'They’re angels without halos': Winnipeg dog-owners come together to support cancer care organization
A couple hundred dogs led their owners through Winnipeg’s Kildonan Park on Sunday afternoon for the fourth annual ‘Paws for a Cause Cancer Walk.’
The Never Alone Cancer Foundation organized the event in memory of a Winnipeg man named Jerry Maslowsky. He died from esophageal cancer in 2016.
“[Jerry’s] final months were spent with a dog, so a lot of comfort came from those canine companions,” Michael Schiefer, Never Alone’s executive director, told CTV News.
That experience, Schiefer said, inspired Never Alone and Maslowsky’s family to create an inclusive event in his memory.
Never Alone helps people battling cancer, along with their families and caregivers, providing informational, emotional, and financial support.
“Families and caregivers are often forgotten in the cancer battle,” Schiefer said. “Our idea is to support the whole because you need a team through that cancer journey.”
Sunday’s event featured activities, tents, prizes, and ‘Wag’ Bags’ for the first hundred pups before the actual walk took place.
‘Paws for a Cause’ participants raised over $105,000 ahead of this year’s walk, which includes $40,000 in matched donations from Kin Canada.
Schiefer said that money will help the approximately 350 callers who reach out to Never Alone each year.
Tobiasz Osicki, a volunteer at Sunday’s event, initially got in touch with Never Alone after being diagnosed with two types of cancer.
“That’s where they stepped up,” Osicki said.
After undergoing a tracheotomy, as well as a procedure to remove his salivary gland, Osicki said Never Alone has helped with everything from transportation to groceries throughout his recovery.
“It’s nice to have a foundation and a group of people that are just there waiting – no questions asked,” Osicki said. “They’re angels without halos.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.