Hortman’s Dog Gilbert Being Honored By a Pay It Forward Drive

This is such a tragedy.  Something that you probably couldn't dream up.  As the authorities said they day after the shooting of Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, this is the stuff of nightmares.  Absolutely.

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TRAGEDY

We have heard about the fatal shootings of both Melissa Horman and her husband Mark, and also about John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who luckily survived the shooting, but there was another victim.  The Horman's family dog.  He was a golden retriever named Gilbert.

FAMILY DOG

Gilbert had quite a journey in his short 5 years of life.

In the wake of Gilbert’s death, Allied Veterinary Services launched a fundraiser aimed at helping service police dogs receive emergency and specialty care.

SERVICE DOG BEGINNINGS

How this came about was because of Gilbert being trained as a service animal.  That didn't exactly work out for him.  And the reason is really kind of sweet.

In the wake of Gilbert’s death, the team has launched a fundraiser aimed at helping service police dogs receive emergency and specialty veterinary care—a tribute to Gilbert’s beginnings in service, although he was ultimately deemed too friendly to continue on that path.

TOO FRIENDLY

Too friendly.  How often do you hear that?  Ane to me, that makes it even worse.  A friendly dog who's life was cut short because of a really stupid and honestly, insane reason.

GILBERT'S LEGACY

Gilbert's Legacy: K9 Heroes Fund is for other service animals.

In honor of Gilbert—who began his life in service before finding his forever home—we will be dedicating all Angel Fund donations through the month of July to support the emergency and specialty care needs of our local police department's service dogs. This includes the hardworking K9s of the Brooklyn Park Police Department and surrounding communities, who fearlessly protect and serve our community every day.

The Go-Fund-My-Pet page has a goal of 10 thousand dollars.  And already, as of the writing of this story, has over 7 thousand dollars.  This is amazing, and hopefully the money wil help some other pets and service animals.  Perfect way to give back.