Sales of Chili and Chicken Noodle soup on Saturday will help power the purchase of a service dog for a little girl with Salina connections.

Salina native, Cheryl Stark is asking for help in acquiring a service dog to help her great granddaughter in Tennessee. Stark joined in on the KSAL Morning News Extra with a look at the process that will hopefully bring a service dog into the life of 2 1/2 -year-old Isla.

Doctors say the little girl has two, rare genitic-duplications that have led to developmental challenges. The family discovered during a chance visit that a dog helped her calm down – which began the journey to finding a service dog.

Starks added the family has already raised a good portion of the $23,000 required to purchase the pup and training for a dog from the “4 Paws for Ability” organization in Ohio. Salinans can help get the family over the finish line this Saturday, December 13th during a Soup-Dinner and Silent Auction event at St. Mary’s Grade School, 304 E. Cloud Street, from 4pm to 7pm in the multi-purpose room.

For more details, Stark can be reached by telephone at: 615 388 8771.

More on 4 Paws:
According to the organization’s website, 4 Paws for Ability is a non-profit organization that breeds, raises, trains, and places service dogs with children and veterans who have disabilities. Founded by Karen Shirk in 1998, the organization has grown from a one-bedroom apartment to a purpose-built campus in Xenia, OH with more than sixty staff members and thousands of volunteers.