By Rachel Galvin

Animal lovers swarmed through booths set up in Pioneer Park on Saturday, May 7, to see what animals were available for adoption from the various groups there. The Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) and Broward County Animal Care hosted event was put together by Sgt. Andrea Tianga, who was on hand with her husband Lt. Ozzy Tianga. Even their son, Joshua, got into the event as DJ SoFlo. There were many vendor booths and BSO brought some K-9s.

“I have been doing animal rescue since [before I was a teenager]. I am a huge animal lover. When I heard that the sheriff is a big animal lover, I jumped at the opportunity [for us] to partner with Broward Animal Care,” said Sgt. Tianga, who added, “With Mother’s Day, the Air and Sea show, [and all the other events going on, it is great that] people are still jumping at the chance to be a part of it.”

Lt. Russo added, “It is a great thing to have out here … to give pets a forever home.”

Helen Santana, who happens to be a volunteer for C.O.P.S., adopted a terrier at the event. Adoption fees were waived this day for most of the dogs. Pet Supermarket gave her a goody basket of products to help her get started.

“I think it is great,” she said of the event. “It is a good way to adopt a dog.

I have bought all of my dogs through a shelter, not a breeder. This is our third dog. I have two cats at home.”

It was not just about dogs; the nonprofit Lumen LS (www.LumenLS.org) had a booth with cats for adoption.

“Our goal is to eliminate shelter euthanasia [for cats] in Broward County,” said Director Andi Kola about his organization, which opened a year ago. He brought out kittens who have FIV (or Feline immunodeficiency virus) to educate people that even these cats can go on to live healthy lives and do not have to be euthanized.

“We have rescued up to 91 kittens in the last three weeks,” he said, adding that his organization offers a place for the cats to stay while they find homes.

The men and women of the Broward Sheriff Office are mourning the loss of a dedicated colleague, Deputy Daniel Rivera, who died Saturday night of injuries he sustained in a car crash. He leaves behind a 14-year-old son, Damian Luis Barrio, and many other grieving relatives, friends and coworkers.

Visitation for Rivera will be held Thursday, Sept. 26 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Pompano Beach, 138 NE 1 STreet, Pompano. The funeral is 11 a.m., Friday, September 27 at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, 2401 W. Cypress Creek Road, Fort Lauderdale. Interment is at Our Lady Queen of Heaven, 1400 State Road 7, North Lauderdale.

Deputy Rivera, 32, started with the Broward Sheriff’s Office in 2003. He served in the agency’s Department of Detention until May 2012 when he transferred to the Department of Law Enforcement. He was a road patrol deputy in BSO’s Pompano Beach district. He was driving on Interstate 95 just before sunrise on Sept. 11 when his car left the roadway and hit a tree.

“Our entire agency is feeling the loss of this young, brave deputy who was taken too soon from his family, friends and coworkers,” Sheriff Scott Israel said. “I am praying for Deputy Rivera’s family to find comfort and strength during this time.”

Deputy Rivera was a confident, hard-working deputy who loved fitness, dancing to Latin music, rooting for the New York Mets and being with his friends, family and his girlfriend. He was born in Brooklyn and attended the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan and Florida Atlantic University. Deputy Rivera was an auxiliary police officer with the New York Police Department before moving to Florida at age 19. He attended Church by the Glades in Coral Springs.

Other survivors include his mother, Miriam Cuin, a captain with the New York City Department of Corrections; father, Antonio Cuin, a warden with the New York City Department of Corrections; sister, Jessica Ducos; brother, Carlos Ducos; grandparents, Moises and Maria Hernandez and girlfriend, Andrea Mendez.