Meet Keller, a double Merle Australian Shepherd. He was born blind and deaf after breeders tried to get a particular look in puppies by breeding two Merles together. He is a foster puppy that is sponsored by East Dallas Pet Rescue, who is looking for his furever home.
Each year, hundreds of dogs are abandoned, abused or just plain unwanted in the Dallas area alone. These rescued dogs rely on organizations such as East Dallas Pet Rescue to nurse them back to health and place them in good, loving homes. East Dallas Pet Rescue is a network of volunteers that rescue and foster dogs while they try to find permanent homes for these handsome pups.
On Wednesday, March 16th at 7 PM Kari Lehtonen will take part in a doggie fashion show at Sisu in Dallas, where he and some of his Dallas Stars teammates will walk with their own dogs and rescues from East Dallas Pet Rescue down a runway. The event is designed to raise money for the rescue operations for the organization, as well as raising funds for the Dallas Stars Foundation and (hopefully) seeing some dogs find their special humans!
The motto of the event is “if these animals are good enough for professional athletes and celebrities, they can be good enough for you too.” Not only is the event designed to raise money for two charitable organizations, but its other purpose is to educate people on the benefits of adopting rescues versus buying dogs from breeders or puppy mills.
The cost to attend the event, rub elbows with Dallas Stars players, and see some absolutely adorable dogs starts at approximately $20. Event details can be found here (and they even post flash sales for discounted tickets, so keep an eye on that!) and you can purchase tickets here. I’ve already got my ticket, so if you come out to the event, make sure to say hello!
If you are unable to attend the event and wish to assist East Dallas Pet Rescue with a donation, you can check out their Amazon wish list, make a PayPal donation to eastdallaspetrescue@gmail.com, or contribute to their GoFundMe campaign.
Keller will make his television debut tomorrow morning on WFAA8 in Dallas at 7:25 AM CST. Make sure to tune in to see this sweet little guy and hear more about the event!