Celebrate Independence 2025

Please consider donating to this event. Donations will be matched up to $65,000 and support Canine Companions’ life-changing mission!

For more than 15 years, Bill and Isabella Cunningham have hosted this annual event at their family ranch to raise funds and awareness for Canine Companions alongside a generous group of co-hosts.

Your gift will directly impact the lives of children, adults and veterans with disabilities, providing greater independence and confidence through the help of expertly trained service dogs. Canine Companions service dogs are trained in more than 45 skills, including retrieving dropped items, opening and closing doors, turning on and off lights, and so much more. They become their handlers’ partners and often best friends.

Please watch the short, heartwarming video below about Emma and her service dog, Marcia. The video highlights what a service dog can do to dramatically enhance the life of an individual with a disability.

Four years ago, no one could have predicted that a routine car ride would end in an accident, leaving seven-year-old Emma with paralysis and changing her young life.

Now, at 12 years old, Emma, a sweet-spirited redhead, has learned to navigate life with a disability as fully as possible. She's cultivated a love for art, piano, trombone and gardening in her accessible veggie patch. However, another loving redhead – a Canine Companions service dog named Marcia – gives Emma even greater independence.

“It’s really nice having a service dog,” says Emma. “They can impact your life so much. It feels like having an extra hand helping you.”

Together, Emma and Marcia are doing all of the activities Emma loves, with greater confidence and the joy that only a special dog can provide.

Marcia picks up dropped paintbrushes and colored pencils and carries a basket of freshly cut flowers and vegetables back into the house for Emma. Marcia’s ability to tug open doors has given Emma access to her home and garden without relying on her mother to help. With Marcia by her side, Emma’s independence is blossoming!

We are thrilled for this year’s fundraiser and look forward to seeing and celebrating with you all.

Special thanks to the co-hosts: Dave and Connie Saathoff, Kiersten Saathoff, Frank and Jane Baxter Lynn, Alan Blake and Brenda Ramirez, Barbara Hadley and Archer Hadley, Jeff and Anne Hunt, Edgar Jimenez, John and Ginger Mitchell, Howard and Amy Nirken, Bob and Donna Pearson.

Canine Companions ®

Contact Us  |  Visit Our Website  |  Privacy Policy  |  Other Ways to Donate

This donation for is managed by Qgiv. Security, accessibility and privacy policies on this site maybe different than Canine Companions policies.
Canine Companions is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, Federal Identification Number: 94-2494324.