Pearl River County’s SPCA was the recipient of hundreds of pounds of dog food as the result of Sunday’s 31 Heroes CrossFit event in Slidell La.

Community Outreach Coordinator Rhonda Furby said every year a number of CrossFit enthusiasts, some from Pearl River County, gather at the Gladiator Academy in Slidell to raise money in honor of the 31 heroes that died in the Aug. 6, 2011 Extortion 17 helicopter crash in Afghanistan. This event is held at CrossFit establishments nationwide in August as part of the 31 Heroes Project.

Usually the participants pay $50 to partake in the fitness event, which is donated to the families of the soldiers who died in the crash. But this year they decided to bring large bags of dog food to donate to Pearl River County’s SPCA to honor the memory of the military working dog that was onboard the helicopter, Furby said.

Pearl River County’s shelter was chosen to receive the donation because of the extensive work they do, especially at the PetSmart in Slidell, Furby said. Participants recalled seeing Pearl River County SPCA representatives at the pet store. They spoke with employees at PetSmart, who had good things to say about the shelter and its staff.

CrossFit is an exercise program that incorporates a number of different fitness exercises. Furby said for Sunday’s session, instead of using sandbags in their exercises, they used the 20 or 40 pound bags of dog food. She said at the end of the two-hour session the bags were donated to the shelter. The men brought seven 40 pound bags, while the women brought seven 20 pound bags, Furby said.

“It really makes a difference because we were out of dog food,” Furby said.

The participants also got a chance to meet a couple of the shelter’s pit bulls, which were received with open arms, Furby said.

“Nobody was intimidated by the pit bulls,” Furby said. “They were just holding their leashes and giving them kisses.”