For six years, the organization has trained shelter dogs for police work and donates them to police departments across the country. Thirty-eight throwaway dogs are on the street, three of them with SEPTA.
"The Throw Away Dogs name is out there. I want to be able to utilize that name in order to help more of the community," Skaziak said. "Since it was breast cancer awareness month, let's try to do something dog-related."
Skaziak started Project Pink Leash. For $50, a K9 handler receives a new pink leash.
"I wanted to donate $10 for every leash sold to the Breast Cancer Research (Foundation), but I didn't want the K9 handlers to actually have to pay for these, so I reached out to the public," Skaziak said.
She said the outpouring "was amazing."
For every $50 raised, she sent a customized leash to a K9 officer. Forty-seven officers across the country have received the leash, including Hrycyszyn.
"I get a lot of thumbs up," he said. "People know."
The Throw Away Dogs Project will donate $500 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation from the sale of the leashes.