A local nonprofit hosted its second-annual Paws and Pints earlier this month, raising thousands of dollars to support its assistance dog training team.

Stand With Me, an organization based in Broome County, supports veterans with mental disabilities as they learn to train their own service dogs at no financial cost to the veteran. The training process can last one to two years, during which participants receive direct support from trainers through weekly lessons, group classes and eventually public outings.

The fundraising event, which took place at Farm by Beer Tree Brew, featured many attractions, including a dog costume contest, a best trick contest, live music and more. To accommodate the family-friendly crowd, Stand With Me also included free face painting and a photo booth for people of all ages to enjoy.

“For fully trained service dogs from the big national level organizations, where you can get a fully trained service dog for no charge to the disabled person, the wait list ranges from seven to nine years long,” said Frankie “Myrph” McMahon, founder and director of Stand With Me.

Before founding the organization, McMahon spent over 40 years as a professional dog trainer and more than a decade as a service coordinator for individuals with mental disabilities. McMahon combined these two experiences in her first business, Myrph’s Dog Training.

“We did half a dozen dogs through Myrph’s Dog Training — those were with veterans who had the financial resources to pay for training lessons,” McMahon said. “And it became apparent to me, with the dozens of inquiries I was getting over the course of a year or more, that most veterans who are living on a disability income cannot afford the training lessons.”

McMahon discussed this with her pet owner training class and was approached by a client who offered free legal assistance in creating a nonprofit organization.

Adelle Moore, friend of the organization and event planner, first created the idea for a Paws and Pints event. With a significant grant from Visions Federal Credit Union, Moore developed the event after hundreds of hours of planning.

Since the organization was awarded 501(c)(3) status in September 2016, Stand With Me has graduated 30 veterans as of July 2025. After graduating from the program, each veteran earns an Official Service Dog Team Registration documentation and ID.

To fund their operations, Stand With Me relies heavily on local grants, which accounted for 52 percent of the organization’s 2023 funding. Stand With Me also participates in fundraising events hosted by various community groups. Paws and Pints generate nearly three times the amount of funds as these other events, McMahon told Pipe Dream.

Donations generated from the Paws and Pints events and the organization’s list of over 150 private donors fund its assistance dog training team, helping many veterans through the long process of training their own service animal.

“It’s still a very small, community-based organization, but it’s bigger than I had dreamed it would become,” McMahon said. “The demand is very great.”