photo by: Derek Redd

Michael Kruer arrives at Wheeling’s Heritage Port on Tuesday with Ollie the Do-Good Dog. The two have been traveling down the Ohio River to raise money for no-kill animal shelters and awareness for shelter volunteerism and adoptions.

WHEELING — A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has been cruising down the Ohio River via jet ski this week, raising money and awareness for his furry friends now in animal shelters.

“Ollie the Do-Good Dog” has been the passenger on this excursion from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, where he and his family plan on ending the journey Friday. His “dad” Michael Kruer has been behind the wheel, with “mom” Cammy Hummel and other family members following on land. On Tuesday, they made a stop at Wheeling’s Heritage Port.

Kruer said the purpose of the trip is three-fold: raise $5 million for no-kill shelters around the country, spur 10,000 animal adoptions from rescues and shelters and motivate 10,000 people to volunteer at shelters and rescues. He said the idea for the river trip came from Hummel, who would get emotional when commercials from the ASPCA would broadcast on television.

“You see the dogs that are out in the cold and in the cages and the cats and it’s heartbreaking,” he said. “So one day, she said, ‘Hey, you 41 years ago, you did that for charity. Why don’t we do it again and, this time, raise money for animals?'”

Four decades ago, Kruer made that Pittsburgh-to-Cincinnati trip to raise money to combat muscular dystrophy. This time, animals are the focus and Kruer and Hummel’s favorite animal is along for the ride.

Kruer admitted it hasn’t been the smoothest ride on the Ohio River this week. Rain and other watercraft have led to choppy waters. He and Ollie spent about two hours in the rain at a lock further north, waiting for a barge to make it through.

Yet Kruer said Ollie is a trooper. He sits on the jet ski, tethered to Kruer and clad in a blue life vest with a shark fin jutting from the back.

“He started jet skiing at around the age of 9 months,” he said, “and he wants to be on a jet ski all the time. Whenever we get out his little shark vest, he knows it’s time to go jet skiing and he just goes crazy. He’ll drag us until we get to the ski. He just can’t wait to go.”

Along with the fun is a serious message, Hummel said. Many opportunities are available for animal rescue adoption.

“There are plenty of programs out there,” she said, “and most of these rescues and shelters and open-door rescues, which people foster through, you can go to them and you can pick out the pup of your choice and they don’t have the funding that the big guys do. A lot of it, they’re doing on their own.”

Kruer and Hummel said the best way to donate is directly through bestfriends.org, the largest no-kill organization in the United States, or by searching “no kill animal shelters near me” and donating directly to them. Other options also are available at olliethedogooddog.com/donate.