Nov 16, 2007

Planet Dog Foundation Unleashes Grants

Portland, ME- The Planet Dog Foundation (PDF), Planet Dog’s non-profit, is proud to announce the recipients of its Fall, 2007 grants. PDF has awarded $50,000 in grants to six organizations with small, yet effective programs that are maximizing their impact on limited budgets, helping to further the field through research and outreach, and sharing in the Planet Dog Foundation mission to celebrate programs in which dogs serve and support their best friends.

“The quantity and quality of grant proposals has increased with every cycle, and these programs rose to the top of an excellent field of applicants,” says Kristen Smith, PDF’s Executive Director. “It is clear to us that there is a need for canine service funding, and we are excited to do our part to help fill the void,” adds Smith.

The recipients of the PDF Fall, 2007 grants are Assistance Dogs of the West, Freedom Service Dogs, Soul Friends, Teacher’s Pet, NEADS – Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans and Chenny Troupe. Below is a description of each program.

Assistance Dogs of the West (Santa Fe, New Mexico) – $10,000

Through educational and vocational programs, Assistance Dogs of the West provides trained assistance dogs to people with disabilities in order to increase self-reliance. The PDF grant is in support of their partnership with the New Mexico Department of Children, Youth and Family Services, to train juvenile detainees ages 12-19 how to train service dogs to perform 90 commands to help a person in need of an assistance dog. The at-risk students gain knowledge, build responsibility and compassionate awareness of people with different abilities, while making concrete contributions to the community.

Freedom Service Dogs (Lakewood, Colorado) – $10,000

The mission of Freedom Service Dogs is to rescue dogs from shelters and train them to assist people with disabilities, increasing their independence and peace of mind. All of their dogs involved in the program are rescued from Colorado shelters, and provided free of charge to their clients. Dogs that do not excel as service dogs are fully trained and placed in adoptive homes as therapy dogs or pets. They also conduct more than 100 outreach and educational events each year, creating increased public awareness about various mobility impairments, the positive impact service dogs have on the lives of people who are disabled and the rights and etiquette involving service dogs.

Soul Friends (Yalesville, Connecticut) – $5,000

Soul Friends provides innovative clinical and educational programs for children that promote the healing benefits of the human-animal bond. The PDF grant will support two programs. Heeling Hearts is an eight-week supportive group program for at-risk kids utilizing therapy dogs to explore the loss, trauma, grief and illness that have impacted their lives. The empathetic connection with the animals allows the children to express complex emotions in a safe environment. Come, Follow Me! is a six-week program of dog training and social skills training for children affected with Autism spectrum disorders. Studies have proven that dogs allow connection with children with autism that people often cannot achieve, establishing critical communication that lasts well beyond the dogs’ involvement with the children.

Teacher’s Pet (Rochester Hills, Michigan) – $5,000

Teacher’s Pet: Dogs and Kids Learning Together works to empower at-risk youth to address issues of apathy, cruelty and violence in today’s society while providing unwanted shelter dogs with behavior issues a second chance at finding a loving, permanent home. Participants are paired with difficult-top-adopt shelter dogs for a ten-week workshop centered on proper care and basic “good manners.” The program runs year-round in schools and summer camps, targeting emotionally impaired youth with severe behavior disorders and shelter dogs with behavioral issues. While the children gain increased self-esteem, empathy and compassion, dogs once considered unadoptable are saved from euthanasia and adopted into loving, permanent families.

NEADS – Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans (West Boylston, MA) – $10,000

A grantee since the Spring of 2006, NEADS/Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans helps children and adults who are deaf or physically disabled live more mobile, social and independent lives through partnership with a dog individually trained for their lifestyle and assistive needs. The current grant will support the Canines for Combat Veterans program, which aims to restore the independence of disabled veterans, particularly those who have sustained injuries during service that impair their mobility. These veterans have unique needs, and NEADS is working to customize their training and equipment to best address the complex needs of those who have served.

The Chenny Troupe (Chicago, Illinois) – $10,000

PDF is extending its support of the Chenny Troupe, a Chicago-based network of dedicated volunteers and their certified therapy dogs that offers rehabilitative therapy to people with physical and emotional challenges. Chenny Troupe provides interactive, animal-assisted therapy programs to a wide variety of populations. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a goal-directed intervention in which a trained, certified animal (Chenny Troupe uses only dogs in its programs) is an integral part of a rehabilitation or treatment process. Provided by a handler in a program developed with or by health care and human services professionals, AAT is designed to promote improvement in human physical, emotional and cognitive functions. With a structured visitation schedule that includes hospitals, rehabilitation centers for victims of serious trauma, programs for at-risk youth and recovery centers, the Chenny Troupe programs help restore health and hope to thousands of clients every year.

Planet Dog is a socially responsible, globally recognized designer and developer of innovative, high quality, award-winning dog products. A percentage of every Planet Dog purchase goes directly to PDF to support the grantmaking program.

“As a small company doing big things, we are proud to support like-minded organizations that will most benefit from our support,” says Alex Fisher, Planet Dog’s co-founder and Chief Creative Officer. “From the beginning, we knew we wanted to build a socially responsible company that not only enhanced the lives of dogs and their people, but one that also improved the world around us by giving back,” adds Fisher.

To learn more about the Planet Dog Foundation, and all grantees, visit planetdogfoundation.org. To learn more about Planet Dog, PDF’s corporate partner, visit planetdog.com.