K9 Ambassador, Rico, made his official debut at schools and special functions during the week of The Marshall Legacy Institute's 25th Anniversary Clearing The Path Gala.
Rico was joined by MLI staff and special guests during a visit to Glenelg Country School in Maryland. During the visit, Rico demonstrated his sniffing skills and his agility with guest handler, Goshgar from Azerbaijan. The kids (ages 3-15) learned about landmines and the impact they have on communities around the world. The crowd loved the demonstrations and asked many great questions. Following the demonstrations, Rico was the center of attention for the CHAMPS club during a special luncheon.
Later that evening, Rico attended a special reception at the Embassy of Azerbaijan to honor the Dog Team of the Year, Goshgar Karimov and MDD Tori. MDD Tori was not able to make the trip from Azerbaijan, so Rico stood in for the demonstration. It was a great honor for Rico to meet Mr. Khazar Ibrahim, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United States.
Rico was on again at the Clearing the Path Gala. He did another demonstration for the crowd during the cocktail reception and then made a couple of appearances on stage to be photographed with The Dog Team of the Year and then with all of the award recipients. The gala was a great event!
The final appearance for Rico was at Poolesville High School in Maryland where students learned about the landmine issue, watched Rico demonstrate his sniffing abilities, and discussed how they can get involved by starting their own fundraising campaign to sponsor a mine detection dog.
To have Rico visit your school, please contact Anne Wooleyhand, Educational Programs Director for the Marshall Legacy Institute at anne@marshall-legacy.org.
Please consider following Rico on Facebook and Instagram @mddrico