Touches A Lot Of Bases.
Down and Almost Out, Mac’s Comeback
–by Anna Cooke K
ATE UPTON and her fiancé Justin Verlander, once again host- ed the Grand Slam Adoption
Event for SPCA Florida on Saturday, March 18 at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland. Fans of Kate brought the cur- rent Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, hot off the presses, for her to autograph. It’s Kate’s third time on the cover of the Swimsuit issue, so the crowd was large and
Warriors to be the second beneficiary of the day’s event. Justin started the founda- tion a few years ago with his own money to help veterans. At first, Wins For Warriors was a way for Verlander to honor return- ing veterans by having them enjoy a Tigers home game from his suite at Detroit’s Comerica Park. The hosting efforts started a conversation on how to help returning veterans in everyday life back home.
spirit was not broken. “When Mac came to the shelter, he
was shivering in pain,” said Connie Johnson, a shelter staffer. The dog had a secondary infection because of a severe case of demodex. His owner could not afford to pay for treatment. “Everyone at the shelter fell in love with Mac right away. Even though he was in so much pain, he had a gentle demeanor and his sweet brown eyes showed how grateful he was.” While treating the infection, Mac went into medical foster care until he could walk on his own. Then he was brought back to the shelter’s McClurg Animal Medical Center to begin further treatment and vetting. Through Wins For Warriors, Justin
and Kate wanted to underwrite the cost of training a dog for K9s For Warriors, who adopts shelter and rescue organization dogs for their program. The Ponte Verde- based organization trains the dogs to be service dogs, then pairs them with a wounded warrior, diagnosed with PTSD and/or TBI - all at no cost to the veteran. When the couple heard about Mac’s story while talking with SPCA Florida staff, they thought he would be the perfect dog. Justin and Kate met Mac for the first
time the day of the Grand Slam Adoption Event. “Mac immediately jumped into Kate’s arms, and she said, ‘I love this dog,’” said Connie. Then, out on the baseball field for photo ops, Justin met Mac for the first time. “Mac just walked over to Justin on his own,” said Connie. “It was pretty emotional for everyone.” To further demonstrate what a
Our first favorite photo of the day: Justin Verlander, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, Kate Upton, model and Mac the wonder dog at Lakeland’s Joker Marchant Stadium on March 18.
excited at the opportunity to meet her. Justin pitches for the Detroit Tigers and Lakeland is the home of Spring Training for the team. Through Justin’s foundation, Wins for Warriors, they chose K9s For
44 THE NEW BARKER The couple selected SPCA Florida
adoptable dog Mac to be the new K9s for Warriors service dog-in-training. They loved Mac’s backstory, how, despite his condition when owner-surrendered, his
well-behaved dog Mac is, Connie let her 14-year-old granddaughter Breann handle him. “As we were leaving the field, Breann noticed a group of autistic children in the stands and walked over to them with Mac. The kids hugged and kissed him, and he just loved it,” said Connie.
www.TheNewBarker.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104
