Race proceeds to benefit police K-9 Unit
BY LAUREN CIRAULO Staff Writer

HOWELL — A new police dog may eventually be added to the Howell Police Department's K-9 Unit after 60 walkers and runners showed their support for the unit during the first Run for Rover on June 14.

The fundraiser featured a 5-mile run and a 1-mile children's fun run. It was sponsored by Retro Fitness of Howell and the Howell First Aid Squad and raised more than $4,000 for the K-9 Unit.

"The weather was a little bit of an obstacle, but otherwise we had a great turnout and it went very well," Howell Patrolman Ryan Richards said.

The 5-mile race started at Retro Fitness in Aldrich Plaza, Route 9, headed through the nearby Candlewood development and ended back at Retro Fitness. Prizes were awarded to the first-, second- and thirdplace runners.

Richards said the winner of the race was a 17-year-old young lady who ran the course in 20 minutes. He did not have the winner's name.

The Run for Rover event began at 9 a.m. and featured family activities throughout the day, including a K-9 Unit demonstration, a martial arts demonstration by the Art Beins karate students, a fitness demonstration by Retro Fitness, and an emergency services display by the police, fire and EMS departments at Aldrich Plaza. Several vendors were also on hand.

Proceeds will benefit the Howell Police Department K-9 Unit, which recently retired two of its three German shepherds and expects its last remaining dog to retire by the end of 2010.

"They were our original dogs, so they have definitely gotten older," Richards said. "They have a threshold for this work, so we got to the point where the handlers just thought it was time."

According to Richards, the K-9 Unit, consisting of lieutenants Andrew Kudrick, John Lopez and Michael Pavlick, hoped to raise enough money to purchase at least one new dog. A police dog can cost between $6,000 and $7,000, and the animal also requires special equipment and a K-9 vehicle, which the department also needs, Richards said.

"The money we raised is a good start, but there's more we need before we can bring another dog in," he said. "Hopefully, next year's budget allotted enough money toward the K-9 unit so we could make this happen."

Richards, who is a member of Retro Fitness, enlisted the help of employee Lisa Antonelli after she expressed interest in the K-9 Unit's situation.

Working with Richards and Kudrick, Antonelli organized and promoted the Run for Rover. She posted a notice about the race on the websites of the Jersey Shore Running Club and the Freehold Area Running Club, as well as around the community." We're definitely going to make this a yearly event," Richards said. "We have gotten some great feedback and we're learning from our mistakes, so this could be an even bigger success next year."

Contact Lauren Ciraulo at howell@gmnews.com.