The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, March 6, 2014 | 6 Spotlight "Connected to your Community" Oakville re ghters Matt Longwell, left, and Chuck Lewis, during the lming of a segment of Dog Park Tales. The local re ghters will be featured in one of a trio of episodes now airing online and on television in the fall. | photo courtesy of Dog Park Tales/Julie Heather Photography Dog Tales features Oakville re ghters and friends by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff T he long-standing bond between Oakville re ghters' and their canine friends will be featured in a trio of minidocumentaries currently airing online and on TV next fall as part of the show Dog Park Tales on the Pet Network. The local re ghters have produced a fundraising calendar bene tting the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides, and other local charities, for the past couple of years; Oakville re ghter Mano Krueger is the co-founder of the Oakville-based, non-pro t The Dog Rescuers Inc. -- both are featured in episodes of the show. While attending Woofstock, North America's largest dog festival, last summer, members of the Oakville Professional Fire ghters Association (OPFFA) met Stephanie Lynn Robinson, associate producer of Dog Park Tales, and the idea of featuring the Oakville re ghters on the show took off. The half-hour TV offering looks at the birth and growth of dog culture in North America. "We're very honoured and grateful to have the opportunity to work with Dog Park Tales to produce a documentary showcasing our involvement with two excellent organizations (Dog Guides and Dog Rescuers Inc.)," said Phil Cartwright, OPFFA public relations chair. "Both of these organizations run solely on donations. This documentary will bring awareness, and hopefully some much needed funding and forever homes for some dogs looking for a second chance. In one organization, the dogs help people and in the other, it's people helping dogs -- everyone wins." One of three Oakville re ghters episodes will feature local re ghters -- and spouses -- Martha and Steve Knowles. Steve is one of the re ghters in the 2014 charity calendar and the couple own a Rhodesian ridgeback named Piper. Another episode will focus on Krueger and The Dog Rescuers Inc., which he co-founded with Joan Znidarec. The organization is operated by a group of volunteers dedicated to rescuing and rehoming all dog breeds -- every canine in their charge receives the care they need -- be it annual veterinary care to expensive surgery. Annual charity calendar The nal segment will spotlight the annual charity calendar, which features a local reghter and a future Dog Guide puppy each month. The Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides helps provide a canine assistant for individuals with a disability for free -- this year's goal was to sponsor three Dog Guide teams, said Cartwright. Proceeds from the calendar also support the Ian Anderson House (hospice) Foundation, the Oakville Hospital Foundation and the OPFFA sponsorships. The 2014 calendar earned $65,000 for its charities and was shipped not only locally, and within Canada, but also internationally, to India, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Jamaica, the Bahamas and across the U.S. "We were thrilled to be able to lm a segment with the Oakville re ghters on their calendar," said Robinson. "Dog Guides Canada is a charitable foundation that does tremendous work helping people and dogs, and we wanted to recognize that. It is very expensive to train and place a service dog and the proceeds of the calendar help Dog Guides with this cost. We hope our segment will bring some attention to the wonderful work they are doing." To view the Oakville re ghter episodes online, which began rolling out online in February, visit www.dogparktales.ca. NEIL OLIVER Vice­President and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief Volume 52 | Number 28 447 Speers Road, Oakville ON (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Advertising Department (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4444 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 DANIEL BAIRD Director of Advertising ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor