Helping Paws creates fund to honor Hortman family

In the face of an unspeakable tragedy, Helping Paws received an outpouring of donations because of its connection to Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, her husband, Mark, and their dog, Gilbert.

The nonprofit trains service dogs to assist people with physical disabilities, veterans and first responders.

On Monday, it used the donations to launch the Hortman Heroes Fund in honor of the Hortmans, Executive Director Alyssa Golob said.

A man posing as a police officer fatally shot the couple and their dog at their Brooklyn Park home June 14 and wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife at their Champlin residence. The suspect, Vance Boelter, 57, has been charged in state and federal court.

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“As the donations were coming in, we knew that this was an extraordinary moment for Helping Paws – both in our obligation to honor and respect Melissa, Mark and Gilbert, but also that we were going to have this opportunity to change some lives in honor of Melissa, Mark and Gilbert,” Golob said.

The Hortmans first got involved with the Eden Prairie-based charity in 2014, when their daughter Sophie wanted to train a service dog for her senior project. Sophie and her father trained Minnie, a black Labrador, Golob said. Minnie graduated from the program and is still in service, helping a veteran with PTSD.

In 2019, Melissa decided she also wanted to train a service dog, Golob said. Soon after, the Hortmans were matched with Gilbert.

Melissa trained Gilbert for two and a half years, Golob said, but ultimately did not meet the high standards for service dogs. The Hortmans kept Gilbert as a pet after he failed his service dog tests in 2021.

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“Gilbert just wanted to play. His path was not to be a service dog,” Golob said. “And you know, his purpose was to be with Melissa and Mark, and that’s what they did. They adopted him.”

Golob said the Hortman Heroes Fund will continue to support Helping Paws’ training of service dogs for veterans and first responders. Service dogs are expensive, costing $35,000 to $50,000, but Helping Paws provides them free to those in need.

“It does take two and a half years to train a service dog, so a ramp-up might not happen overnight,” Golob said. “But what it will allow us is, hopefully, to place more dogs with veterans and first responders, allowing them to re-enter the workforce, be better parents and go out in public.”

Service dogs have grown more popular in recent years, so the fund will also help cut down the three-year waitlist, Golob said.

Golob said community involvement is important to keep Helping Paws going, whether through a financial donation or by training a dog.

“It takes doers and givers to make Helping Paws go, and some people can be doers, and some people can be givers, and some people can be both,” Golob said. 

Those interested in contributing can donate through Helping Paws’ website, including directly to the Hortman Heroes Fund. The site also has information about volunteering, whether training a service dog or in other roles.