Graham and Kyrié Bloem of Shelter to Soldier adopt its future dog in training, Kiki, in honor of Holli Lienau, who will see the journey of Kiki being paired with a combat veteran. Photo by Christina Macone-Greene.
RANCHO SANTA FE — Some extraordinary dogs received spotlight attention at the second annual Red Star Sponsor Thank You Soirée! hosted by Rancho Santa Fe’s “Holli”day…Anyday!. The March 16 private event was dedicated to thanking Shelter to Soldier’s Red Star Sponsors who bigheartedly support the nonprofit’s mission of saving two lives at a time.
What that means is Shelter to Soldier, headquartered in Oceanside, adopts shelter dogs with the goal of training them as service dogs for a variety of tasks to assist post 9/11 combat veterans.
At the soiree, some of the Red Star Sponsors had the opportunity to meet the dogs they were sponsoring.
Graham also pointed out how the soiree is an excellent event for sponsors to mingle and to become acquainted with fellow likeminded supporters who love helping homeless dogs and love supporting veterans.
Graham thanked his wife, Kyrié, the co-founder of Shelter to Soldier and organizer of the entire event. She shared that the time of adoption to the graduation of their dogs can be up to 18 months.
To date, 23 teams have graduated from the program.
Another person Shelter to Soldier paid tribute to on this day was Lienau.
According to Graham, for years, Lienau has been a monthly contributor to the nonprofit. Also, “Holli”day…Anyday! hosts the annual Red Star Sponsor Thank You Soirée! at her Rancho Santa Fe estate and hosted other fundraisers for Shelter to Soldier.
Lienau is not only giving directly but spreading the mission of the nonprofit.
According to Kyrié, Kiki was in the care of Labs and More Rescue after her rescue.
Lienau said the thoughtfulness of Shelter to Soldier touched her when learning that Kiki was adopted in her name. However, what moves her even more are the type of dogs in the program.
To learn more about Shelter to Soldier, sponsorship opportunities and their upcoming gala, visit ShelterToSoldier.org.