An Evening of Compassion for Veterans was held on Saturday, November 16th and helped raise funds for life-changing services that are provided to Veterans free of charge. Vancouver Island Compassion Dogs (VICD), a Division of BC Guide Dogs, matches professionally-trained Service Dogs with military and RCMP Veterans living with an Operational Stress Injury. The teams embark on a 52-week Healthy Community Living Program that teaches strategies that support community transition, inclusion and accessibility.

 

Guests were entertained with live music by Dinah D’s Contraband Swingclub while they browsed and bid on many generously donated silent auction items. Our MC, Matt Breedlove managed the evening’s proceedings and Auctioneer, Jeff Jorgensen kept the bids flowing when it was time for the live auction.

 

Speaker Stéphane Marcotte’s amazing testimonial about how PTSD Service Dog Sarge has impacted his life brought the crowd to its feet and brought home the message of how essential it is to help our Veterans living with an Operational Stress Injury.