Jul 30, 2008

Planet Dog Foundation awards $10,000 grant to Reeve Foundation

Portland, Maine — The Planet Dog Foundation, which promotes and celebrates programs in which dogs serve and support their best friends, announced today that it awarded a $10,000 grant to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The donation matches a $10,000 Quality of Life grant for a total award of $20,000 to the Bonnie Bergin Assistance Dog Institute in Santa Rosa, CA.

Created by the late Dana Reeve, Quality of Life grants are awarded twice a year to organizations that improve the day-to-day quality of life for people living with paralysis. Since inception of the program in 1999, a total of 1,454 grants have been awarded, totaling nearly $12 million. The Bonnie Bergin Assistance Dog Institute is one of nearly 100 organizations to receive funding in 2008’s first grant cycle.

The Planet Dog Foundation (PDF) strives to support worthy organizations through a grant-making program designed to financially support 501(c) (3) not-for-profit partners nationwide. The goal of their grant program is to fund new and proven initiatives that bring people and pets together for mutual benefit and support. PDF’s $10,000 matching grant to Bonnie Bergin Assistance Dog Institute will help the Reeve Foundation fund Paws for Purple Hearts, a project that uses instruction in service dog training as a therapeutic intervention for returning Wounded Warriors that are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The trained service dogs are then placed with other returned military men and women who have sustained paraplegia or quadriplegia as a result of combat.

“Dana Reeve was inspired by the work of organizations that are dedicated to improving the quality of life for people living with disabilities. The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation carries on her mission to recognize and reward these unsung heroes for their programs that significantly impact and improve various aspects of peoples’ lives,” said Peter T. Wilderotter, president and CEO of the Reeve Foundation. “The Planet Dog Foundation shares the Reeve Foundation’s passion to enable people, especially our soldiers, to overcome disabilities and challenges, and their generous donation to the Quality of Life grants program will aid those that need it most.”

The ultimate goal of the Paws for Purple Hearts program is to create a national network to serve veterans with disabilities across the entire country. The Paws for Purple Hearts program is a cooperative project between Assistance Dog Institute and veterans hospitals and rehabilitation centers. The pilot program is being established at the Walter Reed Medical Center.