The AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to prevent, treat and cure disease in all dogs, received a donation of more than US$35,000 from Purina PetCare in response to thousands of pet owners across the US who used social media.
The contribution was a result of 35,446 original posts that were shared by dog owners on social media in November about why and how they are thankful for their dogs as part of Purina’s #DogThanking campaign to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday and National Dog Show Presented by Purina.
Social media used to support dog ownership event
For every original post using the hashtag #DogThanking and tagging @Purina, Purina donated one dollar to the AKC Canine Health Foundation to help further pet health research for a total donation of US$35,446.
“This donation will help fund research to develop better treatments, more accurate diagnoses and improve understanding of the mechanisms that cause canine disease,” said Dr. Diane Brown, CEO of the AKC Canine Health Foundation, in a press release. “For 2017 specifically, the donation will also aid in the research of tick-borne diseases and epilepsy.”
Purina Better with Pets Award to AKC Canine Health Foundation
Recently, Dr. Brown accepted the Purina Better with Pets Award during the National Dog Show Gala on November 18 in Philadelphia. The award recognizes people and organizations who have made a difference in helping create better lives for pets and people.
CHF was recognized for its twenty-two years in supporting canine health research as well as the organization’s partnership with Purina through #DogThanking, which has raised more than US$50,000 since 2015. In addition to #DogThanking funds, Purina also supports the CHF mission with an annual corporate gift of US$150,000, and since 1997 the company has invested nearly US$12 million in the health of dogs through CHF by supporting canine health research to benefit all dogs.
