Human Gala Benefits Service Dog Charity

by Patricia Robert

The 189 guests who attended ECAD’s fourth annual DENIM HEELS TAILS friend and fundraising event had a fabulous time.

This year’s highly successful event was held at the beautiful Brynwood Golf & Country Club in Armonk.

Many of the guests were there to honor Tarrytown residents Pat Jones and Jeff Joseph, recipients of ECAD’s Open Doors Award, and Sgt. Major Hector Torres, who received the U.R. Healing Award for his many years of service in the US Army. A representative of the Department of Defense presented Dale and Lu Picard, co-founders of ECAD, with the prestigious Seven Seals Award for their Project HEAL Program which provides Service Dogs to Veterans.

The highlight of the Live Auction was the $25,000 winning bid made by Chappaqua resident Ben Cheever for the right to name a Service Dog. The evening began with Dale Picard paying tribute to the late Pat Lanza, a longtime supporter of ECAD and other Westchester organizations.

Popular C&W singer Erica Nicole entertained, performing her hit “I Listen to My Bad Girl” and “Thank You” among others. 

In attendance, along with their person, were 10 Service Dogs, all beautifully groomed for the occasion. Recognizing that many guests would want to pet these beautiful Golden Retrievers and Labs, which is a no-no for Service Dogs, ECAD brought along several Service Dogs in Training and Therapy Dogs for that purpose, each distinguished by their rhinestone collar!