Our Important Mission
The Land of PureGold Foundation
became a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational nonprofit corporation
in February 2005. The formation of our organization followed a
period of 8 years that the
Landofpuregold.com had been a presence
on the web, supporting and engaging in various charitable endeavors and
providing numerous educational activities to promote the human-canine bond.
We have personally seen this special healing power, time and
time again, and have felt such joy as we continue to celebrate the wonders of
The Bond. And, this 1,300+ page website is clearly testimony to this
celebration.
It was Dr. Albert
Schweitzers belief that until man could extend his circle of compassion to include
all living things, he himself would find no peace. For, while animals may not be our whole
life, they do much to make our lives whole. Yet—how often do we take the time to
understand and embrace the power and wonder that happens between animals and people? And,
do we truly appreciate the healing power that animals have on humans and the happiness and
sense of well being that they engender?
According to Dr.
Marty Becker, Our pets lend a touch of grace to our lives. They teach us the real
meaning of unconditional love and bring out the kindest and most generous impulses of
humanity. And, Dr. Allen Schoen speaks to the premise
that Far from a luxury, pets are now recognized as a necessity—friends who
fortify us daily with their gifts of love, loyalty and laughter.
Our foundation's
goals include, but are not limited to, the following:
Best of Friends: Celebrating The Bond
To support and promote holistically healthy and responsible dog care and ownership as well as respectful
and consistent training practices—the love shared between mankind and dogs so
engendering a mutual strength and healing power.
To raise monies for cancer treatment in working dogs
(e.g., assistance, animal-assisted therapy, search and rescue, scent
detection, and law enforcement) through donations and Foundation Store
product sales.
To develop creative media that
embraces 'the bond' to raise monies for research
in comparative oncology, which is the study of cancers that occur similarly in
companion animals and humans.
To support and disseminate information on
canine cancers; and, to
educate and promote interest in research of those
cancers in companion animals that share a similarity to
the cancers that afflict children.
Working toward Achieving our Vision February 2005 Formation of Foundation
Year 2007 Although only a small organization run totally on a few volunteers' efforts,
this calendar year we have provided $10,200 in support of cancer treatment for
working dogs and $15,000 in support of research in comparative oncology through
Dr. Gregory Ogilvie,
Special Care
Foundation for Companion Animals. Dr. Ogilvie is one of the first
board-certified veterinary oncologists in the nation.
Year 2008 The recession hit us hard and donations, as well as sales, plummeted. We did
manage to provide $2000 in support of cancer treatment for working dogs and
provided $10,000 toward production costs for Gotta Dance. We will be
heading into post-production in 2009.
Year 2009 The recession has continued to hit us hard and donations, as well as sales, plummeted. We did
manage to provide $2500 in support of cancer treatment for working dogs and
provided $18,500 toward production costs for Gotta Dance. We are still
involved in post-production, musical scoring, and final editing with hopes of
completion in the spring of 2010.
Supporters and Sponsors You may be
able to help if you believe a
friend or business in your area is interested in providing a donation or
sponsorship. Sponsors would benefit from unprecedented visibility, as our site
is frequented daily by thousands of companion animal lovers. And with the site
comprised of multiple sections over 1,000+ pages, there
would be ample avenues for increased exposure.
We are in the post-production aspect of our
documentary film, hoping for a national television broadcast on the
Discovery Channel Network. The film will additionally be produced for distribution via
DVD, and we are now seeking sponsors for the special opportunity to receive
recognition through their inclusion.
The Google Grants Program
supports organizations sharing their philosophy of community service to help the
world in areas such as science and technology, education, global public health,
the environment, youth advocacy, and the arts. Designed for 501(c)(3) non-profit
organizations, Google Grants is a unique in-kind advertising program.
TechSoup Stock
connects nonprofits and public libraries with donated and discounted technology
products, their being able to choose from over 240 products from companies such
as Microsoft, Adobe, and Symantec.
Harlan
Hogan, who has voiced memorable lines such as "The cereal even Mikey likes," and
"When you care enough to send the very best," is providing his special skills as
narrator for our gotta dance documentary, The Dance of Life As a
voice-over actor, Hogan's offscreen work in radio and TV commercials for such
companies as Kraft, Cadillac, Ameritech, McDonald's, Budweiser, and Motorola to
name but a few have made him a familiar voice in American homes. It's a voice
also heard on countless industrial and educational films, movie trailers,
recorded books, and corporate phone systems. Hogan even did the narration that
you hear at the top of the Sears Tower and the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.
We were fortunate to contact Harlan, as he and his wife are huge animal
lovers and supporters, and he was therefore thrilled to be able to be part of
our special feature. They are doing important volunteer work with
Orphans of the Storm animal
shelter, a wonderful place started by the famous dancer Irene Castle. Orphans of the Storm
serves most of the
animal control facilities and municipalities in Lake and Northern Cook Counties,
Illinois. For literally hundreds of thousands of the unwanted, Orphans has been the
refuge of last resort for the deserving dogs and cats from all over Northeast
Illinois.
For
20 years, I See Spot’s parent company, L.A. SAM, INC., has been designing and
manufacturing for the apparel industry. From successful adult contemporary lines
to children’s clothing, L.A. SAM has built its reputation as a leader in quality
garments made in the U.S.A. It is this experience, love of dogs, as well as the
nine years of design collaboration between the company's owners, Sandy Maroney and
Sharon Bolger, that has inspired the newest L.A. SAM, INC. direction into the
dog couture market.
In July of 2003, I See Spot was launched,
its ongoing success attributed most of all to quality. The fabrics
are carefully chosen and designed with the comfort of the dog as the main
priority. Novelty prints and screens are a trademark and help
express the individuality of each dog. Their line of apparel had additionally
been featured in upscale trade magazines, mainstream
publications online, and on local television broadcasts.
Advisory Board Members Rochelle
Lesser, Founder & President —
Rochelle, a Nationally Certified School
Psychologist who engages in
animal-assisted
therapy, is a consultant with Millersville Psychological Services, located in
Millersville, Maryland. Professional publications include two monograph articles:
Stress and Illness in the Family: A Linear versus Family Life Space
Perspective and The Child with Cancer: A Life Space Study of Six Families.
Rochelle also published the article, Following the Golden Brick Road, which
appeared in Hoflin's 2003 Golden Retriever Annual, and wrote the foreword to the book,
My
Rescued Golden: True Stories of Rescued Golden Retrievers and the People Who Love Them.
Her private practice and graduate teaching work,
however, have been
significantly curtailed due to struggles with a mixed connective tissue disease.
But, memories of her beloved Ollie and
Darcy, and her current trained
therapy dog expert, Alfie, keep her outlook bright.
Dr.
Allen Schoen — A
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with an additional Master's degree in neurophysiology and
behavior, Allen Schoen is one of the most celebrated and
sought-after doctors of veterinary medicine in the nation. He has been practicing both
equine and small animal complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CIAH) since
1981, and has taught its special therapies throughout the world at conferences and
veterinary schools, lecturing in Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the
U.S., and Canada. Dr. Schoen continues to work through the Center for Integrative Animal
Health in the organization, Global Communications for
Conservation, Inc., and teaches postgraduate courses in Integrative, Complementary
Veterinary Medicine at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine as a
Clinical Assistant Professor. He is also an affiliate faculty member at the Colorado
State, University College of Veterinary Medicine, and is on the faculty at the Chi
Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine. He was a past President of the International
Veterinary Acupuncture Society and was honored with a fellowship in the American College
of Acupuncture for physicians also appointed
to both the North American Veterinary Nutraceuticals Council and the American Veterinary
Medical Association Committee on Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The guidelines he
helped propose for the integration of CIAH into conventional veterinary medicine have
recently been accepted by the AVMA.
Arthur T. Vanderbilt, II— Art Vanderbilt is the award-winning author of seven books, a
diverse range over a period of more than 25 years, that covers topics from pirates to the
Gilded Age, from writing best sellers to gardening, and from New Jersey's judicial history
to Golden Retrievers. It was through his book,
Golden Days:
Memories of a Golden Retriever, that Art became a good friend to us here at the
Land of PureGold. He is listed in Who's Who in America, Contemporary Authors, and Who's
Who in the Law, and is a partner in the law firm of Carella, Byrne, Bain, Gilfillan,
Cecchi, Stewart & Olstein, Roseland, New Jersey. Art is also a member of the New
Jersey Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, and of the Board of
Trustees of the Elizabeth Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church, and is a Fellow of the
American Bar Foundation.
Patricia
Burlin Kennedy — Patty Kennedy is a Maxwell Award-winning author who is
actively pursuing her interest in the human-animal bond. She wrote
Bailey Bymyside:
Golden Lessons for Life, a book comprised of meaningful observations that
celebrate a Golden's wisdom and charm. And, she wrote
Through Otis'
Eyes: Lessons from a Guide Dog Puppy, a book that allows one to experience the
joys and frustrations of raising a puppy destined to lead another person toward a more
fulfilling life. A resident of Northern Virginia, Patty divides her time between her U.S.
Senate staff duties, volunteering with various charitable groups such as the Guiding Eyes
for the Blind, and running a busy household which includes her husband, two children, and
two loving retrievers.