Latest news with #JimmyBurgess
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Webb City groups donate to provide service dogs to veterans
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Thanks to the cooperation of five groups in Webb City, another area veteran will be paired up with his own highly trained service dog in the coming year. Jimmy Burgess and his service dog, Riley, were on hand at the building in Webb City that houses the American Legion Post 322 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7630 on Friday morning to accept a check on behalf of Heartland Canines for Veterans for $25,000 from the Elks Lodge of Webb City, the American Legion post, the VFW post, the Women's Auxiliary for the American Legion post and the Dawson Heritage Foundation. Burgess said the money will go to pay for the training of another service dog, which generally costs about $19,500, and to pay for Burgess to be trained as a master trainer of service dogs. 'We want to start training dogs internally instead of always having an outside trainer,' Burgess said. 'Right now, we outsource our service training, but that costs us quite a bit of money and it limits the number of dogs we can train in any certain timespan depending on the money we have to spend. 'We figured with it being our 10th year, it was time for us to get our own internal plan for training.' Burgess said this is the second year these particular groups have raised money for Heartland Canines in one of their 'One of Us' campaigns. He said the goal at Heartland Canines is to have one master trainer so he can train others to train service dogs. 'So the idea behind having an internal trainer is that we can continue to train because I'm already on staff,' Burgess said. 'Also, we're going to start an actual veteran training program so I'll be able to train other veterans in the dog-training community' Burgess said Heartland Canines will be celebrating the graduation of another service dog and the creation of a veteran-service dog team at the coming Veterans Outreach Night hosted by the Joplin Outlaws at Joe Becker Stadium on Saturday, June 14. Gates open at 5 p.m., and before the game, Burgess and his staff will introduce the new team. The dog was trained thanks to a donation by Jack Henry and Associates. More details about Heartland Canines for Veterans can be found at
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Putts for Paws raises $10,000 for Heartland Canines for Veterans
CARTHAGE, Mo. — More than 60 golfers and other supporters came to the Carthage Municipal Golf Course on Friday to raise money and support Heartland Canines for Veterans through the Putts for Paws charity golf scramble. Jimmy Burgess, executive director of Heartland Canines for Veterans, said this was the group's first fundraiser of this type. On Monday, Burgess said the event raised $10,000 to help train and provide support dogs for those who need them. 'It was a wonderful event. It went well,' Burgess said. 'We were very happy with how it went.' On Saturday, Burgess said he and his friends and staff had been talking about holding a golf scramble as a fundraiser for years. 'This is definitely not an experiment, it's something we've talked about for years,' Burgess said. 'My dad works with us too, and he was a banker for 35 years, so he did his fair share of golf tournaments as well, so we always considered this. We finally decided it's our 10th year and now is the time to really start getting more active and get out there and let people see our teams all in one place.' The tournament featured at least 20 teams of three golfers each. The event had three different hole-in-one competitions and a number of other contests to spice up the day. Around the golf course were several other 'teams' — veterans and service dogs to show participants what they were playing for. Jeremy Rosencranz, from Bentonville, Arkansas, was there with his partner, a doberman named Nova, to thank supporters and show them what the money goes to do. 'When I was looking for a service dog privately, I was seeing costs between $25,000 and $65,000,' Rosencranz said. 'And most vets can't afford that. Most people can't afford a $20,000 dog. The training takes about a year; it's a lot of work that goes into it. I found them (Heartland Canines), and the only thing they ask is if they have an event like this that we show up and support the organization, which I'm more than willing to do. It lets us hang out with other veterans. It's usually a good time and it's good for us as people who suffer from PTSD, veterans and first responders.' Burgess said he plays at the Carthage Golf Course with his dad routinely so that's why he chose to have the first Paws for Pets scramble there. 'I'm from a family of golfers so we wanted to make sure it was a golfer-friendly tournament where we could really showcase the service dogs and the sponsors we have out here,' Burgess said. 'That all came together today. The Carthage Golf Course has been phenomenal working with us.' People who want more information about Heartland Canines can visit or watch the group's Facebook page at
