A successful banquet has given K9 Elite the resources to raise, train and provide up to 20 service dogs in the next year, a record amount for the growing organization.

K9 Elite hosted its first Veterans and First Responders banquet on Nov. 11 at the Heart Mountain Building in Powell. More than 250 people attended the event, which provided a meal along with a live auction, a silent auction and a gun raffle.

At the end of the event $60,000 was raised.

“We raised enough funds to be able to hopefully provide up to 20 service dogs in 2023,” head of the organization Wes Mangus said. “That includes training of the dogs, medical, food and everything else that goes toward giving that dog to a veteran.”

Mangus said the amount raised was larger than anything he ever expected.

“It was amazing,” Mangus said. “It was way higher than I expected the community to give. It was an incredible amount of support.”

The amount was raised not just through the banquet but through private individual donations from throughout the local community, Mangus said.

K9 Elite, which was started in 2019, started off training and providing four dogs in 2019. That number grew to 10 in 2020, and then to 14 last year. The dogs are provided to veterans and first responders free of charge.

Mangus said the 20 dogs expected for this year will be the most Mangus and Trieven-Sungold Kennels, which he runs, can handle, but he said that if resources continue to increase he is open to hiring new personnel and continuing to grow the operation.

“If we’re able to raise enough applicable funds, I’ll be able to get some help, which will allow me ample time to do more training,” Mangus said. “That will allow me to provide even more dogs and give even more people in need assistance. We can do lots more.”

Still, Mangus said, he is amazed at how far the once-fledgling organization has come.

“I didn’t think I’d even be a tenth as close to doing what I’m currently doing when I first started this,” Mangus said.

K9 Elite has formed an active partnership with the Sacred Mountain Retreat Center in Deadwood, South Dakota. The retreat center was found to provide support and mentorship to veterans and first responders suffering from PTSD.

Mangus said the organization regularly provides applications to K9 Elite of those who are in need of a service dog, allowing Mangus to train and provide dogs to those most in need.

“Being able to partner with Deadwood is a huge blessing,” Mangus said. “It’s a really good partnership. It just flows and works really well.”

In a conversation with the Lovell Chronicle in 2019 as the organization was being formed, Mangus said service dogs provide aid to those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder far beyond what can be achieved with medication alone.

“Service dogs will overpower any kind of medication. They are constantly adapting to needs,” Mangus said. “If something changes from this week to next week, the dog will pick up on it. The positive benefits of a service dog to someone struggling cannot be overstated.”

Mangus said K9 Elite is always looking for donations and those willing to sponsor a service dog for individuals in needs. Those interested can contact Mangus at 307-272-0453.