Planet Dog Foundation Celebrates Record Year of Giving

• Dogs for Diabetics, Concord, CA. The PDF grant supports their efforts to train insulin-dependent clients and diabetic alert dogs to work together as a team to assist in managing the clients' diabetes.

• Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Yorktown Heights, NY. The PDF grant is building a branded Planet Dog outdoor play and exercise area at their facility where dogs can romp between rigorous training sessions by providing natural outlets for dogs' natural desire to chew, play in a pack and stay physically fit.

• Texas Hearing & Service Dogs, Austin, TX. The PDF grant is supporting their efforts to train shelter dogs to become Hearing and Service Dogs for Texans living with hearing impairments or mobility challenges.

• Thirteen/WNET TV, New York, NY. The PDF grant supports Martha Speaks at the Library, bringing animal assisted literacy programs to eleven branches of the New York Public Library.

• Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, Norfolk, VA. The PDF grant is supporting their Buddy Brigade Pet Therapy volunteer program which makes 3,000 visits each year to inpatient and outpatient children.

• Freedom Service Dogs, Lakewood, CO. The PDF grant is helping them rescue dogs from shelters and training them to assist people with disabilities, increasing their independence and peace of mind.

• Assistance Dog Institute, Santa Rosa, CA. The PDF grant, in cooperation with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, funds 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.

• Hearing & Service Dogs of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. The PDF grant is supporting the Autism Assist Program which trains dogs for children with autism spectrum disorder. All dogs are placed for free and the vast majority of them are rescued from animal shelters.

• Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA. The PDF grant is helping to fund a research study which aims to describe dog visitation in acute care pediatric hospital settings from parent and child perspectives.

• Working Dogs for Conservation, Three Forks, MT. The PDF grant supports conservation detection dogs, who locate habitats of threatened and endangered species, and the Dog Life Program which provides a positive and fulfilling life for working, retired and candidate conservation detection dogs throughout their selection, training, working and daily lives.

• People.Animals.Love, Washington, DC. The PDF grant is supporting their Pet Therapy Visitation Program which makes more than 16,000 visits each year to hospitals, schools, nursing homes and the Walter Reed Medical Center.

• Gabriel's Angels, Mesa, AZ. The PDF grant is supporting their efforts to deliver pet therapy to abused, neglected and at-risk children, nurturing their ability to love and trust, thereby freeing them from the cycle of violence.

• Service Dog Project, Ipswich, MA. The PDF grant is supporting their efforts to provide large breed "balance" dogs for people with mobility issues, enabling them to achieve more independence.

• International Hearing Dog, Henderson, CO. The PDF grant is supporting their efforts to assist people with hearing loss by custom training dogs from local animal shelters to alert them to many sounds in the home.

In addition to these national efforts, the Planet Dog Foundation has offered its local dog-loving community opportunities to support service dog training programs while celebrating their own special pups. In December the annual Sit with Santa fundraiser at the Planet Dog Company Store raised $1,000 for PDF thanks to participation by dog lovers and their 75 canine companions.