Canine Companions future service dog Brutus took to the stage in early July to represent our mission in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers throughout Central Ohio. 
The opportunity was provided by Canine Companions partner NBC4, which sponsors Red, White & BOOM each year. The event, which takes place along the Scioto Mile in downtown Columbus, is deemed as the largest Independence Day celebration in the Midwest.
It took place one day before the 48th birthday of Canine Companions, and provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate the launch of our organization’s Make Every Day Independence Day campaign. Now through mid-July, all donations made through the campaign will be matched up to $110,000. These donations ultimately help Canine Companions place more teams and continue to provide lifelong follow-up services for the human-canine teams we serve.
While Brutus helped spread our mission on air and enjoyed participating in festivities leading up to the event, he did not stay for the fireworks show. Loud noises can be scary and potentially traumatizing to a puppy, so he enjoyed the remainder of the evening from a safe distance with his puppy raisers.
Brutus will turn in for professional training at the North Central campus in August. In the meantime, he will continue to dazzle Central Ohio viewers on NBC4 News.
You can learn more about our Puppies in the Spotlight here.