FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) -- People got to experience Dickson Street Sunday (Aug. 29) by sliding down on a 1,000-foot water slide for a good cause.
Soldier On Service Dogs, a nonprofit that provides trained service dogs to veterans diagnosed with PTSD or a traumatic brain injury, organized the Dickson Street Slide after holding a similar fundraiser last year through a partnership with Slide the City.
Following the 2015 fundraiser, Soldier On Service Dogs purchased their own 1,000-foot slide, so the nonprofit can hold the Dickson Street Slide event every year.
Theron Lindenmuth, who had served in the Marines for eight years, received a service dog after suffering an arm injury three years ago, but said he was not ready for the challenge of having a service animal.
“After that we came to the conclusion that if I was having that problem, then so were other veterans,” said Lindenmuth.
After undergoing a risky surgery, Lindenmuth regained all of his use of his arm and no longer needed the service dog, so he and Angie Pratt decided to start Soldier On Service Dogs.
In two years, he said the nonprofit has been able to provide service dogs to ten veterans.
"It is life-changing," Lindenmuth said. "I would say it’s quite exhilarating to be able to give veterans the opportunity to live their lives to the fullest regardless of whatever may have happened to them in the past."
He said it has been great to see hundreds of people come out to the Dickson Street Slide to support a cause that is so important to him.
"Not a lot of people know that Arkansas provides the most amount of veterans per the military in the U.S., so that it gives them the opportunity to provide to a local charity that donates and provides to veterans that are a larger percentage of the community," Lindenmuth said.
On Aug. 30, Soldier On Service Dogs will be hold a dedication ceremony at their new veterans' center in Fayetteville.