BUFFALO, N.Y. — As race director of the Buffalo Marathon, Greg Weber is always looking for new ways to get people involved with the event.
Last year, he decided to borrow an idea he had seen work in other cities: a mini-marathon for dogs, the day before the big race.
"We want everyone to participate, people in Buffalo especially love their dogs, so we created an event just for them," he explained.
The first ever "Ruffalo Stampede" was a 1K non-race (purely a participation event) for dogs and their owners. It sold out with 200 participants.
"It was crazy to see everybody with their dogs," Weber recalled. "I mean they just had such a great time. You had one little beagle with a Go-Pro camera on, we had Saint Bernards, we had little dogs, we had dogs in strollers. People just stood on the sidewalks and watched it."
It was altogether an adorable success, but the story didn't end at the finish line. All of the dogs who came out to have fun last year, made it possible for a new dog to join the Buffalo Police Department.
Paddy, the German Shepard, became part of the force in March, and has been going through training with his officer partner, Lieutenant Elizabeth Baker.
Baker named him after fallen officer Patty Parete, but switched the "T's" out for "D's" because of his gender. Paddy was able to join the force because of the $10,000 in dollars raised at last year's Ruffalo Stampede. The donation was in part, a tribute to another fallen officer, Craig Lehner.
"We wanted to do something for Officer Lehner, and he was a K-9 Officer, so we thought it was fitting," Weber said. "I think we have every bomb dog in Erie County at the race keeping the runners and the community safe and we just felt we needed to do something for them."
Baker and Paddy have been training at a police dog program in Niagara Falls, Ontario, four days a week. In five weeks, they'll graduate.
"Being an animal lover, it's a dream job," Baker said. "Just to be able to work with an animal and work with the community. It's my dog, I get to take him home every day, he's my partner. But he's Buffalo's dog, too. It's a dream. It's awesome."
This year's Ruffalo Stampede will take off on Saturday at 12:30 pm, and will raise funds for a new K-9 for the Erie County Sheriff's Office. If you're interested in registering your dog or donating to the cause, click here.