E.P.'s Bravest Raise Money for Man's Best Friends

A group of East Providence firefighters, their families and their 22 dogs lined up in front of Riverside's Station 4 Saturday morning for photos and a good cause.

The morning meet-and-sniff was organized to celebrate the fire department's fundraiser to sponsor kennels at the RISPCA. Sponsorship covers a portion of the medical and living expenses associated with housing an animal awaiting adoption.

What began as a modest campaign at Station 1 by Lt. Jay Dent has now become a department-wide drive. The fundraiser is now in its third year of sponsoring kennels.

Lt. Dent said the yearly fund-raising push initially spread "strictly by word of mouth" and that he was happy to see this year's turnout and amount raised grow substantially.

"This started a few years back with a simple sign hanging in a station," Dent said. "Then last year, we were able to sponsor two cages at different levels. We raised about $600."

Lt. Dent partly attributed the growing interest and monetary success of the yearly fundraiser to the personal connections of his fellow firefighters.

"A lot of these dogs here are rescues," he said. "One was shipped from Arkansas, even."

East Providence firefighter was in attendance with his dog Isha and partner Kathy Kirman.

"There's a lot of good that comes out of this department," Billings said. "I'm proud of Lt. Dent for getting this together."

As the morning's event at Station 4 wound down, $1,275 had been raised, something that RISPCA President Dr. E.J. Finocchio was happy about.

"In these most difficult times for our non-profit, this is a tremendous help to the work we're doing," he said.

Finocchio said his facility takes in more than 2,000 animals a year, with 33 percent of those being placed with us because of difficult economic times.

"People lose their jobs and cannot afford to keep their pet," he said. "The economy is bad on everyone, even pets."

The RISPCA's General Fund allows pet owners experiencing difficulty access to funds to keep their pets cared for, but with 40 dog and 36 cat kennels, Finocchio emphasized the importance of "working together on this issue."