PEPPER’S SENIOR DOG SANCTUARY

Littleton

News: There was so much to love about Pepper ‘Em with Love, the Aug. 19 fundraising gala for Pepper’s Senior Dog Sanctuary, that it’s hard to know where to begin or what not to overlook. 

But we’ll try.

• The entertainment: A solid set of hits from four-time Grammy Award winner and 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Pat Benatar and her husband, guitarist Neil Giraldo. To the delight of everyone, they ended their show with “Heartbreaker,” which Benatar introduced with the reminder that “It’s the one that started it all.”
• The dinner: A delicious three-course, beef short-rib meal catered by Epicurean. Epicurean and the Jill and Larry DiPasquale Foundation were Bronze Sponsors of this popular fundraiser; Larry DiPasquale is Epicurean’s founder and chairman.
• The attendance and venue: Five hundred of Pepper’s Senior Dog Sanctuary supporters filled Mission Ballroom, up from last year’s 400 guests.
• The money raised: $574,330, a very nice jump from 2025’s $450,000.
• The live auction: Award-winning auctioneer Halie Behr sold four one-of-a-kind items for a grand total of $67,000, including a Tuscan Farmhouse Getaway donated by Cuvee that went for $35,000. And so many bid cards were raised for what was to have been a $500-per-person dinner for 12 to be held at Pepper’s and prepared by chef Albert Gonsales that plans are now underway for a series of dinners instead of just one.
• The cocktail hour: Before sitting down to dinner, guests mixed and mingled in the lobby where they could pose for souvenir photos, place bids in a silent auction and meet several of the dogs who now call Pepper’s home.
• The guests: Actress Stepfanie Kramer (Det. Dee Dee McCall on the TV series “Hunter”) with her cousin, Denverite Ellen Robinson of the Robinson Dairy family; Scott Coors and Dr. Dave Hurt; Dana Davis, executive director of the Children’s Diabetes Foundation; Christine Benero, president/CEO of Mile High United Way; Janice Sinden, president/CEO of Denver Center for the Performing Arts; DCPA board member Jennifer Dechtman and her husband, digital marketer Evan Dechtman; Sage Hospitality co-founder and executive chairman Walter Isenberg and his wife, Christie; and 9News anchor Phil Lipof with his wife, Juli and daughter, Daniella. Lipof, a member of the Pepper’s Senior Dog Sanctuary board, was the evening’s master of ceremonies.
• The honoree: Dr. Martin Randell, a board-certified veterinary internist, received the 2026 Winston Award for his extraordinary contributions to the lives of dogs in Pepper’s care. Randell spent some 40 years delivering services in the fields of small-animal internal medicine, exotic pet medicine, neurology and wildlife rehabilitation. The award is named for the first dog to become an official resident at Pepper’s.
• The leadership: Mary Leprino, co-founder of Pepper’s Senior Dog Sanctuary; Justin Klemer, co-founder and executive director; Paula Jacques-Bonneau, director of community programs; Jennifer Demchak dog behavior and enrichment manager; and Erin Henninger, director of development, were among the staffers in attendance.
• The souvenirs: Each guest received a keepsake beaded bracelet made by Jo Klein and Rachel Goates from Firefly Autism.
• The sponsors: BNY Wealth was the Presenting Sponsor; Casovera was the Platinum Sponsor. Gold Sponsors were 7 Cellars, Dana Davis, Dependable Cleaners, Karsh Hagan Madden, the Mizel-Mandarich Foundation and Sterling Ranch. Silver Sponsors were Beaver Builders, the Black Family Foundation, the Joseph Family Foundation and Judi Soule-Cantrell. 

About the organization: The nonprofit Pepper’s Senior Dog Sanctuary is a veterinarian-supervised facility where senior dogs who may otherwise been euthanized receive a compassionate, loving, lifelong home during their good days, bad days and last days. Dogs are referred to Pepper’s by animal welfare organizations.

Website: psds.org

Have news or announcements for the Nonprofit Register? Email nonprofits@coloradopolitics.com and include a contact name and number if more information is needed.