DETROIT (WXYZ) — Leading off America’s Thanksgiving Parade Thursday was the Detroit Mounted Police unit, complete with Clydesdales and officers in full uniform.
The mounted unit is one of two charity partners The Parade Company is proud to support through the Strategic Staffing Solutions Turkey Trot.
The rhythmic clomping of a regal Clydesdale signals the start of a new day for the Detroit Mounted Police unit. Whiskey is one of seven horses on the team.
Cpl. Sandra Chavez is one of eight riders. She said the horses eat about a bale of hay, or 40 to 50 pounds, per day.
From the feeding to the grooming to the cleaning of hooves and the saddling of the horses, it’s a seven-day-a-week operation.
“We do a lot. You can find us at the Tigers games, the Lions games, any concerts that LCA or any of the other big events,” Chavez said.
7 Action News anchor Alicia Smith took Whiskey for a short ride around.
It’s the draw and community connection that the 130-year-old unit is all about.
“We feel the difference is someone sees an officer coming up on a horse and you see a smile. You can see a smile on their face a block away,” Chavez said. “They talk to us, they interact with us, they want a pet. They want to take pictures, ask us all kind of questions. Things that you don't typically get if you're riding around in a patrol car.”
The support of Turkey Trot runners and corporate sponsors helps keep the operation running.
“We get about $3,000 from the Turkey Trot and then we, of course, we have other donors who support the mounted unit,” Carter Drewry with the Detroit Public Safety Foundation said. And Strategic Staffing Solutions has just adopted this division and they continue to fund it. They continue to support it in such a huge way.”
The other organization benefitting from the S3 Turkey Trot is Michigan Humane, which has helped more than 4,400 animals this year find their forever home and kept an estimated 30,000 animals in their home.
From high-energy dogs to cuddly cats, three adoption centers are available along with four veterinary centers. But a 26,000-square-foot warehouse on Detroit’s east side marks a new chapter for Michigan Humane.
The organization leases the space from Gleaners Community Food Bank. It’s now expanding the reach of the Caplan Family Pet Food Pantry, thanks to support from Ralph Caplan and Strategic Staffing Solutions.
“This is groundbreaking and revolutionary in animal welfare,” Maggi Prigge with Michigan Humane said. “We changed our model from a pull model, where we pulled the client to us, to a push model, where we pushed the services that Michigan Humane has out into the community with the help of various community partners.”
Myron Golden, a 14-year veteran of the organization, says the outreach program aims to address the factors that lead to animals being surrendered to shelters.
“We’re going out into the community, dropping off dog houses, dropping off straw, dropping off dog food, cat food, cat litter,” Golden said. “Our goal is to keep animals in the home -- that’s always the goal.”
Runners in the 10K Strategic Staffing Solutions Turkey Trot are helping support Michigan Humane and the Detroit Mounted police unit.
You can donate to the Detroit Mounted Police unit on the city’s public safety website. You can also donate to Michigan Humane online.
You can also support The Parade Company and the Turkey Trot.
