Donation to dog park made in slain officer’s memory

FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY) – Fayetteville is one step closer to having a dog park thanks to a friend of the late officer Cassie Johnson.

After Johnson was killed in the line of duty last week, a friend and Fayetteville resident adopted her dog Gus. In Johnson’s memory, the friend donated to the Fayetteville Area Dog Park Initiative to help make the dog park a reality. Johnson had several pets throughout her life and her friend says this was a great way to honor her memory.

“She [also owned a cat,] but she was really dedicated to her dogs,” said Kelly Buchanan with the Initiative. “She had a chocolate lab named Emma that preceded her in death. Gus’s new mom told me that was her baby.”

The donor asked to remain anonymous.

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Kassie Simmons
Kassie Simmons joined the team in January 2019 as a weekend journalist. She graduated from Virginia Tech in just two and a half years with a BA in multimedia journalism. During her short time at Virginia Tech, she served as the editor for the university’s chapter of The Tab. Kassie was named the top reporter for The Tab at Virginia Tech on multiple occasions and made the list for the top 30 reporters for The Tab in the U.S. She also studied theater performance and minored in creative writing. Before coming to WOAY, Kassie interned at WSLS in Roanoke and the Tidewater Review in her hometown of West Point, Va. She has loved following breaking news since her childhood and has a passion for delivering the stories people care most about. Kassie is excited to be working in Southern West Virginia and looks forward to all the adventures ahead of her. You can follow her on Twitter at @KassieLSimmons and like her page on Facebook. If you have a story you think she should check out, send her an email at ksimmons@woay.com.