The Paw Path

Ted Berry hosts fifth annual free 5K-9 Dog Walk/Run

When: Oct. 3 Where: Breck Community Park Registration opens Aug. 23 at www.tedberryevents.com

By Brendan Martin

Adog’s life should be simple – frolicking, sniffing, family and fun. But some dogs are forced to live a much more complicated life.

A local councilor and community are working hard to untangle this chokehold.

For the past five years, Ward 1 Council Member Ted Berry and pet rescue organization Speak for the Unspoken have put together the Ted Berry 5K-9 Dog Walk/Run, which brings together hundreds of people, dogs and donations.

“It’s been an outstanding event,” Berry says. “It’s the largest free dog walk that I know of in the country. We don’t charge. But what we do is say if you would like to donate, we would appreciate it. … (We’ve received) well over $50,000 in value of gift cards and dog food and bedding and toys and everything.”

In 2016, Berry sponsored an ordinance passed by Grove City Council preventing the sale of dogs sourced from highvolume breeders known as puppy mills. After having a lawsuit filed against him by Petland Inc. and the legislation overturned at the state level, he was inspired to organize this event.

“I vowed at that point in time that I would be dedicated to making sure we raised enough money to support our local rescues,” he says. “So, that’s the premise, that’s how it all began. And I have a great team of people, Speak for the Unspoken.”

Speak for the Unspoken, often shortened to Speak, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping dogs in need. It was founded in 2013 to educate the public about improper breeding of dogs with a merle mutation that results in a double merle. These dogs, often Australian shepherds, have an increased chance of being deaf, blind or both. Over the years, the organization has broadened its focus to the education and rescue of dogs with medical and special needs.

“We have dogs with some significant heart conditions that require very expensive heart surgeries,” says Andrea Kochensparger, executive director for Speak. “We have three-legged dogs. We have diabetic and (tick affected) dogs. Dogs that have medical conditions that take a significant amount of money to take care of.”

When the 5K was first put together, Berry and Speak asked for physical donations including dog food. While these types of donations will still be accepted this year, they are emphasizing a much lighter contribution – gift cards.

“Especially last year with COVID, we have since encouraged everybody to just bring gift cards because, honestly, gift cards are more helpful to us,” Kochensparger says. “(For example), gift cards to PetSmart and Petco. We can hold on to those cards and then use them for the animals when we need them. (We also need) gas cards when we do transports because we bring these dogs in from all over the country. We run half a dozen dogs up from Texas every month.” For those unable to make the race, donations can also be made to Speak at www.speakfortheunspoken.com. Speak is also in urgent need of volunteers and fosters, so throw a dog a bone and get involved.

“Let’s face it, dogs are the key to networking and making relationships,” Berry says. “How many people have met their significant other at a dog park or walking a dog? I always say it’s great socialization for the dog and the two-legged.”

Dog owners come out to Councilman Ted Berry’s dog walk and run to raise funds for a local animal shelter.