Wine-Tasting Benefit Packs Bark, Bite

More than 200 community members turned out to Menotomy Beer and Wine on Sunday afternoon to support Operation Success, an Arlington after-school program. Patrons sampled beer and wine, grooved to live music from two local bands and watched in terror and delight as storeowner Neil Duggan put his body on the line during a police attack dog demonstration.

"Whatever I can do to help out, I'll do," Duggan said, "The kids need support and we're going to give it to them."             

Operation Success is an after-school program that provides kids living in Menotomy Manor with a safe space to get homework help they might not otherwise have. Ottoson Middle School teachers and Arlington police officers volunteer their time to tutor and mentor the students. These teachers and the Arlington Police Department also fund the program to ensure students get the supplies they need.

Storeowner Duggan first learned about the organization through friends in the police department. With four kids of his own in the Arlington public school system and with the organization just four blocks from his store, he knew he had to help.

Duggan asked canine handler Officer Mike Hogan to perform a demonstration during the event to draw a larger crowd. To further sweeten the bill, he volunteered to be the attack dummy for police dog Dasty.

Sure enough, attendance piqued right at the 2:30 p.m. intermission as Duggan donned a huge red padded suit and an eager Dasty arrived on the scene. As Officer Hogan barked commands in Czech and German, Dasty enthralled the audience sniffing out hidden objects, tracking down weapons, and attacking a "burglar" trying to escape the crime scene. The audience roared as Dasty knocked Duggan to the ground, nearly tearing off his suit.

"Forget the wine," resident Kate Leppanen said. "It was definitely worth it just to come see Neil get attacked by that dog. And it's a pretty sweet cause, too."

The proceeds from the event will help teachers purchase printers and summer reading books for Operation Success participants, and will also teach an important lesson.   

"An event like this is a great example for our kids," Operation Success co-director Peggy Regan said. "We tell the kids all the time that people are giving to them to have this opportunity. Know they can learn how to volunteer and give back themselves."