The City of Knoxville, in collaboration with the German Shepherd Dog Club of East Tennessee and the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, will host a K-9 Veterans Day event at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, May 5th. The free event will take place, rain or shine, at the War Dog Memorial on the UT College of Veterinary Medicine campus, 2407 River Drive.

The event will honor all dogs that have served the community through various government agencies such as the military, police, search and rescue, and customs and border protection. Therapy and assistance dogs that comfort and help wounded veterans will also be honored at the event.

"This is a great opportunity to recognize and pay tribute to the service dogs that help keep our community safe," Mayor Madeline Rogero said. "These are special dogs with a fierce loyalty that is unmatched."

The ceremony will include:

Guest speakers A color guard presentation A reading of a Tennessee House Joint Resolution A wreath-laying ceremony A reading of names in memory of past service dogs A police dog demonstration by Knoxville Police Department Officer Brian Mullane and his K-9 partner Rocco

Past and present handlers of military or police dogs are encouraged to submit dogs' names for inclusion in the memorial ceremony. Handler contact information and dog's name, service duty, and tattoo number or other identifier can be submitted to [email protected] until April 20th.

For more information on K-9 Veterans Day, please visit www.k9veteransday.org.