Flint's Fabulous 5K

Who is Flint?

Flint is a handsome yellow Labrador retriever who is also a fully-trained service dog from the nonprofit organization Leashes of Valor. Flint was given to United States Air Force Veteran, and now 7th grade teacher, Tammie Tourtellott to help with symptoms of PTSD. You can read more about their story on the LOV wesbite: Warrior Stories. Tammie launched Flint’s Fabulous 5K in 2024 as her way of giving back to Leashes of Valor for the gift of Flint!

Training for all Leashes of Valor puppies begins at 8 weeks and continues until the dog is 1.5 - 2.0 years of age when it is considered fully Public Access Trained and ready to be paired with a Warrior Veteran. During this time, a dog in training lives with various approved foster families and learns everything from its name, to basic manners, to how to recognize the need for and to give medical alerts to its future handler. Leashes of Valor provides all veterinarian care during training and resources to foster families to cover all training needs. On average, each fully trained Service Dog costs $30,000, at NO COST to the Veteran.

Race registration will be a basic amount with an option to Add-On an additional donation. There will be various add-on donation levels that accurately reflect the various items needed to fully train a future life-saving Service Dog for a US military veteran. Your $20.00 base cost will cover the cost of your registration, race shirt and high value training treats for learning basic commands. Each level increase will directly provide an item needed for training by foster families: food, leashes, bowls, vests, beds, vaccinations and training for the handler. ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO LEASHES OF VALOR AND DOG TRAINING RESOURCES. That is Tammie's promise to you. She simply wants a future Warrior to have a dog as amazing as Flint!!

You can follow Tammie and Flint’s adventures @fabulous_flint (Instagram) and @Flint’s Fabulous 5K (Facebook)

Why Leashes of Valor?

Flint’s Fabulous 5K supports Leashes of Valor, a national nonprofit based in Fredericksburg, VA, that provides highly-trained service dogs to post-9/11 veterans to help with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and other “unseen wounds” of military service. Whenever possible, they source dogs from local animal shelters and rescue organizations because "1 Leash Saves 2 Lives".

Retired Marine Corp Capt. Jason Haag, founder and CEO of Leashes of Valor (LOV), had tried multiple treatments to help battle his wounds and aid in healing but he credits a German shepherd named Axel for saving his life. Jason was paired with his service dog in 2012, and the two spent years traveling around the U.S. educating the public and policymakers on the benefits of psychological service dogs.

Axel passed away in January 2023, but his legacy lives on through Leashes of Valor and Axel’s Place, their canine and warrior training facility. Jason has expanded his mission to help provide service dogs at NO COST to wounded and disabled post-9/11 Veterans so that they, too, can experience the life-changing and lifesaving benefits that he has enjoyed.

That is where you and your registration and additional donations will make a difference; no doubt. Tammie and Flint thank you in advance for helping pay it forward to the next Warrior Veteran blessed to receive their own service dog as fabulous as Flint!

Leashes of Valor will be onsite and available to share stories of warrior veterans, dogs in training, and how dogs are obtained, named and trained. Talk to them before or after the race or visit the newsroom on the Leashes of Valor website to learn more about the impact your registration and additional donation will make.

As we are raising funds for service dogs, we are a dog friendly race. We simply ask that you bring dogs that are well socialized around other, unknown, dogs and clean up after your fur-baby.

1. There are NO refunds for this race if you did not enroll in the Refund Protection Program. Click here for transfer instructions.
2. Race Management reserves the right to cancel or modify the event due to unfavorable conditions
3. Registration fees are not refundable in the event of cancellation due to "Acts of God".