Flair’s Warriors Ready to Assist
Flair’s Warriors Ready to Assist
Non-Profit Ready to Begin Helping Families with Sick and Disabled Dogs
At this time last year, we published an article about Flair’s Warriors - a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping families together by offering on-going financial assistance for sick and disabled dogs for those in the Western New York area. Founder Alex Popiela started the organization in honor of his dog, Flair, who passed away from Addison’s Disease. Alex couldn’t keep up with the piling hospital bills and had to make one of the most difficult decisions to put Flair down. This is where Flair’s Warriors comes into play so that other fur families don’t experience the same future.
For more than over a year, Alex, his brother Tyler, and the rest of the team have been working hard at raising funds so they can begin offering assistance to those that need it. They had quite the busy schedule, too. One of their first events was at the Broadway Market in Buffalo during the 2022 Easter Season, and were back again just this past April. Then in August, they had their booth set up at Bark Bash, hosted by Knox Farms in East Aurora. I think it had to be one of the hottest days of the year, but that didn’t stop all the dogs from coming out and having fun!
Fast forward to November and they held their first, ever so successful, meat raffle at the Moose Lodge in Hamburg. And that “ever so successful” is not sarcasm. That place was so jam-packed full that it was hard to move, and people were almost sitting right on top of each other. Alex said they had to start turning people away because the venue was that full. But despite the crowd, it brought in so many donations and everyone had a great time (especially me and my family - who won a LOT of meat that night).
Just last week on June 22nd, Flair’s Warriors was part of the Big Tree Inn’s Golf Tournament at Byrncliff Golf Course in Varysburg, NY. They had a great turnout and the weather cooperated beautifully. All proceeds of the tournament were donated to Flair’s to help them continue their mission.
Flair’s goal was to start providing assistance at the end of 2022, and by early December, they had reached that goal! They finally have the means to start helping, but they have yet to have the opportunity to do so. “We’ve had some applications, but no one really followed through,” said Tyler. Alex adds, “We’re hoping to get in with some vets. I think that’s probably the biggest thing we’ve got to do now; see if there’s anyone that’ll realize when they see people in situations where they struggle with paying for medications is that they can reach out to us.”
This past May, Flair’s participated in Bark in the Park in Clarence, which is geared towards dog charities. There were a lot of rescues there that came over to talk to Tyler at their tent, who told these rescues what they were all about. Tyler explains, “These rescues are the other form of prevention. First there’s us going to the vets who see it firsthand and give them what their options are, and hopefully we become an option that they can give to these people. But the other option is when people go to the rescues to give up their dogs that are already sick, this way the rescue can say, ‘Rather than give them to us, why don’t you look into Flair’s Warriors?’ So we’re hoping there’s two different sides that can push them to us.”
Alex emphasizes that the important thing for them is trying to find ways for people to know who they are and what they’re all about. “We have all these fundraising events and it’s great that we’re raising money, but we want to start helping people now. Our biggest thing is getting out there, trying to get people to understand,” he said. They want to make sure that people that have issues paying for medications for ongoing medical/therapeutical issues, that they can reach out to Flair’s Warrior and they’ll help pay for said medications. They would much prefer you choose that route than resorting to giving them up or abandoning them. “We just want to find a way for the community to know who we are.”
To continue getting their name out there, Flair’s has more events lined up for the rest of the year. You will most likely see their tent at this year’s Bark Bash again on Saturday, August 5th from 10:00am-3:00pm. If you missed out last year, I highly recommend stopping by this time around. There will be vendors, food trucks and so many dogs. You can also look forward to another meat raffle! They will be hosting this one at the Matthew Glab Post in Lackawanna. This year’s location can hold a lot more people, and they have a whole separate area for the bar which opens up the room and leaves more space to move around. Basket raffle donations are welcome again and most definitely appreciated. (They had well over 100 last year!) If you’re interested in donating, you can get in touch with Alex by calling 716-289-9640 or emailing alex@flairswarriors.org. More details to come once the event gets closer.
So to wrap this all up, here’s what we know: Flair’s Warriors helps Western New York families pay for medications for dogs with medical conditions to prevent abandonment/euthanasia. They have the funds to do so, but no one has jumped on that opportunity. If you need assistance or know of anyone that needs assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out. They are eager to help, but keep in mind that they do not pay for surgeries or medical procedures.
For more information on Flair’s Warriors, to donate to the organization or apply for assistance, please visit flairswarriors.org. Make sure to follow them on Facebook and Instagram (@flairswarriors) to keep up with news and more upcoming events.