By Heidi Clayton
My dog, Sushi, passed away in April. When I wrote about her loss in Shore Local, I was very touched by the many emails I received from strangers. In the grief of my loss, they shared their stories of losing their soulmate dogs.
When I was an Atlantic City police officer, I was a part of a tradition that gives children in need the Christmas every child deserves. To keep Sushi’s memory alive in my heart, I renamed the charity The Sushi Foundation.
I have wanted to do more with The Sushi Foundation as Sgt. Kevin Law, assigned to the Community Outreach Unit of the Atlantic City Police Department (ACPD), is constantly coming across families in need and has few resources available to help them. So when he told of a local woman who needed backpacks and school supplies for the kids in her neighborhood, I was happy to spring into action and help. Denise Moore (or “Miss Denise,” as she is known in the Adams, Brooks, and Cedar Court neighborhood of Atlantic City), for the past few years, out of the goodness of her heart, has scoured the city for backpack and school supply donations for the kids in her neighborhood. Miss Denise then holds a barbecue at the end of the summer to give them out. This year, she was struggling to find donations, so Kevin asked if The Sushi Foundation could pitch in.
I have met so many generous and wonderful people through a shared love of dogs. So many of my clients, who have had the absolute pleasure of meeting and loving Sushi, sprung into action and helped. Before I knew it, my den was overflowing with backpacks and school supplies.
When I went to Staples and was chatting with the woman who worked there about Miss Denise, she was happy to volunteer ways to find discounts on supplies which enabled me to purchase carts of notebooks, pencils, pens, crayons, and folders.
I was thrilled to deliver over 120 backpacks stuffed with supplies to Chief James Sarkos and Sgt. Law, who made sure they were delivered to a very grateful Miss Denise and her kids. We had so many backpacks that Kevin was also able to go to the homes of kids he knew needed them elsewhere in the city and make sure they were also ready to head back to school.
I want to thank Chief Sarkos of the Atlantic City Police Department for always devoting the manpower needed to help with these events. The department is constantly short of people to actually do police work, and I know the men and women of the department are low on morale right now. Giving them a chance to participate in events like this where they are appreciated is a morale boost for everyone. He has certainly picked the right man for the Community Outreach Unit in Sgt. Law, who gets the job done and is excellent to work with. These events not only show the very human side of police officers, but they serve as a reminder to all of us that there is still good in the world and people willing to help.
So on behalf of The Sushi Foundation, thank you to Chief Sarkos and the men and women of the ACPD, to Shore Local for plugging the fundraiser, and to all of the wonderful dog people who made it all happen and gave some very appreciative kids a good start to their school year.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net.
Heidi Clayton started Four On the Floor Dog Training to provide positive, reward-based dog training in South Jersey. She breeds, trains and shows bull terriers under the SoraBully’s Bull Terriers kennel name. Email questions to heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net or learn more at https://fouronthefloordogtraining.net
