What/When: - Puppies Behind Bars - Dog Tags Program: Veteran Graduation and Formal Remarks - November 22, 2008 - 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Where: - Boca Grande Community Center - 131 1st St. West - Boca Grande, Fl 33921Puppies Behind Bars, a national philanthropic organization that helps inmates train puppies into service dogs, will host the graduation of two Iraq War veterans and their service dogs from the Dog Tags training program on November 22 at the Boca Grande Community Center in Boca Grande, Florida. Dog Tags is a Puppies Behind Bars initiative designed to honor soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The program helps veterans returning with disabling injuries or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by pairing them with a specially-trained Labrador or Golden Retriever. Puppies Behind Bars President and Founder Gloria Gilbert Stoga will join in celebrating the graduation. The service dogs receive 16 months of intensive training by corrections inmates in the Puppies Behind Bars Program before being paired with their veteran. Dogs are trained to open and close doors, turn lights on and off, pick up dropped objects, retrieve food from the fridge, hand money or credit cards to cashiers at the supermarket, and to help remove shoes or clothing. Veterans graduating the program participate in specialized training schools designed to help both soldier and service-dog work together. The event will showcase how the dogs are able to support the wounded soldiers and provide background on the program. About Puppies Behind Bars Puppies Behind Bars trains prison inmates to raise service dogs for the disabled and explosive detection canines for law enforcement. The puppies live in prison with their puppy raisers from the age of eight weeks to eighteen months. As the puppies mature into well-loved, well-behaved dogs, their raisers learn what it means to contribute to society.
For more information, please contact: Puppies Behind Bars Phone: 212-680-9562 http://www.puppiesbehindbars.comPress Registration: As a registered Member of the Press, you are invited to attend this free event. Please email Brendan Steidle at brendan@connellyworks.com if you are interested in registering as press for this event.
Contact Information: Media Contact: Brendan Steidle Public Relations ConnellyWorks, Inc. (571) 323-2585, ext. 2180 brendan@connellyworks.com