Service dog training organization flooded with donations following fatal shooting of Rep. Melissa Hortman
Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, who were killed in what Gov. Tim Walz called a politically motivated attack, trained service dogs in their spare time with a working group called Helping Paws.
The Hortmans ended up keeping the last dog they trained, Gilbert, after he flunked out because he was too friendly.
Gilbert was shot multiple times by the man who is accused of killing the Hortmans. He was injured so severely that the Hortmans' adult children had to put him to sleep.
Gilbert and the Hortmans' story has nearly 400,000 likes on the "We Rate Dogs" Instagram, and Helping Paws has been flooded with unsolicited donations.
The organization reached out to the family and got a call back from the Hortmans' adult children, Sophie and Collin.
"They gave us their blessing, and they said, 'This is what our mom would want, if something good to come out of this. And we love your organization so much, and Gilbert was such a big part of all of our lives for four years. And my mom would bless this. Our mom would bless this,'" said Helping Paws Executive Director Alyssa Golob.
At a candlelight vigil for the Hortmans, Helping Paws dogs were out in full force.
"A woman came up and said, 'You know, I made a donation to your organization,' and she's like, 'I just needed to put my rage somewhere'," said Golob.
Golob says the organization typically receives 50-100 contributions per month. Since the tragedy on June 14, they have received 5,700 individual donations in just a few days — so many that they have not yet totaled the dollar amount.
Helping Paws says it wants to work with the family to set up an appropriate memorial to Gilbert and the Hortmans.
