PARC Aspen and local artist team up to raise money for service dogs
Farrah Fry-Ettlin/Courtesy photo
Contrary to popular belief, dogs are actually unable to throw charity events of their own.
That’s why it’s especially important that people throw charity events for them – people like the good folks with PARC Aspen who have teamed up with local valley artist and real estate agent Lea Novgad to host a charity event for Endless Pawsibilities Service Dogs, a non-profit dedicated to helping locals with disabilities acquire service dogs.
Paint & Sip for Service Dogs comes to PARC Aspen from 4-5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 25. Participants have their choice between bringing and painting their own pups or painting a pre-sketched “model” dog by none other than Novgad herself. She can also pre-sketch an image of your own dog provided the picture is sent to her ahead of time.
In 2020, Farrah Fry-Ettlin founded her Endless Pawsibilities Service Dogs non-profit while also successfully running her separate dog training business Endless Pawsibilities Dog Training & Services LLC for the past 20 years. With her BA in Psychology and K9 Learning Theory, it’s safe to say she knows her way around the mind of a dog.
After having spent 10 years as a Search & Rescue K9 handler along with summers spent training guide dogs through her business, in 2020, she decided to start her non-profit as a way of reaching more people with disabilities who can benefit from the use of a highly-trained service dog. She said the idea came together after her time spent training a Parkinson service dog for a local valley resident.
“I got to thinking about the people in the valley that can’t afford a service dog,” she said. “I founded the non-profit, so that way, we could offer service dogs on a sliding scale; that way, those that can afford it can do so, and those that can’t can get scholarship funding because not everybody in Aspen can afford the costs of medical equipment.”
Similarly to Fry-Ettlin, Novgrad said that she, too, was looking for ways of bringing her passions and business sense together as a contribution to her new community. Since 2019, she has been calling the valley her home, and whether it’s been as a realtor with Keller Williams or through her private artist tutorials, she’s wasted no time becoming well-known and cherished amongst locals.
In addition to providing her time and expertise, she is also supplying the canvas and materials for attendees to use during Monday’s event. She said that the decision to donate her time was easy not only because of the opportunity to meet new people in the neighborhood, but also because of her belief and support behind the mission of Endless Pawsibilities.
“I get pleasure out of it; it’s a sense of fulfillment,” she said. “I like to see the happiness on people’s faces; I’m convinced that everyone can paint and draw. People say, ‘Oh, no, I can only do a stick figure.’ But if I can show you how to use your eyes to see what’s in front of you, I can teach you how to draw and paint even if you think you can’t.”
Only 12 seats are available for the Paint & Sip for Service Dogs event, and the entry fee of $1,000 includes all needed materials, wine, and entry into a drawing for a goodie basket featuring a free haircut from Jerome at Avalon Spa, goodies for your dog, and more. All funds go directly to the Endless Pawsibilities Service Dogs Scholarship Fund, with total funds raised to be matched by an anonymous donor.
For additional information and ticket purchase, visit EPSDpaint.eventbrite.com.
To reach Jonson Kuhn, email him at jkuhn@aspentimes.com.
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