This event benefitted Pets for Vets, a nonprofit organization that connects military Veterans with rescue animals.
Doggone Best Friends 5k
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Puppy Rescue Mission 5K
While the military does not condone befriending animals, dogs and cats alike tend to find their way into the hearts of many, many soldiers stationed in Afghanistan. Rita participated in the Puppy Rescue Mission virtual 5k, which benefited The Puppy Rescue Mission (TPRM).
TPRM assists with requests, logistics, administration and fund-raising for the adopted stray dogs of war, rescued by and bonded with soldiers. This may include vet care, supplies, transport and related issues. TPRM works with or through other organizations that help our soldiers bring their companion animals home from war.
The Dog Days of Summer 2020 (August)
As Covid and The Dog Days of Summer continue, if we can’t dock dive together, we will 5K together (in spirit) …to raise money for animals in need!
The Liver Killers joined forces with a few other dock diving teams to participate in a 3-part Dog Days of Summer virtual 5k series (click HERE to see June’s installment and click HERE to see July’s installment) hosted by j&a racing and presented by Banfield Pet Hospital .
During the August installment of this series, Margarita and I walked Freedom Park to cover our 3.1 miles.
There are 3 medals: June (Retrievers), July (Bulldogs), August (Rescue dogs) that when fitted together form a dog bone!
A portion of our registration fee each month is donated to the Virginia Beach SPCA , who believes that the animal-human bond creates healthier, happier, more connected communities. VBSPCA delivers their compassion by providing pet adoption and sheltering, low-cost public veterinary clinic services, humane education programs, wildlife triage and canine pet training.
Here’s to hoping that every dog finds their forever running/walking partner! 
I Run for Margaritas
You know what really helps with running? Water… Especially when it’s frozen into ice cubes, and blended with lime and tequila!
This week Margarita also completed the “I Run 4 Margaritas” Virtual 5K! This Challenge was hosted by I Run 4 Movement and supports Stand Up To Cancer in an effort to help SU2C get one step closer to its mission of making everyone diagnosed with cancer a survivor… just like our very own Señorita Margarita! 💖🐶
Run of the Pets 5k
Margarita participated in “Run of the Pets” which was hosted by Virtual Strides.
A portion of the entry fee was donated to Best Friends Animal Society. The mission of Best Friends Animal Society is to bring about a time when there are No More Homeless Pets. They do this by helping end the killing in America’s animal shelters through building community programs and partnerships all across the nation. ✌🏼❤️🐾.
Virtual Strides hosted this event is in memory of Cooper, Virtual Strides’ very first shipping assistant, and an all around good boy. ❤️🌈🐾.
Coronavirus Relief 5K
Those of you that have known Rita from the start know that she used to run 5k races prior to her Lymphoma diagnosis. For the first time since her diagnosis, Margarita completed a 5k! Rita participated in the Coronavirus Relief virtual race hosted by Virtual Strides . We walked this 5k, but it was just as fun as all the others we’ve completed together!
Rita earned herself a 3D coronavirus molecule medal, featuring a toilet paper patterned ribbon
And I get to use the attached hand sanitizer keychain and a forehead thermometer !
A portion of the race entry fee was donated to Direct Relief – a charity that is responding to the coronavirus pandemic by providing PPE to health workers, bolstering critical care capacity, and strengthening general medical support.
“Run Free” Virtual 5k
Rita and I ran our first 5K together through a site called Virtual Strides. Virtual Strides provides an opportunity to participate in a virtual race (which can be run or walked!) anytime — anywhere– with whoever your want — and even indoors on a treadmill! Once you register for one of the virtual races, you can complete the distance any time and anywhere, and upload your finish time to the website. Virtual Strides will mail you a finisher’s medal after you upload your results, or at the end of the race period, whichever comes first. The best part is that a portion of the race’s proceeds gets donated to charity!
Rita and I ran the “Run Free” race.
This race benefited the National Mill Dog Rescue. National Mill Dog Rescue has pledged to put an end to the puppy mill industry, and has saved more than 10,000 dogs since 2007. National Mill Dog Rescue hopes to educate the public to acquire their companion animals through reputable breeders, shelters, and rescue groups.
Once you register, you can download a running bib:
Rita did GREAT! This was the first time I ever ran without music (running with music has been a MUST for me). I wanted to be sure I could hear everything around us in order to protect Margarita in case there was a loose dog, etc. I have to say – talking to Rita through the run was way more motivational than any music!
Our finishing time was 40 minutes, 25 seconds. Not bad considering Margarita decided she’d stop 3 times for potty breaks, TWO of which needed to be bagged-up, if you know what I mean!
I submitted our results, and a few days later, the race medal arrived in the mail!
Rita’s first official medal! She now has a spot of her own, among her siblings, on the “Wall of Fame” in our bar room.
Congratulations, Rita!
Papa’s Christmas Gift to the Pups: A Wintertime Workout!
Last winter was really tough for our pack. With an abundance of snow, and many freezing temperatures, it was difficult to get them outside to exercise. This made for many WILD days inside, as German Shorthaired Pointers need to run, run, and RUN (did I mention run?!). So for Christmas, Brian bought the pups a doggie treadmill to keep them in shape this winter, and to help keep the GSP zoomies at bay.
Our only feline fur-kid, Loki (aka PHATcat), was officially the first family member to attempt get on the treadmill. (Funny, because he could TOTALLY benefit from it!! haha!!)
Hooch watches from afar as Loki sits on “the big scary thing in the bar room .”
In typical Hooch fashion, Hooch hates the treadmill. Yup – scared to death of it. He will stand next to it while it is off, but will not stand on it -or be in the same room with it while it is running. … That’s my Hoochie Man 🙂
Limoncello will do pretty much anything you ask of her. She lives by her Papa’s motto, “Champions are made in the off-season.” 🙂
Lager does EVERYthing you ask of him, and does it like it’s his job… he took to the treadmill quickly, and enjoys it so much, that he will actually go stand on it, waiting for someone to turn it on!
Overall, this Christmas gift has been a lifesaver. On bad weather days, the dogs can still get their exercise in! We have developed a routine with Hooch for “treadmill nights.” Instead of the treadmill, we play ball indoors with the Chuck-It indoor ball. 
Brian will throw the ball up over the balcony so that Hooch has to run up the steps to get the ball, and back down. Once Hooch has the ball, he is so proud that he will run down the stairs, jump over the couch, and run through our bar room into the kitchen…so our steps become a doggie stair-master, our couch turns into a hurdle, and our bar and kitchen rooms, a sprinting path. Hooch LOVES it!
This winter we vowed to keep the dogs busy (and tired!) despite whatever Mother Nature presented to us… even though our house may be a bit crazy, we are keeping our word, and the dogs are having a blast!